Some of our favorites from our reader pet photo contest

There sure are some good-looking pets out there! Thanks to everyone who submitted pictures to our very first Picture-Perfect Pets photo contest.

The judges chose from more than 1,000 photos of dogs, cats, birds, lizards, horses, fish and hedgehogs (to name a few) throughout North Carolina. Look below to see the winning photos, plus honorable mentions for funniest, most spoiled and best dressed, published only online. And be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see more furry friend photos from this contest — and all year long!

—The editors

Winners

Congratulations to our 15 winning pet photos, published in our April issue.

Theo the Tuxedo Kitten

Amber Houston

Trigger the German Pointer

Andy Adkins

Reese the Ragdoll

Becca Hallman

Walter the Cavapoo

Julie Thompson

Prickly Pear the Hedgehog

Maylee Collins

Ruby the Chihuahua

Kimberly White

Harvey the Springer Spaniel

Charlie Nicholson

Peanutt the Guinea Pig

Elise Magner

Winston the Chameleon

Ashley Levins

Trouble the Cat

Don Butler

Miss Kitty

Alexis Metz

Griffin the Pup

Emma Long

Mack the Golden Retriever

Kathryn Bowe

Leia the Star Wars Pup

Donna Gray

Bella the Birthday Dog

Mandy Pierce

Honorable Mentions: Funniest

One reason we love our pets so—they make us laugh. And laughter is the best medicine when it comes to these three!

Callie the Border Collie Mix

Nancy DuDonis

Simon the Italian Greyhound

Teresa Delaney

Tobey the Terrier and Pitt Mix

Judith Cox

Honorable Mentions: Most Spoiled

Oh my—these pets are living the high life! Fancy floofs!

Billy the Maltese and Shih Tzu Mix

Brenda Brinson

Rexi the Guinea Pig

Emerson Moore

Molly the Poodle

Suzanne Stevens

Honorable Mentions: Best Dressed

Puttin' on the dog—these pups are feeling frisky in their dashing duds!

Pecos the Texas Heeler

Connor Price

Miss Fluffy the Husky

Jeff Haggerty

Roxie the Dachshund Mix

Mark Erb

Hungry for more?

If your pet is as special as these winners, you're gonna want to whip up something special for them. From doggie ice cream to kitty shrimp & grits, we've got 5 brand new recipes your furbaby is sure to love.

Get cookin'

Comments (18)

Thank you for the smiles! The pictures were awesome!
Melissa Baker |
March 27, 2021 |
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enjoyed looking at pics-recently lost my shih tzu and this helps
tony joyce |
March 27, 2021 |
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Thank you! I am smiling from ear to ear, what great photos! All love bugs!
Kristen Bass |
March 27, 2021 |
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BOOOOOOO Why did you not put our pet cat in the extras. Her name was Camo. We sent our enrty on the 14. We sent it in before the dead line.
Callie Speale |
March 27, 2021 |
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- We’re sorry to hear your disappointment that Camo wasn’t included. Unfortunately, there were more than 1,000 entries in this contest, and we simply could not publish them all. Camo is a beautiful cat, and the photo was well done, even if wasn’t among the judges' picks this time. We hope you’ll try again in a future contest.
  Carolina Country |
  March 29, 2021 |
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- It’s not about the amount of submissions, funny how half the pets in the book were from Wake Forest ??‍♀️
  Grace Woodard |
  March 29, 2021 |
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  - I noticed that also. It is a shame that more pics weren't included on the website as well.
    Sheri Raynor |
    March 30, 2021 |
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Love!!
Wendy |
March 29, 2021 |
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Is the contest over or are you accepting monthly entries for the remainder of the year?
Thanks.
Lorie |
March 29, 2021 |
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- Unfortunately, this contest ended a few weeks ago. We do accept photo contest entries nearly year-round (carolinacountry.com/photos), and be sure to check our magazine for other contests in the future!
  Carolina Country |
  March 29, 2021 |
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Awwwwww ..... Although I am disappointed my cat didn't make it in the pics, I will say these are some GREAT photos. Congrats to all who won : )
Sharon McCarthy |
March 29, 2021 |
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I’m convinced this contest was rigged worse than the Oscars. No offense to the pets that were chosen, but clearly the judges have a preference towards dogs (and boring ones at that). Typical. My cat is better looking, smarter, softer and is more interesting than all of the animals chosen. Next year, I recommend a new panel of judges.
Erin |
March 31, 2021 |
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Loved this Pet issue...Congrats to the winners! You did write their were 1,000 of entries. I think it would have been nice use of space, instead of using such huge pictures, to utilize the space with smaller pictures and high lightening the winners but then using the additional space just to show some more of the entries. I think that would have been more fun for your reader’s. That being said I will look forward to another issue like this !
Debbie Martin |
March 31, 2021 |
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I'm a little disappointed that there wasn't one pet from each co-op chosen!
Janelle Parrish |
April 05, 2021 |
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- To keep our judging as fair as possible, photo entries are presented to our judges without revealing the name, co-op, location or other information about the entrant. This way, photos are chosen based only on the parameters of the contest. In this case, judges selected what they felt to be high quality photographs of interesting and adorable pets! We always work to represent all co-ops throughout our magazine where appropriate, and try to keep bias out of our contests as much as possible. Thanks so much for your feedback!
  Carolina Country |
  April 05, 2021 |
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I agree there should have been at least one from each co op
Most of the winners were all from same region. I love this magazine but was disappointed but congratulations to all who won.
Charlene Foster |
April 14, 2021 |
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How do I send a pet photo for the pet of the month ?
Sharon RIDDLE |
May 02, 2021 |
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- Hello Sharon, We've already selected the pets of the month for 2021 from our recent contest entries. We're still contemplating whether we'll continue the pet of the month beyond this year, but if we do, we'll be happy to throw yours into the mix! We can also consider it for photo of the week. You can send your photo to: tara.verna@carolinacountry.com.
  Carolina Country |
  May 03, 2021 |
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Picture-Perfect Pets