Prepare to have your day brightened! The Comedy Pet Photo Awards has unveiled the top finalist images for this year and they are nothing short of sensational. As a testament to the hilarious and diverse antics of our beloved pets, this year’s collection includes a victorious cat, a dog impersonating Zorro, a soccer-loving feline ready to strike a free kick, and a dog sweetly embracing an orangutan.
The comedic pet photo competition is the brainchild of professional photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam. The duo created this award to celebrate the essential and positive role that pets play in our lives, as well as to foster a broader conversation about animal welfare.
After a hard-fought contest, only 25 images now remain in the running. These shortlisted entries are currently under the discerning eye of a panel of judges, all of whom are seasoned animal lovers. The panel comprises TV presenter, conservationist, and animal enthusiast Kate Humble, TV presenter and comedian Mel Geidroyc, TV vet and animal welfare advocate Emma Milne, and professional pet photographer Elke Vogelsang.
The suspense will finally break on the 11th of August, when the winners of the 2023 Comedy Pet Awards will be announced. However, the excitement doesn’t stop there!
Tom Sullam, the co-founder of the Comedy Pet Awards, said, “Once again we have been treated to some really funny entries in the competition, and such a wide range of animals this year from ferrets to tortoises to donkeys as well as hundreds of hilarious cats and dogs. The job is now on to find the Overall Winner of Comedy Pets 2023 and of course, the People’s Choice Award winner where everyone can get involved.”
For all those eager to join the fun, there’s the opportunity to cast your vote for the People’s Choice Award. To learn how to vote for your favourite finalist, visit the Comedy Pet Photo Awards website at www.comedypetphoto.com. The choice is yours, so get involved and let’s celebrate the joy that our furry friends bring to our lives!
View all the images below. Click on the image to enlarge.
My face when my crush says “Hi”
Kerstin Ordelt, Hagenberg (4232), Austria
Description: We tried to get a dreamy autumn photo of Milo – instead of lying a bit on his side he rolled around like crazy. His family loves this shot because it shows his personality better than any other picture
Animal: Milo (Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever)
Location of shot: Austria
Who are you?
Udo Krauss, Lichtenfels, Germany
Description: Our cat Lilly played with a mouse, we saved the mouse an our dog Amy was fascinated by the mouse
Animal: Rhodesian Ridgeback, mouse
Location of shot: Germany, Bavaria, Lichtenfelsd
Edgar’s Dandelion
Jonathan Casey, Wymondham, United Kingdom
Description: Beautiful Edgar’s favourite food are the leaves and flowers of dandelions. Here she is seen taking her time to savour the flavour.
Animal: Edgar (Mediterranean spur thighed tortoise)
Location of shot: Wymondham, Norfolk, UK
Is it a seal or a dog?
Thaís Ferreira, Brasília, Brazil
Description: There’s a hiding place under the sofa where Louis (the dog) likes to hide, that day I took his tennis ball from “his place”, he got angry and put his head out through the hole barking asking for his ball back, that’s when he turned into this angry seal, and I decided to register the moment.
Animal: The dog
Location of shot: Brasília, Brazil
Little Daisy and her big future
Darya Zelentsova, Amherst, United States
Description: Two sisters from different litters: self-confident Crystal and cute baby Daisy
Animal: 2 rottweilers
Location of shot: Amherst, MA
A lovely couple
Lana Polyakova, St.Petersburg, Russian Federation
Title: A lovely couple
Description: I couldn’t get past this couple!
Animal: Dog
Location of shot: EXPOforum, Russia
Zorro Reborn
Karl Goldhamer, Büdelsdorf, Germany
Title: Zorro reborn
Description: The avenger of the poor is back, but this time as a dog and not on a horse, but in a car! The obligatory black mask is a must, of course.
Animal: Labrador
Location of shot: Fahrdorf, Germany
Ball Play Silhouette
Christine Johnson, Warrington, United Kingdom
Title: Ball Play Silhouette
Description: Bobby reaching for the ball against a beautiful sunset. We were taking photos of Bobby as the sun was quickly setting and disappearing behind the hill. I was changing the setting on my camera, to keep the detail on a black dog against a nice sky and soon realised, just go with the simple option and shoot him as a silhouette.
Animal: Bobby
Location of shot: Sandymoor
Pop up
Kazutoshi Ono, Miyagi Sendai, Japan
Title: Pop up
Description: He seems to pop out of the autumn leaves, doesn’t he?
