With Dog Days starting on July 28, (and that’s debatable), the word around town is that several dog owners are taking advantage of this time of year to promote their hounds as the winner of the Humane Society of Pike County’s Pet Photo Contest.

For the past three year’s cats have been the “top dogs” when it comes to the annual fundraising photo contest.

“This year, we’ve got several people who seem determined to put their dogs on the front of the 2012 Pet Photo Calendar,” said Lisa Howard, contest chair. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to see if the dogs can give the

cats a run for the money.” Entries are being accepted through Aug. 16, and Howard said the entries have started to come in and, right now, dogs and cats are taking the lead.

“Dr. Pat Block’s ducks are the most unique entries we have, but we never know what to expect,” Howard said, indicating that more unusual pets might be entered.

But, probably no entry will be more unique than the one Howard’s husband entered in 2011.

She laughingly said that Buzz and Zard didn’t get a lot of votes in the contest but they created a lot of interest. The buzzards roosted in an old house near the Howard home and the baby buzzards kind of hung around outside the barn while they were learning to fly.

“My husband named them Buzz and Zard. He took a picture of them and entered it in the contest,” Howard said. “This year, there are more baby buzzards. So, who knows?”

The Pet Photo Contest is open to any pets whether they crawl, swim or fly or do something as ordinary as walk on four legs.

The Pet Photo Contest is a fundraiser that supports the Humane Society of Pike County’s spay and neuter program, its feral cat program and in-school education programs.

This is an important fundraiser for us,” Howard said. “The more money we raise the more we can do to reduce the number of abused and neglected animals in Pike County.”

To enter, mail an 8×10 color or black and white photo of the pet and the $10 entry fee to P.O. Box 296, Troy, Ala. Include the owner’s name, address and phone number, the pet’s name and information about the pet and the entry fee.

“You may enter as many pets as you like but each entry must be mailed separately,” Howard said. “Entry forms are available at locations around the county and forms may be printed from the humane society’s website,  www.pikehumane.org.”

The winner of the pet photo contest will be featured on the cover of the humane society’s 2012 Pet Photo Calendar and there will be a winner for each month and each week of the year.