The winners of 2024’s Comedy Pet Photo Awards are out, and the images are delightful.
The photography competition, now in its fifth consecutive year, awarded the Overall Winner placement to photographer Sarah Haskell for the image titled “Not just for Cats!” The adorable photo captures Hector, who is notably a dog, attempting to get through a cat flap. If the small size of the opening wasn’t enough of a giveaway, the words “Cat Mate” appear at the top, making it clear Hector isn’t exactly the target audience here.
“Hector saw the cat do it… so thought he would give it a try. This is about as far as he got before reversing out the way he came. I can imagine him thinking, ‘But the cat made it look so easy.’ Not so for Hector!” says Haskell.
For winning, Haskell receives £500 (about $639 USD), a camera bag from Think Tank, and a bespoke trophy, according to the Comedy Pet Photo Awards. She said she plans to use the money on a bigger cat flap and some camera gear.
“I have carried a camera pretty much in some form since school days, but it is only recently that I have worked out that pet photography, dog photography in particular, is what I like doing,” Haskell added. “The interaction with these expressive, clever, often comical characters, when I am doing ‘pawtrait’ shoots, can only make me (and others, hopefully) smile!”
But Haskell, who also won the Dog Category, is one of many winners. The other winners include Cat Category winner Kenichi Morinaga, Horse Category winner Debby Thomas, People’s Choice Award winner Kazutoshi Ono, All Other Creatures Category winner Jonathan Casey, Pets Who Look Most Like Their Owners Category winner Darya Zelentsova, and Junior Category winner Charlotte Kitchen, who was 16 when she entered the competition.
Further, the competition recognized several entrants a “Highly Commended,” including Emma Beardsmore, Vera Faupel, Sylvia Michel (who had two entries recognized), Morinaga (who not only won the Cat Category but also entered and won in prior years), Atsuyuki Ohshima, Luiza Ribeiro, and Julie Smith.
“We’ve had a fantastic competition this year, with so many really good entries from across the globe,” explains Michelle Wood, who helps run the Comedy Pet Photo Awards. “And a record number of Junior entries which makes us very happy. In a world that can be hard to fathom, our pets are the one constant in our lives that make sense and are a vital source of support, joy, and sometimes, great hilarity. We would have a competition to celebrate them every single day if we could, and to be able to share these brilliant winners with you and laugh out loud with these lovable creatures is the reason this competition exists!”
Image credits: Photographs courtesy of the Comedy Pet Photo Awards