Animal: my rescued cat
Location of shot: my house
Keep your eye on the ball
Gill Woodcock, Chorley, United Kingdom
Title: Keep your eye on the ball
Description: Bumble puts his heart and soul into everything‚ it just doesn’t always work out
Animal: Dog (BumbleB)
Location of shot: Ormskirk
Bidule as goalkeeper!
Felix Larcher, Alboussiere, France
Title: Bidule as goalkeeper!
Description: We ware playing with our cat named Bidule, with a ballpaper !
Animal: Our cat
Location of shot: At home in Ardeche
Oscar!
Lana Polyakova, St.Petersburg, Russian Federation
Title: Oscar!
Description: Yes, his name is Oscar. He is an Afghan greyhound and is very pleased with himself
Animal: Dog
Location of shot: Studio, Russia
The First Outdoor Walk
Darya Zelentsova, Amherst, United States
Title: The first outdoor walk
Description: Tiny happy ferret Boudicca (only 2.5 month old!) enjoys her first outdoor walk.
Animal: Boudicca The Ferret
Location of shot: Amherst, MA
So this is the source of happiness.
Corinna Mooser, Dübendorf ZH, Switzerland
Title: So this is the source of happiness.
Description: That explains so much 😀 (Don’t worry, it’s just regular hemp for industry)
Animal: Runa
Location of shot: Dübendorf, Zürich
Football free kick
Kenichi Morinaga, Fukuoka, Japan
Title: Football free kick
Description: football and waiting for free kick.
Animal: cat
Location of shot: Fukuoka Japan
The 498th round of Hide and Seek was getting a bit old…
Kim Horstmanshof, Ashford, Surrey, United Kingdom
Title: The 498th round of Hide and Seek was getting a bit old…
Description: Misty the spaniel desperately wanted to play with Nala, the dignified older lady of the menagerie. She wasn’t that keen, fortunately Misty was pretty terrible at hide and seek
Animal: Nala the cat accompanied by Misty the dog
Location of shot: Orchard in Herefordshire
Albert Einstein
Masayoshi Yamamoto, Osaka, Japan
Title: Albert Einstein
Description: He sticked out his tongue at me as famous Einstein’s photo.
Animal: cat
Location of shot: kagawa,japan
The three Greys
Klaus-Peter Selzer, 66763 Dillingen, Germany
Title: The three Greys
Description: Karin and her two dogs. Don’t they all look almost the same? …
Animal: Afghan Windhounds
Location of shot: Landstuhl, Germany
Victory
Kazutoshi Ono, Miyagi Sendai, Japan
Title: Victory
Description: Perfect landing pose, right?
Animal: my rescued cat
Location of shot: my house
When digging a hole gets serious
Sophie Boynton, Hull, United Kingdom
Title: When digging a hole gets serious
Description: Shadow was digging holes as normal at the beach, when all of a sudden he was showing off his new technique! Luckily the camera was at the ready for this crazy position!
Animal: Dog
Location of shot: Hemsby beach
Kylian’s Sleep
Katia Pillonel, ILHAVO, Portugal
Title: Kylian’s sleep
Description: Kylian could not sleep in another bed. Maybe he dreamt of jungle…
Animal: Kylian, Irish Terrier
Location of shot: Geneva, Switzerland
The big Boss.
Kenichi Morinaga, Fukuoka, Japan
Title: The big Boss.
Description: Big Boss is the Boss around here.He is gentle and kindness just big.
Animal: cat
Location of shot: Fukuoka Japan
Barking!
Chris Porsz, PETERBOROUGH, United Kingdom
Title: Barking!
Description: In March 2019 I was sat in the Union Sq New York dog run when I spotted a lady with a pink bag on her hand ( to keep her hand clean) throwing a ball to her dog which was sat down facing her. The dog then launched itself and flipped in mid air to face me and snap! As you can see the lady with her hand on her head was as surprised as me and I think she is saying phew! I have searched in vain via the NY media to find the owner so that I can send her a copy. No joy so I am hoping this Pet Comedy competition can help me find the mystery woman and her leaping dog. You never know!
Animal: Border Collie
Location of shot: Union Sq, New York
A life changing event
Michel Zoghzoghi, Beirut, Lebanon
Title: A life changing event
Description: Alex and Max are two rescued kittens. Alex is the shy one. Max is the playful one. Together they form a lethally cute duo. I had more fun taking photos of these two than during my most adventurous wildlife photography trips.
Animal: cats
Location of shot: Lebanon
Flying Poodle
John Young, School Aycliffe, United Kingdom
Title: Flying Poodle
Description: This is Barney our toy poodle, caught mid-flight whilst running.
Animal: Toy Poodle
Location of shot: Aycliffe, County Durham, England.
