The lead: a ballot box with whiskers

The Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire and Great North Aleworks are running their 2026 Paw Prints Beer Label Contest through August 3. The premise is cheerfully direct: a pet owner submits one pet photo and a $10 donation, tells the animal’s story, and then recruits the public to vote. Each vote is a $1 donation to the rescue league.

The organization says all pets are eligible this year, which means the contest’s democratic ideal is broad enough to include the household celebrity who naps hardest, sheds most, or has perfected the look of a person who pays rent. The three top vote-getters will receive individual 1-pint cans bearing their images; a tie goes to three Animal Rescue League-selected judges. Winners also receive a four-pack that includes their pet’s can and one featuring a current shelter animal or alum.

That makes this a fundraiser with an unusually good elevator pitch: your pet may become a limited-edition beer-can face, and the voting helps the organization’s animal-welfare work. The contest is active on July 24, squarely inside its July 6–August 3 voting window. Read the Animal Rescue League’s event details and its Paw Prints contest page.

Small funny things worth knowing today

• Go Fish Friday: At Abbott Lake on Virginia’s Blue Ridge Parkway, a free ranger program is scheduled for July 24 with knot-tying, fish identification, and time to practice with supplied fishing gear. Adults 16 and older need a valid North Carolina or Virginia fishing license. National Park Service details.

From around the network

• Hilarious News: Vicksburg’s Visitor Center Had a Camel on the Roster — a separate historical-living-history feature, not today’s pet-label story.
• Weird News: The Mechanical Turk — a look at the chess machine that concealed a human operator.
• FunnyNews.lol: The Lost Sock Agency — clearly labeled satire from our fictional comic desk, not a factual brief.

Sources: Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire; National Park Service. This edition was independently reported from the linked public sources.