Don Renfroe of the Shiloh community mulled over the rules for the Humane Society of Pike County’s Pet Photo Contest.

All the talk’s been about dogs and cats and which will grace the cover of the 2015 Pet Photo Calendar. But, Renfroe said not all pets are dogs and cats. Why, he’s got a couple of pets that would walk with him all around the world.

And, there’s no doubt that Pete and Jenny would and could walk with Renfroe, as the old saying goes, “to the jumping off place.”

So, after studying on the contest for a while, Renfroe’s throwing Pete and Jenny’s straw hats into the ring.

The matched pair of mules is now “officially” in the running for the cover of the 2015 Pet Photo Calendar.

The Humane Society of Pike County’s Pet Photo Contest is a fundraiser for the Society’s spay and neuter program. So, Renfroe’s thinking mules are ideal “poster animals” for the contest. A mule’s mama is a horse and its daddy is a donkey and mules don’t reproduce. “That’s what this contest is all about – preventing unwanted animals so the county won’t be overrun with abused, neglected and abandoned animals,” Renfroe said. “So I’m entering Pete and Jenny in the contest. They are a fine pair of draft mules.”

In their younger years, Pete and Jenny pulled dog wagons during bird hunts at a plantation in Georgia. When they retired from the plantation, they found a home as pets for Renfroe and his family.

“People think mules are dumb but they’re not,” Renfroe said. “Our country was built on the back of mules. They were the main beasts of burden during the pioneer days and they were a source of power until the 1950s. Now, they’re just used for recreational purposes, except by the Amish who still use them on their farms, and as pets.”

Mules make outstanding pets for several reasons. “They are more intelligent than horses,” Renfroe said. “They require less water and less food. A mule will stop eating when it’s full. A horse will eat as along as there’s anything there for it to eat.

“Mules are highly resistant to diseases and you won’t find a better friend. A horse will know who you are but a mule will take care of you. A mule will watch your back and keep the coyotes and wild dogs off you.

“A mule will walk around with you just like a dog will. But mules will walk with you wherever you go no matter how far and how tough the going. That counts for a lot.”

And, when the votes are counted on Sept. 30, who knows, Pete and Jenny just might have Gee-Hawed their way to being cover mules. Today is the deadline for entries in the Humane Society of Pike County’s 2015 Pet Photo Contest.

To enter, drop an 8×10 pet photo, an entry form with the owner’s name, address and phone number and the pet’s name and a $10 donation to the Humane Society of Pike County at The Little Framery, Troy Antiques or Guynn’s Income Tax and Bookkeeping Services in Troy or Hillside Antiques on Highway 231 South. Entries may be mailed (postmarked Sept. 2) to Pet Photo Contest, P.O. Box 296, Troy, AL 36081, or entered online atwww.pikehumane.org.

Voting is $1 a vote and votes may be cast at the above location, by mail or online.