It’s that time of the year again when Upworthy shares our favorite snaps from the Comedy Pet Photography Awards. We’ve handpicked 15 of the top 30 nominees in this year’s competition to share, which include a headless horse, an angry Yorkie and a hungry tortoise.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards were started by Paul Joynson Hicks and Tom Sullam, who are both professional photographers. They created this fun competition to highlight pets’ vital role in our lives and to promote animal welfare.
While the contest is all about funny photos, it carries a meaningful message. “Through the Comedy Pets, we want to promote positive awareness of animal welfare issues and celebrate the incredible and valuable contribution that pets can and do have on our lives,” the founders say on the competition’s website.
Go to the Comedy Pet Photographic Awards’ website to see all 30 of the competition’s photos and vote on the People’s Choice Category through June 2, 2024.
Here are Upworthy’s 15 favorite photos from the competition.
1. “Dancing Queen” by Vera Faupel (Germany)
“What can I say, this dog (Pepper the Pointer) loves to jump!” — Vera Faupel
2. “Cat in a Trap” by Kenichi Morinaga (Japan)
”Cat in a trap it looks like the video game Super Mario World.” — Kenichi Morinaga
3. “Hard Workers” by Atsuki Ohshima (Japan)
“They give their all in every situation.” — Atsuki Ohshima
4. “Not Just for Cats” by Sarah Haskell (England)
“Hector saw the cat do it…so thought he would give it a try ….and this is about as far as he got before reversing out the way he came. But the cat made it look so easy.” — Sarah Haskell
5. “What am I Thinking?” by David Kertzman (Brazil)
“A little shake of the head and… where is everyone? I was lucky enough to click at the exact moment the head disappeared.” — David Kertzman
6. “Grumpy Dog” by Luiza Ribiero (Brazil)
“Meet Nick Barry, a 5-year-old Yorkie with a special talent for hilarious expressions. This may not be his most flattering photo, but that frown is undeniably captivating — a true portrait of a dog who doesn’t need smiles to win our hearts.” — Luiza Ribieo
7. “Who Are You?” by Sylvia Jiang (England)
“Loki and a lion.” — Sylvia Jiang
8. “Peekaboo” by Bernard Sim (Singapore)
“Look, ma, no eyes!” — Bernard Sim
9. “New Rose” by Jonathan Casey (United Kingdom)
“Edgar loves to eat flowers, and her favorites are dandelions for spring, snapdragons for summer and here she can be seen gobbling a whole Gertrude Jekyll rose last September. We grow them for her and as she is elderly we handfeed her, sometimes snapping her in between bites as you can see.” — Jonathan Casey
10. I Believe I Can Fly” by Julie Smith (Ireland)
“Flying poodle.” — Julie Smith
11. “I Think I Saw A Mouse” by Debby Thomas (USA)
“This beautiful and athletic gelding loves to try to fly off the ground! This is one of the series of leaps he performs.” — Debby Thomas
12. “It’s Cold” by Tammo Zelle (Germany)
“Our dog had a lot of fun in the snow, but unfortunately ice crystals always stick to his paws.” — Tammo Zelle
13. “Sun Lover” by Alina Vogel (Germany)
“This is Freddie, he was my first Hamster and probably the most photogenic ever. Freddie died recently and that’s the last honor I want to pay my little friend.” — Alina Vogel
14. “It’s Time to Get Up” by Lock Liu (China)
“Every morning, my dog wakes me up by lying on my chest until I open my eyes.” — Lock Liu
15. “The Proud Pup and His Best Friend” by Darya Zelentsova (USA)
“Ludo von Lickenface, the sweetest 16-year-old rescue pup, strikes a pose alongside his beloved guardian, David.” — Darya Zelentsova