Grinning, Silly Photos Highlight the Fun of Pets

Newborn chicks engrossed in watching a video, a laughing horse, and a cat so relaxed it looks like she's melting.

These are some of the more entertaining moments captured by pet owners of their furry friends. And they're front-runners in the Comedy Pet Photography Awards annual competition.

Like the photo above.

That's "Puppy Laugh" by Arthur Carvalho de Moura. It features puppy Hassan who was photographed playing peek-a-boo in Brazil.

The photographer had this to say about the image:

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.

So far, all sorts of pets have been entered in the competition, but canines have topped the list.

"Quite a variety of pets this year, but we have noticed a few more dogs than usual, maybe because of the pandemic and people buying lockdown companions, which is understandable," Michelle Wood, awards managing director, tells Treehugger.

"We find that dogs and cats are both really funny but in totally different ways. Most of the dogs are doing silly things, they look like they are dancing or smiling or just being happy, which really make us laugh, but then the cats are being super sophisticated or totally deadpan whilst sat watching TV on the sofa. Their humor is much more subtle but still hits the funny bones."

There was even a groundhog entered this year which Wood deems as "very cute."

The competition closes on Aug. 15 and winners will be announced in November. The grand prize photographer (and pet) will receive 2,000 British pounds (about $2,800) which should buy lots of treats.

The awards are sponsored by Animals Friends Insurance, which helps benefit the U.K.-based pet charity Animal Support Angels.

Here are some of the other funny front-runners and what the photographers had to say about them.

"Inquisitive Chicks"

Sophie Bonnefoi took this photo of young chicks in Oxford, U.K.

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. One morning I put a "hen sound effect" YouTube video. I wanted to see what would happen as the only "living creature" they were used to was me. Their reaction was second to none!

"This is normal, right?"

Corinna Hardware of Horsham in the U.K. photographed her melting cat.

"Casey my cat relaxing ..... she does this often. It seems to be her happy place."

"I'm gonna get that ball!!"

Lee Carpenter took this action-packed image of Molly the springer spaniel in Southbourne, U.K.

"I take a lot of action shots of my dogs and every once in a while a funny one will appear. I think it sums up my Springer perfectly."

"Inside joke"

Holly Taylor captured this laughing horse in Australia.

"Ride time? Don't think so! Give me the carrots first! The daily battle between horse and rider."

"Can't make me move, human!"

Laura Pickup photographed Bailey the cat in Scotland.

"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!"

"I'll help with the homeschooling if you share the tea"

Melanie Allen shot this photo of Trooper the border terrier helping with schoolwork in Durham, U.K.

"Trooper and Ruby are best friends. Sometimes he's a little bossy, we call this face Professor Sir Didymus."

Ninja Rats

Memphis Morey photographed playing rats in Portsmouth, U.K.

"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."

Hugo the Photobomber!

Chloe Beck was shooting a portrait of some friends in Walsall, U.K., when Hugo the dog popped in for a cameo.

This is my best friend Faith and her husband Alex... And their cheeky Sproodle, Hugo. 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 hehe :-)

Eddie

Mike Batho photographed his TV-watching buddy in Poulton le Fylde, U.K.

"Eddie and I like to hang out & watch movies. Here we are enjoying The Crying Game."

Photo bomb

Mollie Cheary got two serious pups and one eager subject in this photo session from Poole, U.K.

"Bailey was so excited to see her friends, she couldn't sit still for a photo!"

"Do not disturb"

Lucy Slater managed to quietly photograph Lulu the cat under the covers in San Diego.

"My 98 year old mother's beloved cat."

Pay me some attention!

Sylvie Walker snagged this shot of Darcy the dog in Maidenhead, U.K. who is tired of watching football on TV.

"Lockdown blues. Please, Not footie again...!"