Pittsburgh’s cutest pet photo contest winners announced!

On July 19, Pittsburgh City Paper brought back our popular “Pittsburgh’s Cutest Pet Photo Contest,” inviting Pittsburghers to send in pictures of their lovable companions. We asked for pets of all types and the community answered with 360 entries of all shapes and sizes, paws, beaks, and more. See all of the wonderful photographs here: Pittsburgh's Cutest Pet Photo Contest Entries

There were dogs posing in famous Pittsburgh selfie spots, tiny pigs in teacups (aw!), animals in costumes, cuddly bunnies, a few reptiles, and even a chicken named Darla! The entries were each different and unique, but all had something in common: Every pet in the photographs is clearly loved by a Pittsburgher.

More than 3,300 votes were cast between Aug. 11-25 for these adorable pets, and although we know all of these animals are winners, the top 3 that received the most votes are the ones who will hold the crown and bragging rights to this year's title of “Pittsburgh’s Cutest Pet.”

Plus, we also crowned a bonus winner! City Paper's staff also voted on all of the pets, and we chose one winner as a Staff Pick. So without further ado — here are the 2021 Pittsburgh’s Cutest Pet winners:

A special thanks to our sponsors, Petagogy and Pet Palace whose generous donation of gift cards and sponsorship helped make this year's contest possible! Please visit their websites to learn more about their services for Pittsburgh pets.

This year, the dogs took it, but there is always next year for the other species to take back the title. See you next year!