Let’s face it: everyone thinks they have the cutest pet. Scroll through any pet parent’s phone photo gallery or social media feed, and you’re bound to find hundreds of snapshots of their furever friend that they believe proves their point.
But are they? Is your high school classmate’s hyperactive Australian shepherd with its own Instagram, TikTok, and brand deal really the cutest dog you’ve ever seen in your whole entire life? Is the neighbor’s cat who stares at you with its big yellow eyes while you get the mail sweet, or actually kind of creepy?
Enter D Magazine. We, being the arbiters of superlatives around town (our 2023 Best of Big D winners drop in August), have brought back our annual Cutest Pets in Dallas competition. Hundreds of paw (and hoof and claw) parents have submitted their best friends in hopes of winning it all, including a professional photoshoot, a shout-out on D’s Instagram, and an article online and in print.
And, of course, ultimate bragging rights at the vet.
We’ve put together an esteemed jury of editors and past D Best winners to select our pick of the litter, but we need your help, too. Scroll through the online gallery of contestants and vote for your favorite critters. You can vote for as many pets as you want—but only once per day per pet—through July 9. So, feel free to stuff the ballot. Go, as they say, wild. Share the love like you share videos of Winnie or Max or Spot snoring.
The 20 pets with the most votes will go (virtually) before our panel of judges. Ultimately there will be two winners: “Judge’ Choice” and “Reader’s Choice.”
So, who will be best in show? Let’s take a look at the lineup.
Will it be Bobby, the tennis ball-loving King Charles Spaniel puppy? Or will people sympathize with Scout, the 2-year-old boxer, who’s putting it all on the line in his spicy book cover pose?
Will Gary and Paquita the ducks have a quack off at White Rock Lake? Will Astro bang on some trash cans for the title? Or will Prince the 7-year-old cat be crowned?
Maybe Neo definitively will prove we’re living in a simulation, after all.
It’s time to vote, Dallas. Who is the cutest pet in Dallas?
(After you cast your online ballots, check out our Hall of Fame, too.)
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