by Our pets are not only a source of joy for millions of people around the world, they also help us laugh. Whether it’s a sudden expression or a funny activity, our animal friends just seem to know how to tickle our funny bone.
So it comes as no surprise that the photos featured in the annual Comedy Pet Photo Awards capture these funny moments and remind us just how wonderful our pets are.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards. Brecht Van Gampelaere, Gent, Belgium. “On guard.”
To herald in the opening of this year’s 2021 competition, the organizers are giving a sneak peek at the latest entries in the running for the title of Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photographer of the Year.
Check out the photos up to win below:
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021, Arthur Carvalho de Moura, Brazil
Arthur Carvalho de Moura says of his photo, “This photo was taken at my grandmother’s house at 8 am. Hassan is a very agitated dog, it was almost impossible to photograph him, so I hid and called him in the yard, the puppy came running, looked at the camera and smiled.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021 Chloe Beck Redditch, United Kingdom
“Hugo the Photobomber! This is my best friend Faith and her husband Alex… And their cheeky Sproodle, Hugo,” says Chloe Beck Redditch. “Faith wanted a photograph to mark a special occasion – her first outing after shielding at home for 14 months. Hugo jumped into the frame at just the right moment! He’s a lockdown pup, so he hasn’t quite gotten used to the excitement of being around other people yet.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Christine Johnson, Warrington, United Kingdom
“Excuse me, Could we Have our Ball Back please?” Christine Johnson describes her photo, “Star and Will trying to get their ball back from one of the Crosby statues.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Corinna Hardware, Horsham, United Kingdom
“Casey my cat relaxing ….. she does this often. It seems to be her happy place,” writes Corinna Hardware.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Holly Taylor, Melbourne, Australia
Holly Taylor’s horse shares an inside joke with her. “Ride time? Don’t think so! Give me the carrots first! The daily battle between horse and rider.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Laura Pickup, Aberdeenshire, United Kingdom
“Can’t make me move human! Bailey likes to get cosy on top of me when the little terrors (my kids) go to bed and obviously wasn’t up for moving when I needed to get up,” says Laura Pickup.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Lee Carpenter, Emsworth, United Kingdom
“I take a lot of action shots of my dogs and every once in a while a funny one will appear,” writes Lee Carpenter. “I think it sums up my Springer [Molly] perfectly.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Lucy Slater, Berkeley, United States
Lucy Slater says Lulu is “My 98 year old mother’s beloved cat.” And Lulu obviously loves a comfy bed.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Melanie Allen, Durham,United Kingdom
“I’ll help with the homeschooling if you share the tea,” describes the photo by Melanie Allen who adds, “Trooper and Ruby are best friends. Sometimes he’s a little bossy, we call this face Professor Sir Didymus.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Memphis Morey, Portsmouth, United Kingdom
Memphis Morey calls the rats, “Ninja rats. Rats like to play fight with each other. Occasionally, they will break and do what I like to call, a ninja move. Standing in this position for a few minutes before continuing their play.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Mike Batho, Poulton le Fylde, United Kingdom
“Eddie and I like to hang out & watch movies. Here we are enjoying The Crying Game,” describes Mike Batho.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Mollie Cheary, Poole, United Kingdom
“Bailey was so excited to see her friends, she couldn’t sit still for a photo,” says Mollie Cheary. We know the feeling Bailey!
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Sophie Bonnefoi, Oxford, United Kingdom
“Cutie and Speedy are two chicks hatched from eggs placed in an incubator at home in August 2020. The first 3 months they spent most of their time with me. They just loved looking at the screen of my iPad when I was replying to emails or chatting on FaceTime. On the photo they are only 9 days old. They were curious about everything around them,” says Sophie Bonnefoi. “One morning I put a ‘hen sound effect’ YouTube video on. I wanted to see what would happen as the only ‘living creature’ they were used to was me. Their reaction was second to none!”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2021. Sylvie Walker, Maidenhead, United Kingdom
This photo of Darcy the dog is described as “Lockdown blues. Please, Not footie again…!”
The annual contest isn’t only for laughs. Funds raised as part of the competition go towards charities. This year’s fundraising will go towards Animal Support Angels, a small independent UK animal welfare charity that supports sick and injured animals by providing them with transportation, medical treatment and support of other animal rescues.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2020. Ana Barreiro
Amanda Broome, Founder-Trustee, Animal Support Angels said: “I can’t tell you how much it means for us to have the support of the Animal Friends Pet Comedy Photography Awards. We believe that animals enrich our lives, offering so much while asking so little in return, and never has this been more apparent than over the last year. The work we do, providing pet food and rescue services to other animal welfare organizations and families in need, across the UK, means they don’t need to worry about how they will feed the animals in their care when times are tough.”
