The National Grand Prize Winner Is Sauver Des Chiens German Shepherd Rescue!

The National Grand Prize Winner Is Sauver Des Chiens German Shepherd Rescue!

See Winning Story
The winning story

Athena The Dreamer

PET NAME

Athena The Dreamer

PET PARENT

Patti Pulliam
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*Athena the Dreamer was a very sick, possibly dumped girl, in East Texas, Sept 2020. I started fostering her, through Sauver Des Chiens German Shepherd Dog Rescue. You name it, she had it. Parasites, worms, high heartworm positive, every kind of mange, embedded harness, severely underweight, teeth ground to the gums. She had, and still has, a heart and soul full of love. Through the amazing help of SDC, the volunteers, vets, everyone, she started to heal, and quietly stole my heart. She has been the most amazing therapy I could ask for. We've helped each other heal from our yesterdays, and still continue to do so. She makes my days brighter, never dull, and, we're guessing between 8 to 11 yrs old, acts like a puppy, and every day is a new adventure for us! She now helps me with other fosters we have coming in. She shows them it's a safe and loving place, and how to be a part of love. I adopted Athena in March of 2021. Or, as we call it, a foster fail! Thank you, SDC, for everything đź’ś
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our regional winners

  • Midwest
  • Northeast
  • Southeast
  • Southwest
  • West

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$15,000 awarded to our regional winner
$5,000 Awarded to runner-up winners

Pawsitive Notes From Our Panelists

Our Panelists loved reading through your stories and hearing about the amazing relationships that your rescue organizations helped to build. Here’s what they had to say about the Fresh Start initiative this year:

"These were all so moving, it made it nearly impossible to decide!"
Sarah Michelle Gellar
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"After reading these stories, we are filled with HOPE. With every bad story comes the sweetest outcome. It's so easy to become surrounded by the negative, but so much positive comes with rescuing."
Tatum
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"These stories illustrate how rescues and shelters play a crucial role in not only giving pets a second (or first) chance at a loving, stable life, but also helping to fulfill families of all shapes, sizes, gender, and race. I salute the rescues and shelters across the country who are doing the important work of saving lives and elevating the magic that is the human animal bond."
Dr. Aziza Glass
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"It absolutely warms my heart and soul to know that so many wonderful dogs are finding their person because of the dedication, love, and kindness that is carried out by shelters all across the country."
St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center
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"I loved reading these stories and learning about all the people across the country who have opened their hearts and homes to special animals. It is people like this who give us hope in animal welfare that forever homes are possible!"
Pennsylvania SPCA
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Congrats to all of our 2022 Winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated to help us give dogs and cats across the country a Fresh Start. Because of you, we were able to provide much-needed funds to rescues doing the hard and crucial work of finding forever homes for animals in need. We appreciate your ongoing support of the program, and have no fear – Fresh Start will be back next year!

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OFFICIAL RULES OF CONTEST
NO PURCHASE IS NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE DOES NOT INCREASE THE CHANCES OF WINNING. Eligibility: This Campaign is open only to those who sign up at Freshpet.com/Fresh-Start and who are 18 years of age or older as of the date of submitting a pet rescue/shelter/adoption organization. The Campaign is only open to pet rescue/shelter/adoption organizations in the United States, and is void where prohibited by law. The Campaign is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.

Agreement to Rules: By participating, the Submitter (“You”) agree to be fully unconditionally bound by these Rules, and You represent and warrant that You meet the eligibility requirements. In addition, You agree to accept the decisions of Freshpet as final and binding as it relates to the content of this Campaign.

Campaign Period: Submissions will be accepted online starting on September 12, 2022 at 12a ET and ending September 25, 2022 at 11:59p ET. All online entries must be received by September 25, 2022 at 11:59p ET. A Panel of judges selected by Freshpet will review submissions during the period of September 26, 2022 at 12a ET and ending October 5, 2022 at 11:59p ET. 

How to Enter: The Campaign must be entered by submitting an entry using the online form provided at ThankYouRescues.com. The entry must fulfill all Campaign requirements, as specified, to be eligible for inclusion in the Voting period. To be successfully submitted to the Campaign, pet rescue/adoption/shelter organizations must meet the following criteria:

The organization is based in the United States of America

The organization is a non-profit that is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3)

The organization practices a “No Kill” policy (For the purposes of this campaign, “No Kill” is to be defined as saving every pet that is healthy & treatable.)
Entries that are incomplete or do not adhere to the rules or specifications may be disqualified at the sole discretion of Freshpet.

Prizes: The Panel will collectively select their one (1) favorite national submission from among all entries, which will be deemed 2022 Fresh Start Winner and receive a one-time payment of $25,000 from Freshpet. The Panel will also collectively select their one (1) favorite regional submission – not including the 2022 Fresh Start Winner – from each of the five (5) U.S. regions (West, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast), and these five (5) winners will be deemed The Grand Prize Winners, each receiving a one-time payment of $15,000 from Freshpet. Finally, the Panel will also collectively select two (2) regional runner-up submissions from each of the five (5) U.S. regions (West, Southwest, Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast), and these ten (10) winners will be deemed The Runners-Up, each receiving a one-time payment of $5,000 from Freshpet. The specifics of the prize shall be solely determined by Freshpet. No cash or other prize substitution shall be permitted except at Freshpet’s discretion. The prize is nontransferable. Any and all prize-related expenses, including without limitation any and all federal, state, and/or local taxes, shall be the sole responsibility of Winners. No substitution of prize or transfer/assignment of prize to others or request for the cash equivalent by Winners is permitted. Acceptance of prize constitutes permission for Freshpet to use Winner’s name, likeness, and entry for purposes of advertising and trade without further compensation, unless prohibited by law.

