The votes have been counted and it's time to reveal the winners of our 2017 Pets on Parade competition.
Back in February, we published a four-page photo special featuring snaps of the 32 dapper dogs, 11 fabulous felines and seven other adorable animals ranging from a Chilean rose tarantula to a squirrel.
Over the following fortnight, hundreds of Journal readers across Waveney cast their votes for their favourites and, as in previous years, the voting was extremely close and the battle for the top prizes went right down to the wire.
However, when all the votes were counted, the top dog was Dotty, owned by Wendy Wicks of Lowestoft, with the top cat voted as Maude, owned by Amy Barwood of Lowestoft and first prize in the other category went to Claudia the ferret, owned by Nicola Martin of Carlton Colville. All the first prize winners will receive a 20in x 16in canvas wrap portrait – worth £190 – of their dog, cat or other pet, courtesy of Picture Studios.
The runner-up in the dogs category was Gizmo, owned by Chrystal Goddard of Lowestoft, the runner-up in the cats was Hodor, owned by Amba Gowing of Lowestoft and runner-up in the other pets was squirrel Nutty, owned by Heidi Read of Beccles. They all win a 10in x 8in portrait from Picture Studios, worth £60.
The third-placed dog was Bessie owned by Alison Gregory of Lound, third among the cats was Google, owned by Liseanne Rix of Carlton Colville, and completing our roll of honour by taking third place in the other pets category was rabbit Bubbles, owned by Sharon Williams of Chedgrave. They all win 7in x 5in portraits, worth £46, from Picture Studios.
The competition proved as popular as ever, and for all those owners left disappointed after their pet missed out on a prize, there is always next time.
The owners of the three winning pets, and those that took the runners-up or third-place spots in each category, will be contacted by Picture Studios when their prizes are ready for collection.
The Journal team would like to thank everyone who entered and voted.
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