How to Enter Pet Product Giveaways in Winston-Salem, North Carolina Without Scams

Winston-Salem pet owners can enter legitimate pet product giveaways by sticking to sponsor-run promotions with published official rules, and by refusing any request for payment to "release" a prize. The clearest sign of a safe giveaway is that it never asks for money, a gift card number, or your bank details before you can collect anything. National pet brands run sweepstakes that any North Carolina resident, including people in Winston-Salem, can enter for free.

Local contests exist too, but not all of them are giveaways — some charge an entry fee, and knowing the difference is the first scam-avoidance step. The rest comes down to recognizing the handful of tactics every prize scam repeats.

Verification note: Program terms and availability can change. This page was checked against linked sources on October 26, 2026.

What pet product giveaways can Winston-Salem residents actually enter?

Pet food maker I and love and you runs an ongoing sweepstakes at its own entry site that awards one winner a full year of pet food and treats, valued up to $400, in a quarterly drawing. The official rules require entrants to be 18 or older and U.S. residents, and state plainly that no purchase is necessary to enter, according to I and love and you's sweepstakes page.

Winston-Salem residents meet both conditions, so this is open to local entrants without any local restriction working against them. Chewy's U.S. Giveaway Sweepstakes is a useful second example because its official rules spell out exactly what a legitimate pet-brand giveaway looks like.

Entries must come from the 48 contiguous states or Washington, D.C. — North Carolina qualifies — and the rules confirm no purchase is needed to enter or win, and that making a purchase gives no advantage in the drawing, according to Chewy's official giveaway rules. Any pet giveaway worth entering should have rules that read this plainly: who's eligible, how winners are picked, and confirmation that buying something doesn't improve your odds.

Is every local pet contest a free giveaway?

Not always, and Winston-Salem has a good example of the distinction. Forsyth Humane Society, the city's own animal welfare organization, runs an annual "Pet Mayor" photo contest through an outside contest platform, with 2026 entries closing February 28, according to Forsyth Humane Society's contest page. This is a paid entry contest, not a no-cost product giveaway — entrants pay to submit a photo and the money typically supports the shelter's mission.

That distinction matters for scam-screening purposes. A paid entry fee to a named, reputable local nonprofit for a photo contest is a transparent transaction, not a prize-release fee. The red flag isn't paying to enter a contest you chose — it's being told, after the fact, that you have to pay to collect something you already supposedly won.

What does a real giveaway never ask you to do?

Federal regulators are specific about this. The Federal Trade Commission states that legitimate sweepstakes and lottery promotions never require winners to pay "insurance," "taxes," or "shipping and handling charges" to collect a prize, and that any such request is a sign of fraud, according to the FTC's guidance on prize scams. Being asked to wire money or read out gift-card numbers to someone claiming you've won is treated by the FTC as a near-certain indicator of fraud, no matter how official the caller sounds, according to the FTC's wiring-money warning.

Caller ID isn't proof either. The FTC has documented scammers spoofing caller ID to display a Washington, D.C. number or even the FTC's own name, and the agency notes that no real FTC employee ever calls asking for payment, according to the FTC's spoofing warning.

The Better Business Bureau adds a simple screening test that applies to any unsolicited prize message: a person cannot legitimately win a contest they never entered, so a surprise "you've won" notice for something you don't remember entering is itself a warning sign, according to BBB guidance reported by WTVM. These messages can arrive by phone, email, social media, text, or postal mail, and scammers sometimes borrow the name of a well-known national sweepstakes or a state lottery to sound credible, according to BBB Scam Tracker reporting.

What does North Carolina law say, and where can you report a problem?

North Carolina has its own rule on this exact tactic. The state's Department of Justice states that requiring upfront payment to release sweepstakes winnings is illegal in North Carolina, and that any caller demanding a fee for "taxes" or prize costs before releasing a prize is violating state law, according to the NC Department of Justice. The same guidance notes that a legitimate sweepstakes never asks for a Social Security number, bank account number, or card information just to confirm a win.

Winston-Salem residents who encounter this can act on it directly. The NC DOJ advises filing a complaint with the agency or calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM to report a suspected prize scam, according to the same NC DOJ guidance. Reporting matters even if no money changed hands — it helps the state track which tactics and callers are active.

A quick way to screen any pet giveaway before entering

Before entering, or before responding to a "you've won" message, run through this short check: A giveaway that fails any of the payment or identity-request checks above should be reported to the NC Department of Justice rather than answered.

• Does it have published official rules naming eligibility, odds, and a sponsor? Both I and love and you's and Chewy's sweepstakes do.
• Is any payment, "fee," or gift-card number requested to receive the prize? A real giveaway never asks for this.
• Did you actually enter? If you can't recall entering, you can't have legitimately won.
• Is the request arriving by an unexpected call, text, or social media message claiming urgency? Treat urgency as a reason to slow down, not speed up.
• Is the contest a nonprofit fundraiser with an open, transparent fee — like a shelter photo contest — rather than a secret fee to "unlock" a prize you weren't told about in advance?

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to live in Winston-Salem specifically to enter these pet giveaways?

No. I and love and you's sweepstakes requires U.S. residency and age 18+, and Chewy's requires residency in the 48 contiguous states or D.C.

— both cover any North Carolina address, including Winston-Salem, with no city-level restriction.

Is paying an entry fee for a local pet contest automatically a scam?

No. Forsyth Humane Society's annual photo contest charges an entry fee upfront and transparently, which is different from being told after a drawing that you must pay to collect a prize you already "won."

Who do I contact in North Carolina if I think I've been targeted by a fake prize claim?

The NC Department of Justice takes complaints and can be reached at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.