Why do we love our pets? Believe it or not, that question has fueled decades of rigorous scientific study around the world. It turns out there are about as many reasons for us to adore our furry, scaly and feathered friends as there are different types of pets.
For instance, we might love pets because having them is good for us. The connection between domestic animals and mental well-being is long established. While socioeconomics also factor in, kids who grow up with pets tend to be at lower risk of severe mental health problems and to have higher self-esteem, according to a 2018 review of the evidence published in BMC Psychiatry. Adult pet owners are also less likely to experience anxiety or depression. And companion animals have been shown to lessen the severity of symptoms in people with dementia.
Basic biology might also explain the profound affinity many pet owners have for their little buddies. According to a 2015 report in Science, gazing into a dog’s eyes boosts the feel-good hormone oxytocin — the same physiological response that bonds parents to their infants. So maybe referring to Mr. Sprinkles II as your “fur baby” isn’t so far off the mark after all. (It is still, however, insufferable.)
With apologies to the global scientific community, we here at Seven Days have a simpler theory about why we adore our pets: ’cause they’re freakin’ adorable! For proof, we humbly submit the winners of this year’s Best of the Beasts pet photo contest. Go ahead and check ’em out now, then come back. We’ll wait…
I mean, come on, right?
The 2022 contest set a record for submissions at 1,387, up from 911 in 2021. It also set a record for smooshable faces at roughly infinity. Clearly, all those pandemic pets are just getting cuter with age.
Readers submitted photos in five categories: Doggone Adorable (dogs), Purrfect Poser (cats), Best Dressed (animals in costume), Lady & the Tramp (multiple cute animals together) and Wild Card, which included everything from reptiles to birds to miniature horses to this year’s Wild Card champ, Russet the hedgehog.
Along with the winners, you’ll find a handful of pet photos that the judges felt were just too darned cute not to include. It’s easy to see why certain critters charmed. Just look into their eyes.
Doggone Adorable
Winner: Delilah (Human: Kitt Carella)
Runners-Up
Thacher (Human: Lesley Gendron)
Tripp (Human: Emily Scharff)
Purrfect Poser
Winner: Cookie (Human: James Lockridge)
Runners-Up
Meeko (Human: Bailey Rowland)
Gravy (Human: Emma Pearson)
Lady & the Tramp
Winner: Cali, Stormy & Mae (Human: Skye Elkins)
Runners-Up
Pippin & Gimli (Human: Claire Denning)
Daisy, Kodi & Stranger (Human: James Squires)
Best Dressed
Winner: Rizzo (Human: Troy Headrick)
Runners-Up
Luna (Human: Erin Randall)
Acorn (Human: Emma Interlandi)
Wild Card
Winner: Russet (Human: Robin Wagner)
Runners-Up
Willie (Human: Jane Swift)
Gojira (Human: Ryan Freebern)
Not enough cute for you?
See all the submissions here
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This article appears in The Animal Issue 2022.
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