'GMA' 'Dog Gone Scary' Contest -- Official Rules

— -- Halloween isn't just for humans anymore! Think your dog has the best Halloween costume? Now's your chance to prove it! To enter, send "Good Morning America" a photo of your dog in her or his best Halloween costume alongside YOU! Submissions are due by 5 p.m. ET on Friday, October 24, 2014. *No purchase necessary. Some restrictions apply, including age eligibility. See official rules for complete details below. CLICK HERE TO VISIT THE ENTRY PAGE.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN.

Eligibility Guidelines:

Entrants (“Entrants”) must be legal residents of the 48 contiguous United States or the District of Columbia and 18 years of age or older. If chosen as the Winner (“Winner”), you and your dog must be available to travel to New York City and appear on “Good Morning America” on or about October 30 - October 31, 2014.

Contest sponsored by Good Morning America ("Show") and American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. ("Sponsor").

Any individuals (including but not limited to employees, consultants, independent contractors, and interns) who have, within the past six months, performed services for Good Morning America ("GMA"), American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. ("ABC"), any organizations responsible for sponsoring, fulfilling, administering, advertising or promoting the Contest or supplying the prize, and their respective parent, subsidiary, affiliated and successor companies, and immediate family and household members of such individuals, are not eligible to enter or play. "Immediate family members" shall mean parents, step-parents, children, step-children, siblings, step-siblings, or spouses. "Household members" shall mean people who share the same residence at least three months a year.

Contest Entry Period: Good Morning America's "Dog Gone Scary" Contest (the "Contest") entry period begins 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time ("ET") on Tuesday, October 21, 2014 and ends at 5:00 p.m. ET on Friday, October 24, 2014 (the "Contest Period"). Sponsor computer is the official clock for this Contest.

How to Enter:

Send us a photo of your dog in his or her best Halloween costume. You must also be in the photo. Entrants must be the owners of the dogs whose photos they are submitting. Entrants must have full rights to use any photos submitted; photos may not be the protected works of another party; entries submitted with inappropriate or offensive photos will be immediately disqualified. Multiple entries per e-mail address are permitted.

During the Entry Period, you may enter by going to www.goodmorningamerica.com and completing and submitting an online entry form. There you will find instructions on the appropriate and acceptable file formats and sizes for submitting your entry electronically. Free internet access is available at most public libraries.

Judging Procedure, Notification and Semi-Finalists Judging:

Eligible entries will be judged by designated GMA staff on the basis of creativity, potential for on-air appeal, and compelling nature of the costume. Decisions of the judges are final as to all contest-related matters. Four (4) Semi-Finalists (“Semi-Finalists”) will be selected.

In the event of a tie, Entrants with the highest scores in the compelling nature of the costume category will be declared the Semi-Finalists. In the event that any of the Semi-Finalists or their dogs is deemed ineligible, fails to comply with Contest procedures, or is not available to participate as specified, then the first runner-up will be selected to participate, time permitting. Potential Semi-Finalists will be notified by phone on or about October 25, 2014. Failure to respond to notification within twenty-four (24) hours will result in selection of an alternate semi-finalist. Semi-Finalists may be asked to submit additional photos for which they have all rights; additional photos may not be the protected works of another party.

On Monday, October 27, 2014, photos of two (2) Semi-Finalists’ dogs in costume will be aired on “Good Morning America”. Viewers will be asked to vote for their favorite dog costume from that day. Voting is available on GoodMorningAmerica.com. Voting will run through 3 pm ET that day. On Tuesday, October 28, 2014, “Good Morning America” will announce which of those two (2) dogs’ costumes received the most votes, and the owner of that dog will be considered the first of two (2) Finalists (“Finalist”).

On Tuesday, October 28, 2014, photos of the other two (2) Semi-Finalists’ dogs in costume will be aired on “Good Morning America”. Viewers will be asked to vote for their favorite dog’s costume from that day. Voting is available on GoodMorningAmerica.com. Voting will run through 3 pm ET that day. On Wednesday, October 29, 2014, “Good Morning America” will announce which of those two (2) dogs’ costumes received the most votes, and the owner of that dog will be considered the second of two (2) Finalists (“Finalist”).

On Wednesday, October 29, 2014, photos of the two (2) Finalists’ dogs in costume will be aired on “Good Morning America”. Viewers will be asked for their favorite dog’s costume from that day. Voting is available on GoodMorningAmerica.com. Voting will run through 3 pm ET on Wednesday, October 29, 2014.

The Finalist whose dog’s costume received the most votes on Wednesday, October 29, 2014 will be declared the Grand Prize Winner. (“Winner”)

Prize:

The Winner and his or her dog will be asked to travel to New York City for the live broadcast of “Good Morning America” on Friday, October 31, 2014. The prize consists of roundtrip air travel for the Winner and his or her dog between a major airport closest to the Winner’s home and a New York City area airport, roundtrip ground transportation between the New York City area airport and the New York City hotel, and one night’s accommodation for the Winner and dog in a New York City hotel. If the Winner resides within 200 miles of New York City, ground transportation will be provided for the Winner and dog to and from New York City.