Odds: The odds of winning depend on the number of eligible entries received.

Winner Selection and Notification: Winner will be selected by the Panel and based solely on their discretion. Each Winner will be notified by email within five (5) days following selection of Winner. Freshpet shall have no liability for Winners’ failure to receive notices due to spam, junk e-mail or other security settings or for Winners’ provision of incorrect or otherwise non-functioning contact information. If Winner cannot be contacted, is ineligible, fails to claim the prize within 30 days from the time award notification was sent, or fails to timely return a completed and executed declaration and release as required, the prize may be forfeited, and an alternate Winner selected. Receipt by Winner of the prize offered in this Campaign is conditioned upon compliance with any and all federal, state, and local laws and regulations. ANY VIOLATION OF THESE OFFICIAL RULES BY A WINNER (AT FRESHPET’S SOLE DISCRETION) WILL RESULT IN THAT WINNER’S DISQUALIFICATION AS WINNER OF THE CAMPAIGN, AND ALL PRIVILEGES AS WINNER WILL BE IMMEDIATELY TERMINATED.

Rights Granted by You: By entering this content (e.g., photo, video, text, etc.), You understand and agree that Freshpet, anyone acting on behalf of Freshpet, and Freshpet’s licensees, successors, and assigns, shall have the right, where permitted by law, to print, publish, broadcast, distribute, and use in any media now known or hereafter developed, in perpetuity and throughout the World, without limitation, your entry, name, portrait, picture, voice, likeness, image, statements about the Campaign, and biographical information for news, publicity, information, trade, advertising, public relations, and promotional purposes. without any further compensation, notice, review, or consent.

Terms & Conditions: Freshpet reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the Campaign should virus, bug, non-authorized human intervention, fraud, or other cause beyond Freshpet’s control corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, or proper conduct of the Campaign. In such case, the Panel may select the winner from all eligible entries received prior to and/or after (if appropriate) the action taken by Freshpet. Freshpet reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers or attempts to tamper with the Submission process or the operation of the Campaign or website or violates these Terms & Conditions. Freshpet has the right, in its sole discretion, to maintain the integrity of the Campaign, to void submissions for any reason, including, but not limited to: use of profanity, obscenity, pornography, promotional content for another product or service, political speech, hate speech, the use of bots, macros, scripts, or other technical means for submission. Any attempt by an entrant to deliberately damage any website or undermine the legitimate operation of the Campaign may be a violation of criminal and civil laws. Should such attempt be made, Freshpet reserves the right to seek damages to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Limitation of Liability:  By entering, You agree to release and hold harmless Freshpet and its subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising and promotion agencies, partners, representatives, agents, successors, assigns, employees, officers, and directors from any liability, illness, injury, death, loss, litigation, claim, or damage that may occur, directly or indirectly, whether caused by negligence or not, from: (i) such entrant’s participation in the Campaign and/or his/her acceptance, possession, use, or misuse of any prize or any portion thereof; (ii) technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to the malfunction of any computer, cable, network, hardware, or software, or other mechanical equipment; (iii) the unavailability or inaccessibility of any transmissions, telephone, or Internet service; (iv) unauthorized human intervention in any part of the entry process or the Campaign; (v) electronic or human error in the administration of the Campaign or the processing of entries.

Disputes: THIS Campaign IS GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY, WITHOUT RESPECT TO CONFLICT OF LAW DOCTRINES. As a condition of participating in this Campaign, participant agrees that any and all disputes that cannot be resolved between the parties, and causes of action arising out of or connected with this Campaign, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action, exclusively before a court located in New Jersey having jurisdiction. Further, in any such dispute, under no circumstances shall participant be permitted to obtain awards for, and hereby waives all rights to, punitive, incidental, or consequential damages, including reasonable attorney’s fees, other than participant’s actual out-of-pocket expenses (i.e. costs associated with entering this Campaign). Participant further waives all rights to have damages multiplied or increased.

Privacy Policy: Information submitted with an entry is subject to the Privacy Policy stated on the Freshpet.com website. To read the Privacy Policy, visit https://legal.freshpet.com/privacy-policy/.

Winners List: To obtain a copy of the Winner’s name or a copy of these Official Rules, mail your request along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope to:

Freshpet

ATTN: Digital Team

400 Plaza Drive

Secaucus, NJ 07094

Requests must be received no later than November 1, 2022 at 5p EST.

Sponsor: The Sponsor of the Campaign is Freshpet:

Freshpet

400 Plaza Drive

Secaucus, NJ 07094


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