There are certain occupational hazards that come with working at Print Your Memory.
One is spending far too long discussing whether a photo would look better as a rectangle or a square.
Another is receiving pictures of your pets and immediately abandoning whatever we were supposed to be doing.
Our recent pet competition was particularly dangerous for productivity. We had dogs, cats, ferrets and plenty of very good boys and girls land in our inbox, along with stories that made us laugh, smile and, occasionally, reach for the tissues.
So, rather than keeping them all to ourselves, we thought we’d introduce you to a few of the pets behind the photos.
Some are still causing chaos. Some have been there through huge chapters of family life. And some are very sadly no longer with us, but remain a massive part of their families nonetheless.
Here are ten that caught our eye.
Abu the Chihuahua has been part of the family since before Beata’s daughters even arrived.
He was there throughout her pregnancies and, since the girls were born, they’ve become best friends.
Which, when you think about it, is quite a promotion. From pregnancy companion to fully fledged member of the kids’ inner circle.
There’s something particularly lovely about pets who grow alongside children. They’re there for the babies, the first steps, the games on the floor and probably quite a lot of food mysteriously disappearing from highchairs.
And judging by Abu’s photo, he’s taking his responsibilities very seriously.
When we ask people for their favourite memory of their pet, we usually expect one particular holiday, walk, adventure or ridiculous incident.
Heather couldn’t choose one.
For her, every day with Alfie is special. She describes him as their pride and joy and says she can’t imagine life without him.
We rather like that answer.
Not every favourite memory has to be a big one. Sometimes it’s the ordinary stuff: the familiar face waiting for you, the same walk you’ve done 400 times, or the furry lump occupying the exact bit of sofa you were planning to sit on.
Those everyday moments end up being the important ones.
We could probably write an entire article about Jamie’s Welsh Red Border Collie.
She’s been by Jamie’s side for eight years and has supported Jamie through everything life has thrown at them. But don’t mistake “supportive companion” for “quiet and sensible dog”.
She spends her summers attempting to catch flies. Her success rate is apparently not impressive, but her commitment remains faultless.
Fetch is another interesting interpretation. She’ll retrieve the ball, refuse to give it back, run away and eventually drop it about 20 feet away so Jamie has to go and collect it.
In other words, Jamie is playing fetch. The dog has simply trained her well.
Then there’s the farm’s delivery lorries. She loves chasing them along the garden so much that she’s worn a track beside the hedge, now officially known as her Race Track.
And while thunderstorms are firmly unacceptable, fireworks are apparently brilliant. She’ll climb onto the back of the sofa to watch them through the window.
Eight years together means they’ve developed their own routines. She knows Jamie’s, Jamie knows hers, and, as Jamie puts it, “it just seems to work.”
Some of the entries we received were much harder to read.
Chloe told us about her Staffy cross, her “baby boy”, who she took everywhere with her, every day.
He’s sadly no longer here, and Chloe told us how much having his photograph printed would mean to her. She wanted to be able to see his face every day and feel as though he was still there, watching over the family.
It’s one of the reasons pet photos can become so incredibly important.
When you lose a pet, you’re not simply missing an animal. You’re missing the walks, the adventures, the habits, the greetings, the funny little things they did and their presence in your everyday life.
A photograph can’t replace any of that. But having a favourite image somewhere you see it every day can be a lovely reminder of the life you shared and all those memories you made together.
And this particular boy certainly looks like someone worth remembering.
Claire’s entry came with the heartbreaking news that her pet was nearing the end of their life.
There isn’t much we can add to that without wandering into territory where words aren’t particularly useful.
But we do know how much photographs can matter at times like these.
The photos sitting unnoticed on a phone suddenly become incredibly precious. The walk you photographed without thinking about it. The ridiculous sleeping position. The muddy day out. The close-up where their nose takes up half the picture.
They’re little pieces of a life you shared… And they’re worth keeping.
Not every entry arrived with a backstory. Some just arrived with a photograph capable of doing most of the talking.
Frankly, we’re fine with that too.
There are pet photographs.
And then there are pet photographs involving cowboy hats.
We don’t have the story behind this one, but we have several questions and we’re not entirely sure we want the answers.
What we can say is that this is a face with enormous wall potential.
This is the sort of photograph that makes you want to cancel everything, find the nearest blanket and go back to bed.
A tiny cat, tucked into an enormous pile of fluff and apparently experiencing a level of comfort most humans can only aspire to.
No notes.
Yes, dogs and cats tend to dominate pet photos.
Then someone sends us a ferret.
Beth’s entry was a useful reminder that “pet” covers a considerably wider range of characters than the usual canine and feline suspects.
And frankly, we could do with more ferrets in the inbox.
That expression.
Anyone who has ever lived with a cat will recognise it immediately.
We don’t know what happened immediately before this photograph was taken, but we’re fairly certain somebody is being judged for it.
Possibly us.
Finally, we have this magnificent bundle of curls.
Some pets make taking a decent photograph extraordinarily difficult. They move just as you press the button, turn their head, lick the lens or suddenly decide something fascinating is happening behind them.
Then you get a face like this.
Some pets just make it look easy.
The stories behind these photos are all different, but that’s really what we love about receiving them.
Pets aren’t just the subject of a nice picture.
They’re the dog who’s been beside you through a difficult few years. The Chihuahua who watched your family grow. The cat who has perfected the art of doing absolutely nothing all day and somehow makes it look exhausting.
And, sometimes, they’re the pet you desperately wish was still curled up beside you.
That’s why the photos matter.
So keep taking them. The beautiful ones, the blurry ones, the ridiculous ones and the ones where they’re doing precisely the thing you’ve told them 600 times not to do.
One day, you might be very glad you did.
And if you’ve got a pet we absolutely need to meet, keep an eye out for our next competition. Or send us a photo (pretty please?!) and tell us a little about them.
We are always willing to sacrifice a little more productivity.
