The Comedy Pet Photo Awards is the brainchild of professional photographers Paul Joynson-Hicks and Tom Sullam, whose aim is to celebrate the positive and vital role that pets have in our lives. They also hope to encourage engagement around animal welfare.

“Once again, we have been treated to some really funny entries in the competition, and such a wide range of animals this year from ferrets to tortoises to donkeys as well as hundreds of hilarious cats and dogs,” Sullam, the co-founder of the Awards, said.

“The job is now to find the Overall Winner of Comedy Pets 2023 and of course, the People’s Choice Award winner where everyone can get involved,” he added that you can learn how to vote for your favorite finalist on the website.

The shortlist of finalists is now going to be judged by the Awards’ animal-loving judge panel. Among them are TV presenter, writer, conservationist, and animal lover Kate Humble; comedian and TV presenter, writer, and all-round superstar Mel Geidroyc; TV vet and animal welfare campaigner Emma Milne; and professional pet photographer Elke Vogelsang.

Bored Panda got in touch with Michelle Wood, a core member of the Comedy Pet Photo Awards team, and she was kind enough to tell us about this year’s competition, and what awaits the judges.

“2023 has been a really fun year for the Comedy Pets,” Wood told us via email.

“Now in its 5th year, the competition is becoming more well known and popular, reaching new markets but also we love seeing animal lovers returning to the competition to enter new funny images of their pets each year,” she shared with Bored Panda.

We were curious about what the judges will be paying the most attention to now that the shortlist has been finalized. According to Wood, competition veteran Milne will quality control the images while the team checks the original files for authenticity and quality.

“The final job—and definitely the best one—falls to the judges, to score the images on which ones make them laugh the most. That is the main criteria and extremely important,” she explained what lies at the core of a photo worthy of being on the shortlist.

“The images have to make at least one of us giggle to get through to this stage. We all have a slightly unique idea of what makes us smile, so it’s really interesting to see which ones come out on top, especially as some of the entries are really obvious and happy and others tap into a drier sense of humor,” she said.

“And it’s great to then see what the public vote as their favorite too” Wood pointed out that it’s “really hard” to call who the public picks as their faves.

Our pets can affect us quite a bit, but it’s also us, the owners, who can have a massive impact on their mood and behavior. “A few studies have found that pets can mirror their owner’s moods and can be sensitive to human’s feelings of stress and anxiety,” a representative of the Arizona Humane Society told Bored Panda earlier that our pets pick up on our body language, tone of voice, and other cues.

What’s more, we can act as social support for our pets, just as they do for us. “Giving our pets the physical and mental care they require, along with lots of love and safety will ensure a lifetime of reciprocated love and affection between our four-legged friends and their human family,” they said.

There are numerous benefits to laughing lots and often. If you’re constantly having fun with your pet and laughing at their antics, you’re setting yourself up for a life of lower stress. Verywell Mind points out that laughter strengthens our immune system and gives us a physical and emotional release.

What’s more, laughter gives our bodies and organs an internal workout, distracts us from all the big and small problems in our lives, and can give us a fresh new perspective on life. Not only that, if you’re laughing, odds are that your positive mood is going to spread to the people around you.

Meanwhile, Mayo Clinic notes that laughter increases the endorphins released in our brains and stimulates our hearts, lungs, and muscles. We also relax far more after a good bout of laughter because our heart rates and blood pressure decrease.

In the long term, being a fan of comedy means that you’re more likely to have a more capable immune system, you’re less susceptible to pain, and your self-esteem is better.

This year’s Comedy Pet Photo Awards winners will be announced on August 11, 2023, so keep an eye out! Keep in mind that the People’s Choice Award is actually open for public vote, so if you have a favorite photo, make sure everyone knows about it.

In the meantime, be sure to check out last year’s winners, as well as the Comedy Pet Photo Awards finalists from 2022, 2021, and 2020, as covered by Bored Panda.