A vet from Co. Down has won two awards in the British Veterinary Association’s (BVA) Veterinary Photographer of the Year competition.
Sam Price from Bangor, Co. Down, won the ‘Happy Pets That Make Us Smile’ section of the competition and was also voted by attendants of BVA Live 2023 as the ‘People’s Choice’ award winner.
Price’s photo, named ‘Jumping for Joy’, features his dog Winnie on the beach.
Speaking on Price’s win in the two categories, and the image itself, BVA president Malcolm Morley said: “Sam’s photo of Winnie really was a photo of a happy pet that made us smile, she just looks so carefree and truly like she is living her best life.
“As vets, we all love to see happy, healthy pets, so I’m not surprised so many delegates at BVA Live chose this as their favourite image in this year’s competition.”
Price added: “I am delighted at the outcome of this competition, considering this was simply a candid shot taken on a regular beach walk with my dog, Winnie.
“The photo captured a moment of pure joy as she raced around on the sand so I felt this was a fitting photo for the brief of ‘Happy pets that make us smile’.
“I love seeing her enjoy herself at the beach and I’m thrilled her photo has made so many others smile too.”
Veterinary Photographer of the Year
The Veterinary Photographer of the Year competition, now in its eighth year, aims to showcase the day-to-day lives of vets, their colleagues, the animals they care for and the wildlife they encounter.
The two other categories, as well as this year’s bonus ‘People’s Choice’ award, were ‘Vets At Work’ and ‘All Creatures Great And Small’.
The winner of the Vets At Work photography category was Sophie Aylett with her image captioned ‘#Colostrumisgold’.
The image captured the moment a young calf was up and on the teat following a C-section before the cow’s muscle layers were sutured up.
The All Creatures Great and Small category winner was Katherine Edmondson.
Her photo, captioned ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’, shows three red-billed oxpeckers hunting for insects on the back of a young giraffe in the early hours of the morning.