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Some photography competitions are pretty serious, some can be light-hearted, yet serious, and some, like the Comedy Pet Photography Awards, are just pure joy. The gallery of pet photo finalists has just been announced and we thought we’d do something a little bit different: pretend to be the judges. 

So, with only a little more ado, let’s have a look at Popular Photography’s completely unofficial winners of the 2021 Comedy Pet Photography Awards. While the real competition gives away £2,000 (that’s about $2,700) to the overall winner, we can’t even hand out bragging rights. 

Categories

The Comedy Pet Photography Awards have five self-explanatory categories:

  • Dogs: Our Best Friends
  • Cats: Our Fabulous Feline Friends
  • The Mighty Horse
  • All Other Creatures Great and Small
  • Pets Who Look Like Their Owners

There’s also a Junior category for those under 16 and an “Awesome Video Clip of Your Pet” category, but we’re going to focus on the five big ones. For each, we’re going to pull out a winner and a second image that we highly commended. (We’re not going to pick an overall winner, instead, we’re hedging our bets that one of the photos we choose from the 40 finalists will win!)

Dogs, pups, and bowsers 

Choosing the best dog photo is like choosing the best dog: a nearly impossible decision we don’t want to make. But, alas, in the name of competition, we must. 

An entry from the 2021 Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards
There were a lot of great dog photos, but this one would be our pick for category winner. Diana Jill Mehner/Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards

Our Dogs category winner is Diana Jill Mehner with this ridiculous photo of her dog playing in the autumn leaves. 

An entry from the 2021 Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards
‘Where’s the ball?!” Christine Johnson/Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards

The runner-up goes to Christine Johnson for her shot of her mighty pooch elegantly missing the ball. 

Cats, kittens and wannabe killers

Most cats probably don’t need or want the validation of being an “Award Winning Pet Model” (they all just consider it their due), but for the few that do, we’ve got some prizes to give out. 

An entry from the 2021 Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards
Are these cats to be trusted? Kathryn Trott/Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards

Kathryn Trott takes the top spot for her shot of these two ferocious felines. We don’t know if they’re laughing or planning murder (we suspect Kathryn doesn’t either).

Kenichi Morinaga/Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards
“Paint me like one of your French girls/boys.” An entry from the 2021 Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards

And our runner-up is Kenichi Morinaga for this photo of a beast in seemingly seductive repose. 

Horses off courses

With only three horse photos listed among the finalists, we feel this category is a bit of a gimme. Still, we can only pick two. 

An entry from the 2021 Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards
Can you say, big-time cheesing? Jakub Gojda/Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards

So, in first place, we have Jakub Gojda (we feel this shot also would have had a chance in the “Pets Who Look Like Their Owners” category, too).

An entry from the 2021 Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards
Pure elegance. David Poznanter/Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards

And the runner-up is David Poznanter for his photo of this elegant steed. The personality really just shows through. 

Best of the rest

While calling cows, sheep, and chickens “pets” might be stretching the dictionary definition of things for “city folk”, they all still have a place in our hearts—and our competition. 

An entry from the 2021 Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards
That’s one looooong cow. Pier Luigi Dodi/Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards

Our first place in the All Other Creatures Great and Small category goes to Pier Luigi Dodi for his photo of his extra-long cow. Can you imagine how much milk it produces? 

An entry from the 2021 Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards
Bringing up the rear, our choice for second place in the “Other Creatures” category is this cheeky shot. Robert Moore/Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards

And, since butts are never not funny, Robert Moore gets the runner-up trophy. 

Double vision

We’re sure you’ve noticed that many pets look like their owners—and someone with a photo to prove it is about to get an award. 

An entry from the 2021 Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards
I wonder how they sound? Luke O’Brien/Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards

We think Luke O’Brien (on banjo) and his dog (vocals) have the closest resemblance—and perhaps also the hatred of their neighbors. 

An entry from the 2021 Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards
Do they go to the same hairdresser?? Ken Whalley/Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards

And the runner-up is Ken Whalley for his photo of a pair of long-haired blondes. 

How to enter next year

If you have an entertaining pet and want a chance to win £2,000 next year, keep an eye on the Comedy Pet Photography Awards website. The competition for next year hasn’t been announced yet, but all the details will be posted there first. 

For what it’s worth, the deadline for entrants was August this year. It cost £5 to enter five photos or £10 to enter 15.