2024’s Best Comedy Pet Photos Will Help You Get Past The Neigh-Gativity

By Mikelle Leow, 05 Jun 2024

Dancing Queen by © Vera Faupel / Comedy Pets, highly commended. Image courtesy and featured with permission

Paws for laughter! The Comedy Pet Photo Awards has unleashed the winners of its 2024 edition, with Sarah Haskell taking the top prize for her delightful photo titled Not Just for Cats!. The winning shot features her dog Hector embodying his fur sibling from another pawrent by squeezing through a cat flap.

“Hector saw the cat do it, so he thought he would give it a try,” Haskell recounts of this hilarious yet heartwarming moment. “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!”

Not Just For Cats by © Sarah Haskell / Comedy Pets, overall winner and winner of the Dog Category. Image courtesy and featured with permission

Founded by Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, the Comedy Pet Photo Awards is now in its fifth year, celebrating the joy pets bring to our lives and spreading awareness about animal welfare. Open to all pet lovers, it underscores the unique bond between humans and animals.

Upon learning of her win, Haskell expresses her joy, saying, “Hector is a much-loved member of my extended family and has been my muse for years. He will be 14 in July, so all his visitors make a great fuss over him. Hector has no idea why, but he loves the attention.”

Haskell has been passionate about photography since her school days, but got more into it after discovering her love for eternalizing pet moments. “The interaction with these expressive, clever, often comical characters, when I am doing ‘pawtrait’ shoots, can only make me (and others, hopefully) smile!” she elaborates.

While Hector was this year’s top dog, earning his owner a £500 cash prize, the competition was a litter of mirth. Other highlights include Kenichi Morinaga’s photo of a cat stuck in what looks like a Super Mario pipe, which dominated the Cat Category.

Cat in a trap like Super Mario by © Kenichi Morinaga / Comedy Pets, winner of the Cat Category. Image courtesy and featured with permission

Not afraid to horse around, Debby Thomas amused with her stunning image of a horse leaping as if escaping a mouse. And the People’s Choice award went to Kazutoshi Ono’s shot of a gravity-defying cat reminiscent of Tarzan.

I think I saw a mouse! by © Debby Thomas / Comedy Pets, winner of the Horse Category. Image courtesy and featured with permission

The New Rose by © Jonathan Casey / Comedy Pets, winner of the All Other Creatures Category. Image courtesy and featured with permission

The Junior Category saw more entries than ever, with 16-year-old Charlotte Kitchen winning with her charming photo of a tired donkey.

Tired Donkey by © Charlotte Kitchen / Comedy Pets, winner of the Junior Category. Image courtesy and featured with permission

Michelle Wood, one of the competition’s organizers, concludes, “In a world that can be hard to fathom, our pets are a constant source of support, joy, and sometimes great hilarity.”

The Proud Pup and His Best Friend by © Darya Zelentsova / Comedy Pets, winner of the Pets Who Look Like Their Owners Category. Image courtesy and featured with permission