And yes, we may have gone a little overboard on the cute.

Meet Shadow, our ridiculously photogenic new cover model and one of the Grand Prize winners of this year’s Outword Pet Photo Contest. Inside, Shadow is joined by Joan, Rocki, Sadie, Dahlia, Mica, Sofi, Buddy Love, George Harrison & Eric Clapton — yes, those are corgis — and enough furry faces to make getting any actual work done nearly impossible.

We’re showing off our contest winners, runners-up and some of our favorite entries, plus a whole page of wonderful pet portraits from our longtime friend Janet at Lucky Buddy Pet Care.

But we didn’t completely go to the dogs (and a few cats).

There’s also a look at how RedRover is helping domestic violence survivors stay together with their pets, some fall fun with the Sacramento SPCA, an interesting way to turn your backyard into a private dog park with Sniffspot, and ideas for hitting the California road with Fido.
And because it’s still Outword, we managed to squeeze in LGBTQ+ news, voting, Disney On Ice, theater, movies, music, a little “Heated Rivalry” and plenty more.

So, grab a treat, find a sunny spot on the floor, turn around three times and settle in.
Outword’s Annual Pet Issue has been let OUT!