The Hunt for the Worst Dog in America: Official Rules

Posted November 9, 2026.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A PURCHASE WILL NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. THIS IS A CONTEST OF SKILL. WINNERS ARE CHOSEN BY JUDGES ON THE CRITERIA BELOW, NOT BY CHANCE. OPEN ONLY TO LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES (EXCLUDING ALASKA, HAWAII, MICHIGAN, NEW HAMPSHIRE AND VERMONT) WHO ARE 18 OR OLDER AND THE AGE OF MAJORITY IN THEIR STATE. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED OR RESTRICTED BY LAW.

1. Sponsor

HumanFood, LLC, a Virginia limited liability company, 2409 Park Ave, Richmond, VA 23220 ("Sponsor," "HumanFood," "we"). Questions: givemebackmysock@humanfood.co. The "Bureau of Bad Dogs" and the "Bureau" are names Sponsor uses for itself in this Contest.

2. The Contest

"The Hunt for the Worst Dog in America" (the "Contest") is a judged contest to find the best-documented case of everyday bad behavior by a pet dog. It rewards trouble, not danger. Behavior that injured or endangered a person or an animal does not qualify (Section 6).

3. Contest Period

The Contest starts when these Official Rules are posted at humanfood.co/hunt on November 9, 2026 and ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 17, 2027 (the "Entry Period"). Sponsor's computer is the official clock. Entries received before these rules were posted, including dogs filed in the Census of Bad Dogs before November 9, 2026, are not entries unless the pet parent confirms the entry during the Entry Period as Sponsor invites them to.

4. Who can enter

You can enter if, when you enter, you are a legal resident of one of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia, excluding Alaska, Hawaii, Michigan, New Hampshire and Vermont, and you are 18 or older and the age of majority in your state. You must own the dog you enter, or be its primary caretaker with the pet parent's permission, and the dog must live with you at a US address in an eligible state.

Not eligible: employees, officers, members and contractors of Sponsor; of its manufacturers, fulfillment providers, advertising and promotion agencies and judges; and the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings, children) and household members of any of them.

Sponsor may verify eligibility at any time and may ask for proof of age, residence and ownership of the dog. Anyone who can't provide it within 7 days of the request is disqualified.

5. How to enter

Go to humanfood.co/hunt (or use the entry form on humanfood.co during the Entry Period), give your email address and complete the dog's file: the dog's name, your state and city, a written description of the dog's offense, and a photo of the dog. Video is optional. Then submit. When you submit, you agree to these Official Rules.

• One entry per dog. You may enter more than one dog you own; each dog needs its own file. If a dog is entered more than once, Sponsor may count only the first complete entry.
• No entry fee and no purchase. Buying HumanFood does not help an entry, and not buying does not hurt it.
• Entries must be complete and received during the Entry Period. Late, incomplete, illegible, corrupted, automated or bulk entries, and entries made through any agent, script or third-party service, are void.
• An entry belongs to the authorized account holder of the email address submitted. Sponsor isn't responsible for entries that are lost, delayed or not received for any technical reason.
• Entering adds your email to HumanFood's email list. You can unsubscribe at any time with the link in any email; unsubscribing does not withdraw your entry.

6. What an entry can and can't contain

Your entry (the written offense, photos, video, dog's name and any other material, together the "Entry Materials") must:

1. Be your own original work, true, and about your own dog. Photos and video must be real. No AI-generated or AI-altered images or video, no edited composites, and no staged or reenacted offenses.
2. Show nothing that injured or put at risk a person or an animal: no bites, attacks, fights, injuries, poisonings, toxic foods, choking hazards, dangerous stunts or animal cruelty. Never encourage, cause or allow a dog to do anything unsafe to create an entry. A dog eating something harmful is not a qualifying offense.
3. Not show any person who hasn't given permission to appear, any child, or any other identifiable person's home or property without permission.
4. Not contain nudity, profanity, hate speech, illegal activity, third-party logos, brand names or trademarks (other than HumanFood), copyrighted music or material, or anything defamatory or invasive of anyone's privacy.
5. Not have been entered in any other contest or used commercially.

Sponsor may screen, reject or disqualify any entry, at any time and in its sole discretion, that it believes breaks these rules, is unsafe, is staged or fake, or is inconsistent with the spirit of the Contest. Sponsor isn't obligated to publish or use any entry.

7. How winners are chosen

Winners are chosen by a panel of judges selected by Sponsor (the "Bureau"). The judges review every eligible entry.

