Every year we look forward to having a laugh with the Comedy Pet Photo Awards, and the 2022 winners have tickled our funny bones again.
From derpy looking dogs to cute cats and hilarious horses, it’s impossible not to crack a smile at the antics our loveable pets get up to.
But it’s more than just for laughs. Along with a cash prize, the winner is given money to donate to a pet charity of their choice, with the competition partner Animal Friends Pet Insurance also donating thousands to animal welfare charities.
The 2023 competition is now open for entries at www.comedypetphoto.com
Overall winner
Kenichi Morinaga was named Comedy Pet Photographer of the Year with his brilliant photo of two cats sitting on a fence cheek to cheek or neck and neck! This image went up against 2,000 funny pet entries to win the top title and is the first ever cat winner.
Kenichi, whose pic also picked up the Best Cat photo, is a photographer from Japan who loves to visit the small islands around the country, taking shots of the street cats that he finds there.
His passion started when he got his own pet cat and first visited Europe as a backpacker. “Suddenly, I became fascinated by the antics of cats out in the streets and had to photograph them” he says. “When I returned to Japan, I continued to seek them out, they really cheer me up, especially after the last two years of the pandemic – they are so funny, even when they are doing something serious.”
Here’s the rest of the winners.
Dog Category
Jose Bayon from Spain won with a photo of his rescue dog Nilo, feeling very happy having just discovered water. ‘Nilo’s love for water!’
Horse Category
Radim Filipek won with his lovely shot of a mare and her foal looking like very ‘Happy horses.’
All Other Creatures Category
A ‘Smokin Alpaca’ from Germany, captured by Stefan Brusius
Pets Who Look Most Like Their Owner’s Category
Who could resist ‘Dave and Dudley’ enjoying a moment together in the US, snapped by Judy Nussenblatt.
Junior Category
Freya Sharpe, aged 9, with her photo of the family cat Jack, who managed to get stuck way, way up in a hedge.
Video Category
Won by Sarah Fiona Helme from the UK, with her video showing Rosie her cat carefully watching an owl descend towards her on TV!
People’s Choice Award
Marko Jovanovic from the USA with his rescue dog bounding though the snow.
Comedy Pet Team Favourite
Voted for by the competition organisers, the winner is ‘Chauffeur Dog’ by Mehmet Aslan from Turkey.
Highly commended winners
As well as the category winners, eight photographers were recognised as Highly Commended for their entries:
Christopher Johnson:
Jonathan Casey:
Lucy Sellors-Duval:
Kazutoshi ONO:
Karl Golhamer:
Beth Noble:
Sarah Fiona Helme:
Kenichi Morinaga