It's hard to believe that it's been a year since our last pet days and "Cutest Pet" contest!  Last year we had 15 participants: 3 cats, 12 dogs and 3 children. Even the shelter cat came in! We raised close to $2000 for the Lenoir County SPCA shelter.  There was a first, second and third place winner in our "Cutest Pet" contest.  We had donations for prizes from Pet Sense in Kinston, The Dog House, Pets Supplies Plus in Goldsboro, Lenoir County Animal Hospital, and The Village Steakhouse.  We gave away over $300 in prizes!

It's a great opportunity to have your furry family member photographed by themselves or with the rest of the family.  There are not many pet photographers in the area and many will not take on the challenge of pets, but here at Martha Peoples Photography, we love pets!  We know that they are an important part of your family and we want you to have a great portrait of them.  I am also a loyal supporter of the SPCA and try to help them out as much as possible.  Two of my furry family members came from there!

I started Pet Days in 2008 as a food drive for the SPCA.  It started out as a one day event.  We had such a great response that we had to make it a whole week.  In 2013, we added the "Cutest Pet" contest to raise money as well as food. For $35 and a 20 lb. bag of cat or dog food, you can have your pet photographed and receive a 5x7 print!  Each pet that comes in for a portrait during Pet Days is eligible to be in the contest.  Contestants are put on the Lenoir County SPCA website for the public to vote on as the "cutest" pet.  Each vote is 5 dollars.  The money raised goes directly to the LCSPCA.  We award first, second and third places for the pets with the most votes.  It has become a friendly competition and the voting always goes down to the wire on the last day.  Everyone has a lot of fun and the winner is the poster pet for the next year's events.

We have area businesses that donate prizes for the contest.  I look forward to working with our same venders this year and adding some new ones!  Of course some of the prizes are for the pets, but we have a few for the owners as well!  It's a great way to work with local businesses and help promote them as well.

Next week I will tell you everything you need to know about preparing for your pet portrait, so stay tuned!