Judging criteria:

Rounds:

1. The Lineup. After the Entry Period ends, the judges score every eligible entry and select 16 finalists, 4 from each region in Section 8 (if a region has fewer than 4 eligible entries of sufficient quality, the judges may fill its places from other regions).
2. The bracket. The 16 finalists are paired in head-to-head matchups over four rounds. Sponsor may post matchups on Instagram (@feedhumanfood) with a poll. Poll results are one input the judges may consider; they do not decide any matchup. The judges decide each matchup on the criteria above. Sponsor may disregard any poll it believes was affected by bots, purchased votes, multiple accounts or any other manipulation, and may disqualify an entry that benefited from it.
3. The Final Four are the four dogs that win the second round. The third round picks two finalists, and the Worst Dog in America is the winner of the final.

In a tie, the entry with the higher score for "the offense" wins; if still tied, the judges vote. The judges' decisions are final and binding on all matters relating to the Contest.

Sponsor plans to announce the Lineup on or about January 26, 2027 and the Worst Dog in America on or about February 12, 2027. Sponsor may change these dates.

8. Regions

• Northeast: CT, ME, MA, NJ, NY, PA, RI
• Midwest: IL, IN, IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, WI
• South: AL, AR, DE, DC, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA, WV
• West: AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, NM, OR, UT, WA, WY

9. Prizes

Worst Dog in America (1 winner):

• Food for life. One 22 lb bag of HumanFood dog food a month, for the rest of the winning dog's life, up to a maximum of 20 years (240 bags), shipped free to the winner's address in an eligible state. The winner chooses the recipe from those Sponsor then offers, subject to availability, and may change recipe or bag size (at the equivalent quantity) by asking Sponsor. Approximate retail value (ARV): up to $21,597.60 ($89.99 a bag × 240). Actual value depends on the dog's lifespan.
• The billboard. The winning dog's WANTED poster displayed on one billboard (static or digital, at Sponsor's choice) in or near the winner's city for at least 7 consecutive days. ARV $2,500.
• A trophy. ARV $50.

Final Four (3 winners, the Final Four dogs other than the Worst Dog in America): one 22 lb bag of HumanFood a month for 6 months and a framed WANTED poster. ARV $579.94 each.

The Lineup (12 winners, the Lineup dogs not in the Final Four): one 22 lb bag of HumanFood and an engraved WANTED dog tag. ARV $109.99 each.

Total ARV of all prizes: up to $27,207.30. Each dog can win only one prize tier, the highest it reaches. Every eligible entry also receives a digital (C)RAP Sheet when it is filed; it is not a prize and has no value.

Prize conditions:

1. Food deliveries start within 60 days of the winner returning the documents in Section 10, ship roughly every 4 to 5 weeks, and go only to a single US address in a state Sponsor then ships to. The food prize is for the winning dog only. It is not transferable to another dog or person and has no cash value.
2. The food prize ends on the earliest of: the winning dog's death; 240 bags delivered; the winner asking to stop; the winner not confirming, within 30 days of Sponsor's once-a-year email, that the dog is alive and still lives with them; the winner moving to an address Sponsor can't ship to; or the winner refusing or failing to accept deliveries for 3 months in a row. Undelivered bags have no cash value.
3. If Sponsor stops making dog food, Sponsor may, at its option, substitute a comparable dog food or pay the winner a cash amount equal to the retail value of the remaining bags in the current year of the prize, after which the food prize ends.
4. The billboard: Sponsor designs the poster using the winning entry and decides the location, format, size, timing and duration within the period above. Billboard placement depends on availability, the media owner's approval and local laws. If a billboard can't be placed in or near the winner's city, Sponsor may place it in the nearest available market, use a digital billboard, or substitute a prize of equal or greater value.
5. Prizes are awarded as described, with no substitution, cash equivalent or transfer, except at Sponsor's discretion. Sponsor may substitute a prize or prize component of equal or greater value if a prize can't be awarded as described. Any difference between the ARV and actual value will not be awarded.
6. Taxes on any prize are the winner's responsibility. Sponsor will issue a Form 1099 to any winner who receives prizes worth $600 or more in a year, and the winner must provide a completed Form W-9 first.
7. Feeding is the pet parent's responsibility. Transition any dog to a new food over about 7 days, follow the feeding guide on the bag, and ask your veterinarian about any dog with a medical condition or special diet. Sponsor makes no promise that any dog will eat, like or do well on any food.

