Who doesn’t love charming pictures of our pets? This is our ever-so-popular Pets issue and as we usually do, we had you send in some great pics and we chose the ones we liked the best. You can check out the winners on page 12 and some of the runner-ups on page 14! Even if you are not THE winner, we think you are all winners, and so are your pets! Thank you for sharing them.

About the cover. We call it A Day in the Park with Lucy. Renee and Angie were happy to share their darling puppy with Outword readers, and freelance photographer, Mark Hinte, captured the moment with wonderful images. We love how the cover turned out, and couldn’t have done it without all four of you!

Inside this issue are lots of stories, tid-bits and articles from friends, co-workers and the like. They helped us pull together what we think is a fun and informative pub that lets us celebrate and love our animal companions. So, another thank you is in order to everyone that contibuted.

Don’t worry though. Our Arts and Entertainment editor, Chris Narloch, was not put out in the doghouse. He has some great articles about new music, new movies, fun live theatre and even the almost-heavenly Sarah Brightman.

…And so much more.