Don Renfroe was more than excited but Pete and Jenny didn’t have much to say when Lisa Howard, chair of the Humane Society of Pike County’s annual Pet Photo Contest, delivered the first 2015 Pet Photo Calendar to them Friday morning.

Renfroe was flanked by Pete and Jenny, winners of the 2015 Pet Photo Contest, and accepted on behalf of his matched pair of Percherons.

Pete and Jenny tallied more than 1,600 votes and out distanced a strong field of cats and dogs that were hot on their heels in the highly contested 2015 Pet Photo Contest.

Pete and Jenny were the first mules entered in the Pet Photo Contest but they were no strangers to the Pike County community.

For several years, Pete and Jenny have pulled wagonloads of people in just about every parade in the county. They have pulled the wagon at different events at the Pioneer Museum of Alabama and at the Peanut Butter Festival and for visitors to We Piddle Around Theater. Pete and Jenny’s wagon has been the vehicle of choice for brides and grooms and has even served as a funeral coach.

“Pete and Jenny have met all kinds of people and have gone all kinds of places. It’s a real honor for them to have been thought of in such a manner as this,” Renfroe said as he accepted the calendar featuring Pete and Jenny on the cover.

Renfroe admitted that he was a bit hesitant to enter his mules in the 2015 Pet Photo Contest but believing that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” he “went ahead and did it.”

Renfroe expressed appreciation to all of those who voted for Pete and Jenny and for all the entries in the contest.

The money raised supports the local humane society’s spay and neuter program.

Howard said the mules added a lot of interest to the Pet Photo Contest, which has raised $17,000 to date.

“The 2015 Pet Photo Calendars are now on sale and we hope to raise another $5,000 and that will allow us to offer the spay and neuter program throughout the year including one or two big clinics,” Howard said. “Each year, around 400 dogs and cats are spayed or neutered through the Humane Society of Pike County’s program.

“That goes a long way in reducing the number of abused, neglected and abandoned dogs and cats here in our county. The humane society also has a feral cat program where these cats are spayed or neutered and returned to their colony. We also help with the treatment of injured animals and we have a program for families in need that are unable to temporarily care for their animals.

“Those who participated in the Pet Photo Contest whether it was by entering their pet, casting a vote or taking an ad in the calendar, all contributed to the programs the Humane Society of Pike County sponsors in the interest of abused, neglected or abandoned animals.”

The 2015 Pet Photo Calendars are on sale at various locations in Troy and Brundidge, including The Little Framery, Guynn’s Income Tax and Bookkeeping Service and Troy Antiques in Troy and First National Bank, Brundidge Florist and Troy Bank & Trust in Brundidge.