Wednesday afternoon we officially opened the 3rd Annual World’s Coolest Dog & Cat Show, our furtabulous free dog and cat photo contest, where the people — not the pedigree — decide.

In less than 48 hours there have been over 5,500 entries and 100,000 votes cast. We have categories such as Craziest Tail, Naughtiest, Daredevil, Car Dog, Wet Cat and Costume & Shades, and the competition is already more fierce then ever. The photos are top-quality.

We also have a great group of judges including Cesar Millan, The Dog Whisperer, plus Julie Szabo, Gina Spadafori and Dr. Marty Becker, as well as our own Dr. Eric Barchas, Dogster’s Ask-a-Vet and Joy Ward, The Dog Blogger. If you ever wanted Cesar Millan to see your dog, here’s your chance!

In 2006 there were over 27,000 entrants and 1.2 million votes cast. The winner and finalists were all extraordinary. There’s over a month left to go in this year’s contest, so get your photos ready and start voting.

I’d also like to take a moment to show our appreciation to the contest sponsors: 9Lives, Red Cross (Bay Area), Pup-Peroni, Arm & Hammer Kitty Litter, Shutterfly and Quirk Books.

Check out and vote for some of the entrants:

Pixel in the Daredevil category

Dazzle in the Tongue & Slobber category

Nathan (the Whippet) in Costume & Shades

Bugsy in Stretch & Yawn