Winner must bring the same costume worn by the dog in the entry photo.

On Friday, October 31, 2014, the Winner, along with his or her dog in costume, will appear on the live broadcast of “Good Morning America” and will be announced as the Winner of the Contest.

The Winner is not entitled to exchange or transfer prizes or to obtain cash or other substitutes, but Sponsors, in their sole discretion, may substitute prizes of equal or greater value. Federal, state and local taxes, if any, are the sole responsibility of the Winner, who will receive an IRS Form 1099 reflecting the final actual value of any prize valued at $600 or more. All expenses not included in the prizing information above are the responsibility of the Winner. The approximate retail value of the prize is $2200.00. Actual retail value will vary, based on factors including the Winner’s hometown airport.

The portion of the prize that may consist of an appearance on Good Morning America is subject to availability. Sponsor is not responsible for cancellation or preemption of show or for other circumstances that make it impractical or impossible to fulfill this element of the prize. This element of the prize has no approximate retail value, and if it becomes impractical or impossible to fulfill this element, Sponsor's only obligation will be to provide the remainder of prize.

Releases:

By participating, Entrants agree to be bound by these official rules and the decisions of the Sponsor/Judges, which shall be final in all respects. By entering the Contest, Entrants agree to execute any and all paperwork requested by the Sponsor which may include, but is not limited to, a background check prior to any online or on air appearance of Entrant or Entrant's submission or related materials.

All submissions will become the sole property of ABC, which may reprint or otherwise exploit the entry in any manner, in any media. Entrant may be required to sign and return an affidavit of eligibility, release and indemnification within twenty-four (24) hours of notification of winning. By participating in this contest and accepting any prize that they may win, Entrants agree to release American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., its parent, subsidiary, affiliated and successor companies, advertising and promotion agencies and prize suppliers, and each of their respective officers, directors, agents, representatives and employees, as well as each of their respective successors, representatives and assigns (collectively, the "Released Parties") from any and all actions, claims, injury, loss or damage arising in any manner, directly or indirectly, from participation in this contest and/or acceptance or use of any prize.

Entrants authorize the Released Parties to use their name, voice, likeness, biographical data, city and state of residence and entry materials in programming or promotional material in any and all media currently in existence or hereafter created, worldwide in perpetuity, or on a Finalists’/Winner's list, if applicable, without further compensation unless prohibited by law. Sponsor is not obligated to use any of the above mentioned information or materials, but may do so and may edit such information or materials, at Sponsor's sole discretion, without further obligation or compensation.

By submitting entry materials, Entrants certify that such materials are original and created by entrant, that entrants have the necessary rights, permission and authority to submit such materials, and, if applicable, that Entrants maintain a valid copyright in the materials. Entrants acknowledge that such materials may be included and/or discussed in a broadcast, that such discussion may include statements or opinions by the broadcast talent or others about the Entrants, the Entrants' appearances and/or the materials, and that those statements and opinions may be considered surprising, humiliating, embarrassing, derogatory, defamatory or otherwise offensive or injurious to them, Sponsor's employees, its studio or at-home audience and/or other third parties. Entrants release the Released Parties from any actions, claims, injury, loss or damage allegedly caused, directly or indirectly, by any such statements or opinions made during a broadcast.

Sponsor is not responsible for failed, partial or garbled computer transmissions, or for technical failures of any kind, including but not limited to electronic malfunction or damage of any network, hardware or software. If for any reason the contest is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or other causes that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the contest, Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process, and to cancel, terminate, modify or suspend the contest. No responsibility is assumed for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, entries; or any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any e-mail or electronic entry to be received on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any Web-site, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to Entrant's or any other person's computer related to or resulting from participation in or downloading any materials from this contest. In the event of a dispute over an electronic entry, prize will be awarded to the owner of the e-mail account, not the name on the entry form.

To claim prize: (a) Winner must provide proof of age, identity and residency and (b) Winner must sign and return affidavit of eligibility/compliance with rules, publicity/liability release and indemnification.

Miscellaneous; Winner Posting:

Void where prohibited. All federal, state and local laws and regulations apply.

Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process and to cancel, terminate, modify and/or suspend the contest in the event of tampering or other circumstances, including but not limited to acts of God or civil disturbance that render it impractical or impossible to complete or fulfill the contest as originally planned.

Official rules will be posted on www.goodmorningamerica.com; For a Winner's list, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: “GMA’S DOG GONE SCARY” Contest, c/o ABC News, Room 616, 7 West 66th Street, New York, New York, 10023, by November 30, 2014.