I don’t make the rules. But the entity who does—the Comedy Pet Photography Awards—has announced the winners of their annual competition. The competition released its finalists last month, and now some hard cuts have been made to anoint the 16 best of the bunch. Eight of the 16 are category winners, and the remaining eight are “highly commended” runners-up, according to a competition release. But enough prattle: check out the winners.
“Not Just For Cats”
This is the overall winner and the winner of the dog category. It’s funny because this canny canine insists on using a door supposedly reserved for cat use (note the branding above the flap). The dog may be a bit big for the door, but that’s not going to stop it from trying it out.
“Dancing Queen”
Pretty self-explanatory. This is a dog looking derpy in the air. It was one of the highly-commended images in the final selection.
“Peek-a-Boo”
Another highly-commended image, this one of a dog—or at least the top of one—poking out of a serious snowfall.
“Everybody Is Kung Fu Fighting”
A dog, apparently flailing in the snow. That is one acrobatic pet. For the sake of readability, I’m going to let you know now that all the images through slide 9 are highly commended. The ones following are category winners.
“Grumpy Dog”
This dog is not too pleased about what’s going on. Or at least it seems that way, based on its sneer. I used to make that face when my mom said there was broccoli for dinner.
“You Didn’t Hear This From Me But…”
Cats sometimes have tendencies one could describe as conspiratorial or conniving. They are clearly up to something. What, I know not. But it has me worried.
“I Believe I Can Fly”
A dog urgently bounding through the air. If I had hair like that, I’d want to flaunt it, too.
“Nosey Neighbours”
Cats, apparently on sentry duty. Someone’s got to monitor the goings-on of next-door.
“Kitty in the Kitchen”
Who hasn’t yearned to take a nap in a bowl. What? You haven’t? Oh, it’s because you’re not a cat. They love to do this kind of thing. Though I have an extra appreciation for this photo because it’s nicely framed.
“Tarzan”
This cat’s glee and boundless energy are flinging it through the air. If you’ve gotten this far, you’ve gotten to the category winners. This photo won the People’s Choice Award of the competition.
“The proud pup and his best friend”
This photo won the Pets Who Look Like Their Owners category. And I have to tell you, that may be true, but it’s not really a comedic photo, in my opinion. Still, great hair. On both.
“Tired Donkey”
This donkey, showing its pearly whites (and then some), was the winner of the Junior category in the competition.
“New Rose”
Who hasn’t wanted to eat a nice flower now and again? Here’s a tortoise doing just that, in a photo that won the competition’s All Other Creatures category.
“I think I Saw a Mouse”
Horses standing around aren’t that funny. A horse entirely airborne is objectively funnier. This photograph is well-timed—the mammal appears to just be floating! The photo won the Horse category of the competition—safe to assume it got fewer entries than the Dog category.
“Cat in a Trap Like a Super Mario”
A cat’s butt. Again, it’s a cat’s butt. I don’t know what I can say to make it any funnier than it is. Just for the record though, there’s a hole in the way. It just appears to be squished into oblivion.