Brandy Grace Pinckard, the cat of Kenny and Elaine Pinckard, staved off a fast and furious finish by Zena, the dog child of Barbara Wiggins, to once again take first place in the Humane Society of Pike County’s 2012 Pet Photo Contest.

Brandy Grace, a rescue cat, is a previous contest winner and the only winner to take the title a second time.

Cats have won all of the humane society’s Pet Photo contests. But, this year was supposed to be the year of the dog.

“Zena made a good run for the title but Brandy Grace pulled off the win,” said Lisa Howard, photo contest coordinator. “A cat won again but most of the winners that will be featured each month are dogs. So both the cats and dogs were winners.”

The monthly winners of the 2012 Pet Photo Contests and their families were: Desdimona and Babies, Dr. Patricia Block; Bruiser, Richard and Candy Shaughnessy; Max and Bear, Jennifer W. Garrett; Cam and Shug, Jack and Diane Jordan and Haylee; Bubba Dog, Gibbie and Puggie, Jack and Diane Jordan; Ginger, Benny Jinright; Smokey Joe and Sunshine; Dr. Patricia Block; Scooter, Joan and Paul Word; Hattie and Earnie, Eloise Murphree; Jimmy Lee and Woody Harrell, Doug and Dean Hawkins; Wiggles, Thom and Neil Haigh; and Lady Bug, Thom and Neil Haigh.

Howard said the Pet Photo Contest attracted a great amount of interest and it was exciting to watch the votes come rolling in during the last few days of the contest, which ended on Sept. 16.

The Pet Photo Contest is an annual fundraiser for the Humane Society of Pike County. There is a $10 entry fee for each pet entered and votes are cast in dollar lots.

“We had 86 entries in the contest and more than 6,300 votes were cast,” Howard said. “In these difficult economic times, we were very pleased with both the number of entries and the number of votes cast.”

The 2012 Pet Photo Calendars will be on sale Nov. 1 and make great Christmas gifts for all pet lovers. The price of the calendars will remain at $10. The calendars will be available at locations around the county and those locations will be announced at a later date.

The funds raised by the Pet Photo Contest support the humane society’s annual spay and neuter program, feral cat program and its in-school 4-H program that teaches young people how to care for animals and the importance of having pets spayed or neutered.

“The contest also supports the humane society’s family emergency program,” Howard said. “If, for some reason, a family can no longer take care of a pet, the humane society will provide for it until it can be returned to them. Many times, a local veterinarian will notify us about a pet that needs medical treatment but the family is unable to afford to have it done. The veterinarian will work with us to make sure the animal gets the care it needs.”

The Humane Society of Pike County appreciates any and all donations. Donations may be mailed to the humane society at P.O. Box 296, Troy, AL 36081.