The Independent’s Cutest Pet Contest

It was no easy task to pick the finalists of our annual Cutest Pet Contest. But going through the submissions of over 250 pets truly melted our hearts. And we hope that these photos bring joy during these troubling times. All pets are cute, and we thank each and every pet owner who participated. In The Independent’s Cutest Pet Contest, everyone is a winner.

It was so wonderful to see how many of the pets had been adopted from local animal shelters. Owners proudly stated in many of the submissions which foundation their pet had been rescued from. We are so lucky on the East End to have so many animal shelters — our partner in this contest the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, as well as Southampton Animal Shelter Foundation and North Fork Animal Welfare League — giving FURever homes to animals in need. We are lucky to have a community that cares so deeply for animals.

And the Grand Prize winner for most photogenic is . . . Sandy! For our overall winner, Sandy received the most votes from the Indy Staff. Sandy’s photos were professional and really showed personality. Sandy is from East Hampton, and was submitted by owners Will Kearns and Julia Nunez.

Our Cutest Outfit prize went to Griffin from Southampton. The Cutest Cat was Tygra from Aquebogue. Our Cutest Duo went to Peanut & Benny from East Hampton. Scooter from Great River won for Funniest. Look-A-Like winner was Sandy and owner John Papaleo from Montauk. And Grumpiest went to Regine from Brooklyn.

We’d also like to thank our partners ARF and Harbor Pets. And thank you to those who helped announce our winners on social media: ARF’s Jamie Berger, Joey Wölffer of Wölffer, Southampton Village Mayor Jesse Warren, East Hampton Fire Department Chief Gerry Turza, Alan Fruitstone of Harbor Pets, and Indy’s Nicole Teitler and Amy Kalaczynski. And a big thanks to Carol Saxe of www.saxestudio.com and Liz and Arie Pavlou from Bistro Ete for gifting our winners.

To view the entire section, click here. Congratulations!