30 Dog Photos That Beautifully Capture What Makes Our Canine Friends So Dear To Our Hearts

Every year, the Kennel Club holds a photographic competition for dog lovers all over the world. Professional and amateur photographers across the globe submit their photos to the prestigious competition and now in its twelfth year, the international competition received almost 10,000 entries from 74 different countries around the globe.

“All of this year’s entrants beautifully captured the qualities that make dogs so very special and dear to our hearts, and we look forward to seeing more work from the winners in the future,” said Rosemary Smart, Kennel Club Chief Executive.

When you see the images (from the 2017 competition), I’m sure you’ll agree with her that they are all incredibly special.

Maria Davison from Portugal has been selected as the overall winner of the competition with an image of an adorable puppy resting his head, which was placed first in the ‘Man’s Best Friend’ category. Maria began taking photos of her dogs and other pets three years ago.

After finding out she had won the world’s largest canine photography competition, Maria said: “This image was already close to my heart and it is one of the photographs I am most proud of. It was not only a beautiful, real and candid moment I got to capture, but also a demonstration of the strong bond between one of my closest friends and her dog, Yzma.”

Kaylee Greer from the United States won the ‘Dogs at Play’ category with a photo of Petey the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier, playing on the south coast of Boston.

The winner of the ‘Assistance Dogs’ category was Alasdair MacLeod from Ayrshire, Scotland, who took a candid shot of a retired, rescue Greyhound, Megan from Canine Concern Scotland visiting local care home resident Duncan, a 95 year-old RAF veteran who flew in the ‘Dambusters’ squadron and has dementia. Megan (who is owned by Linda Whitby) is the top Therapet for 2016.

Sarah Caldecott from Yorkshire won the ‘Dogs at Work’ category with a muted portrait of Rita the Pointer on the moors of County Durham.

John Liot from Jersey won the ‘Oldies’ category with a relaxed portrait of 12 year-old rescue dog, Kelly.

Mirjam Schreurs from the Netherlands, won the ‘Puppy’ category with a lovely image of Tyson the baby Boxer.

Julian Gottfried from the United States won the ‘I Love Dogs Because…’ category, which is for entrants aged between 12 and 17 years old.

Anastasia Vetkovskaya from Russia won the ‘Dog Portrait’ category with a stunning monochrome image of an Afghan Hound.

Alexandra Robins from Wiltshire won the ‘Rescue Dog’ category for her intimate portrait of rescue dog Chloe with her carer at Bath Cats and Dogs Home.

8 year-old Dylan Jenkins from Swansea won the ‘Young Pup’ category, which is for entrants aged 11 and under.

And here are the 2nd and 3rd place winners from the separate categories.

Dogs At Play

Assistance Dogs

Dogs At Work

Oldies

I Love Dogs Because…(for entrants aged between 12 and 17 years old)

Man’s Best Friend

Dog Portrait

Puppy

Young Pup Photographer (for entrants aged 11 and under)

Rescue Dogs

All photographs published on Reshareworthy.com with the permission of the Kennel Club.

“The quality of the entries to the Dog Photographer of the Year competition never ceases to amaze. This year there has been a huge number of beautifully executed and impressive photographs, making it incredibly difficult for the judges to choose just one winner for the overall prize and a single winning photographer for each category,” said Smart. We think they’re all fantastic.

Visit www.dogphotographeroftheyear.org.uk to find out more about this annual competition and click here to see the previous year’s winners!

The Kennel Club is the UK’s largest organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the health and welfare of dogs. To find out more about the Kennel Club visit their website.

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