The photos below are from previous years’ winners and runners up in the competition. Included are a smiling donkey, a car packed with doggie passengers and a rave cat among other funny pictures sure to bring a smile to your face.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards. Elke Vogelsang, Germany. “Guard dog on duty”
“This is my Noodles,” says Elke Vogelsang. “She was rescued from a Spanish kill-shelter and brought to Germany, where she joined our family when she was eight months old. She is a Spanish sighthound (Galgo Espa) mix, 13 years old now (a bit younger in this picture) and still acting like a pup. She is the clown, sometimes overly motivated and clumsy, the eager-beaver, curious, friendly, open-minded, extremely funny if not unintentionally comic sometimes.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards. Anne Lindner, Germany. “Drama Queen”
“There is almost nothing more beautiful than to see a hearty yawn of a rabbit,” comments Anne Lindner. And those teeth!
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards. Alice van Kempen, Rockanje, Netherlands
“The owner of the dogs had put her dogs in the back of the car. We didn’t pay attention while we talked, when we looked at them after a good five minutes we noticed two of the dogs had move to the front seats,” said Alice van Kempen. “It looked so funny so I took this photo of the Shepherd family.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2020. Magdalena Strakova, Prague, Czech Republic
“I met this friendly donkey during a trip to Slovakia. He was “employed” to graze the grass around one of the monuments,” said Magdalena Strakova. “He was there with other animals, so he was not lonely, but he apparently liked our company more and came closer when we sat down on the lawn and started to beg for treats, scratching, or both. In the end, he did get a piece of our apple.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2020. Mehmet Aslan, Hatay, Turkey
“During the corona[virus] days, social distance meal order in curfew,” says Mehmet Aslan of his photo of street cats lining up for a meal.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2020. Nicole Rayner, Stockport, United Kingdom
When Mimi the German Shepherd gets her own way, she is very satisfied. Nicole Rayner captioned her photo, “When the human gives in and let’s you sleep on the bed.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2020. Iain Mcconnell, Oswestry, United Kingdom
“The rave cat,” Iain Mcconnell captioned his photo. “Edmund dancing at sunset.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2020. Sally Billam, Hornsea, United Kingdom
“Freddie suspicious of having his photo taken,” says Sally Billam. The “Sprocker” definitely is giving her a skeptical eye.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2020. Svetlana Popova, Edmonds, United States
Now here’s a pair of naught cats. “This is a typical morning in our house and a perfect illustration of partners in crime collaboration. Dotty (the white and black one) who is obsessed with toilet paper is giving Pixel (the tuxie) a practical lesson on how to use the toilet paper in the most efficient way,” describes Svetlana Popova. “Pixel who knows where the treats are stored and how to open counters, will teach Dotty how to find good things if mom or dad forgot to lock a container.”
Raquel Marques, Brazil
“Shower day in my home! This is Troy,” says Raquel Marques. And by shower she probably means humans and dogs get washed.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards. Krzysztof Smejlis, Poland
Krzysztof Smejlis’ cat plays “Like a zombie.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2020. Hannah Seeger, Germany
Hannah Seeger and her dog Mila often share each other’s mood. “Me and my rescue dog really tired in the early morning.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards. Magdalena Stsrakova, Czech Republic
“I was photographing horses in a pasture, and these three got together and appeared to have a chat, gossiping like giggling schoolgirls,” says Magdalena Stsrakova.
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards. Malgorzata Russell, Scotland
“This our one year old still kitten cat Basil. He is very playful, agile and loves our garden we used a lot during lockdown,” says Malgorzata Russell. “It is our daily, morning routine to chase each other around the garden. Picture is not photoshopped.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards. Ayden Brooks, Canada
“Our cat, Fox Mulder, AKA Squishy, Little Squishy Guy, Squishface, Squish, Foxy, loves to spread himself out on his back when he sleeps. He likes to sleep anywhere including in the middle of a room on a rug or even on the wood floor. I love to take photos of him because he is so cute and funny,” says Ayden Brooks. “I caught him as he was waking up from a nap and yawning.”
The Comedy Pet Photography Awards 2020. Charles Davies, Wadebridge, United Kingdom
Charles Davies caught an action shot, saying “One of our kittens is about to get a surprise from its sister.”
If you have a comedy photo you think merits recognition, submissions for the 2021 contest are now open. You can submit your entries at the Animal Friends Comedy Pet Photo Awards website until August 15, 2021.