10. Winner notification

Potential winners are notified by email (and may also be contacted by Instagram message) and must reply within 5 business days. Each potential winner must sign and return, within 7 days of receiving them, an Affidavit of Eligibility, a Liability Release and, where lawful, a Publicity Release, and must provide a W-9 if required. If a potential winner doesn't reply or return the documents in time, can't be reached, is found ineligible, or declines the prize, the prize is forfeited and Sponsor may award it to the next-highest scoring eligible entry. A dog that dies before the winner is confirmed may still be named, but the food prize does not start.

11. Rights in your entry

You keep ownership of your Entry Materials. By entering, you give Sponsor and anyone it authorizes a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license, for 3 years from the end of the Entry Period, to use, reproduce, edit (for length, format and clarity), display and publish your Entry Materials, your dog's name and your first name, city and state, in any media, to run, judge, announce and promote the Contest, including in Contest advertising, social media posts, the bracket, the WANTED posters and the billboard. You won't be paid for this use.

Use in HumanFood's general product advertising, beyond the Contest, needs your separate permission (the "You can feature my dog" box on the entry form, or a later written release).

You confirm that you own or have permission to use everything in your entry, that it follows Section 6, and that Sponsor's use of it as described won't infringe anyone's rights. You agree to indemnify Sponsor against any claim that your Entry Materials infringe or violate anyone's rights.

12. Publicity

Except where prohibited, accepting a prize means agreeing that Sponsor may use the winner's name, likeness, voice, city and state, dog's name and image, and statements about the Contest, in any media for advertising and promotion, without further pay or permission. Winners agree to reasonable participation in the prize delivery, including photography and filming, at a time agreed with Sponsor.

13. Releases and limits of liability

By entering, you release and hold harmless Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, manufacturers, fulfillment providers, advertising and promotion agencies, judges, and Meta Platforms, Inc. and Instagram, and the officers, members, employees and agents of each (the "Released Parties"), from any claim, injury, loss or damage of any kind to people (including death), pets or property arising out of or related to entering or participating in the Contest, any behavior of your dog, the creation of your entry, or the receipt, use or misuse of any prize.

The Released Parties are not responsible for: incorrect or inaccurate entry information; technical failures of any kind (including website, network, email, hardware or software failures); unauthorized human intervention in any part of the Contest; printing, typographical or other errors in these rules or any Contest materials; or any injury or damage to any person's computer or device related to the Contest.

To the fullest extent the law allows, the Released Parties' total liability to any entrant for anything related to the Contest is limited to the entrant's actual out-of-pocket costs of entering (if any), and in no event includes attorneys' fees or indirect, incidental, consequential, special or punitive damages.

14. Disqualification, changes and cancellation

Sponsor may disqualify anyone who tampers with the entry process or the Contest, breaks these rules, enters with false information or multiple identities, manipulates any poll, or acts in an unsportsmanlike, disruptive, abusive or threatening way toward anyone, including in comments on Sponsor's posts. Any attempt to deliberately damage a website or undermine the Contest may break the law, and Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages to the fullest extent of the law.

If the Contest can't run as planned because of fraud, technical failure, a virus, a bug, an act of God, a change in law or any other cause beyond Sponsor's reasonable control that affects its administration, security, fairness or proper conduct, Sponsor may cancel, suspend or modify the Contest. If it is cancelled, Sponsor may judge the eligible entries received before the problem and award prizes from among them. Sponsor may correct typographical, printing or other errors in these rules and may amend them by posting the change at humanfood.co/hunt; changes will not materially reduce the prizes after the Entry Period begins.

15. Disputes

These Official Rules are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any dispute arising out of or related to the Contest will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, not in court, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court. Claims may be brought only individually, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective or representative proceeding. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this section. If this arbitration agreement is found unenforceable, any court proceeding will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Richmond, Virginia, and you consent to their jurisdiction. All claims are resolved individually, without any form of class action.

16. Privacy

Information collected in the Contest is used to run it, to notify and deliver prizes, and as described in HumanFood's Privacy Policy at humanfood.co/policies/privacy-policy. Entering adds you to HumanFood's email list (Section 5).

17. Not Instagram's contest

The Contest is not sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Instagram, Facebook or Meta Platforms, Inc. You provide your information to Sponsor, not to Meta.

18. Winners list

For the names of the winners, available after February 28, 2027, email givemebackmysock@humanfood.co with the subject "Hunt winners," or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to HumanFood, LLC, Hunt Winners, 2409 Park Ave, Richmond, VA 23220, received by May 31, 2027. Sponsor will also post the winning dogs at humanfood.co/hunt.