Jenny McCarthy co-hosted a pet competition that raised over $8 million to help complete a 25-acre wildlife rehabilitation centre in Washington | World News
Every year, millions of pet owners treat their dogs and cats as family, and one national campaign turned that devotion into rescue funding. America’s Favourite Pet, hosted by animal advocates Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg, invited the public to vote for animals online while raising money for a Washington-based nonprofit that rescues domestic animals and heals injured wildlife. The 2026 edition continued that mission, supporting an organisation whose newest facility is a twenty-five-acre wildlife rehabilitation centre. This article explains how the competition worked, where the donations went, what the funds ultimately built, and how ordinary pet owners took part nationwide.
How the America’s Favourite Pet 2026 online voting competition works for dog and cat owners nationwide
America’s Favourite Pet is an annual online competition organised by Colossal, a professional fundraising organisation, according to the company’s November 2025 news release. In 2026, dog and cat owners registered one companion per household by uploading a photo, then asked family, friends and social media followers to vote. Each voter received one free vote every twenty-four hours, and additional votes cost one dollar each, with that money directed to the beneficiary. Registration was open through January 12, 2026. The prize for winners was a $10,000 cash award and a cover feature in Modern Cat or Modern Dog magazine. Celebrity hosts Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg, both described by Colossal as devoted animal advocates, lent their voices to the campaign, although the Marblehead Current described the pair as its organisers.
Where the money goes, rescuing domestic animals and rehabilitating injured wildlife in Washington State
Money raised through the competition benefited the Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), a Washington-based nonprofit that rescues, rehabilitates and re-homes domestic animals and wildlife, according to Colossal. The Marblehead Current reported that the organisation rehabilitates orphaned and injured wildlife and shelters homeless cats and dogs. The nonprofit’s chief executive officer, Heidi Wills, told supporters in the Colossal announcement that the campaign had helped the organisation rescue emaciated dogs from a hoarding situation, care for animals displaced by natural disasters, and meet urgent needs of countless cats, dogs and more than one hundred fifty species of wildlife. Colossal explained that it raised the funds through a public charity grantmaker that passed the money to the chosen beneficiary once each competition ended. That structure linked paid votes to rescue work.
Inside the twenty-five-acre wildlife rehabilitation centre that campaign fundraising helped complete
The clearest tangible result of the fundraising was a twenty-five-acre wildlife rehabilitation centre in Washington State. Colossal’s news release said the 2025 competition generated more than $8 million and that those funds supported the completion of the new facility. The same money, the release added, expanded educational programmes that reached more than 4,000 students nationwide. The centre sits within a broader mission; the Marblehead Current reported that the nonprofit rehabilitates orphaned and injured wildlife, while Wills told supporters the campaign’s support reached more than one hundred fifty wildlife species. The 2026 competition carried that work forward. The official America’s Favourite Pet website names two winners: Rockefeller, a nine-year-old Morkie from New York City who loves Central Park walks and games of fetch, and Sammy, a Ragdoll cat who enjoys sunbathing and turning everyday objects into miniature hockey games. The winning dog and cat appear on the covers of Modern Dog and Modern Cat magazines, where their owners share life with their companions. Neither report described the centre’s layout, enclosures or animal capacity, so readers wanting those details should contact the organisation directly.
America’s Favourite Pet 2026 winners Rockefeller and Sammy (Image: AmericasFavPet)
More than twenty-two million dollars raised for animal rescue and wildlife care
Colossal said America’s Favourite Pet had raised more than $22 million for the Washington-based nonprofit and was entering its sixth year when 2026 registration opened. In 2025 alone, the campaign generated more than $8 million, the news release stated, which funded care for thousands of domestic pets and injured wildlife. Wills credited the competition with allowing the organisation to answer urgent calls, from hoarding rescues to disaster response, as she told supporters in the announcement. Colossal also framed the project as a model for pet lovers and brands that wanted to combine passion with purpose, arguing that digital campaigns could deliver tangible results. The competition’s official website shows the total has since grown: its beneficiary section says Colossal has raised over $29 million, while the homepage headline cites more than $7.5 million without explaining how that figure is measured. The 2026 edition, hosted by Jenny McCarthy and Donnie Wahlberg, also recognised six runners-up: the dogs Betsy, Fendi Bell and James Dean and the cats Mr Midge, Asia and Jill. Sponsors Crown & Paw and Love, Nala supplied prizes, treats and surprises to competitors. Readers should note that Colossal is a professional fundraiser and that its figures came from its own announcement and website, so cautious donors may wish to review how the funds were granted.
How local pet owners like Lolo the Labrador mix are rallying neighbours and supporters to vote and give
Behind the national numbers were local owners such as Leah Goodman of Marblehead, Massachusetts, whose lab mix Lolo reached the quarterfinals. “She just gives so much love,” Goodman said when asked why her dog should win. Goodman also told the publication the contest was a fun project that gave back to a good cause. Lolo was born in Georgia, arrived at the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem and was adopted at eight weeks old, according to the report. Quarterfinal voting stayed open until midnight Eastern time on February 27, and votes cast on February 18 counted twice. Future entrants can follow the same path, register a pet, share the voting link, and give a free daily vote or a one-dollar donation vote.
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