Contest

Pets of VUMC 2018 — Collection #3: Dogs! Cats! Beds! Sofas!, vol. 1

Lying on the floor or ground is overrated. Comfort is king.

by Wayne Wood June 5, 2018

Amber Vongsamphanh, Institute for Medicine and Public Health. “I adopted our pug Genie from an all-breed rescue in 2005 and she has brought such incredible joy to our lives. She is living out her golden years being treated like the queen she is.”

This is the third collection of photographs submitted by VUMC employees to the 2018 “VUMC Voice” Pet Photo Contest.

The first collection, called “Duos,” was posted in April.

The second collection, called “Dogs and their people,” was published in May.

Almost 600 (!) photographs were submitted for the contest. (Remember — the top prize we offer in the contest is a photo of your pet shared in “VUMC Voice.”) And while we won’t be able to use all, or even most, of the pictures we received, we hope to showcase a good sample of the best of the beasts.

If you didn’t send in an entry this year, and your pet is peeved at you about it, please reassure him or her that there will be a “VUMC Voice” Pet Photo Contest next year, but explain that the deadline for entries for this year has passed, and no more pictures will be accepted. We hope your pet understands.

And watch for the next installment of “VUMC Voice” Pets of VUMC 2018 — coming soon.

Laura Powers, Junior League Family Resource Center. “Clark was abandoned in a condo complex and rescued by a family member.”

Stephanie Hatcher, Hospital and Clinic Administration. “Hazel is a 1-year-old Sphynx cat. Her favorite things are to snuggle on and under covers, pull trash out of the wastebasket to play fetch with, and knock things off of bedside tables.”

Amber Lee, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. “Nick is a julianna/pot belly pig who currently weighs 150 pounds. He knows the commands of ‘shake,’ ‘sit,’ and ‘kiss,’ but will only do the tricks if treats (his favorite is peanut butter) are involved. He loves belly rubs and playing with toys, but his favorite thing to do is taking a nap on the couch.”

Sandra Wenden, office of Animal Welfare Assurance. Locket, the rescue borzoi.

Cynthia Joseph, Quality, Safety, and Risk Prevention. “Layla Grace is a basset hound that I adopted from the Tennessee Basset Rescue Belly Rubs.”

Clare Laut, Biomedical Research, Education and Training. “Josi is a treeing Walker coonhound. Her big ears are frequently a tripping hazard, get dunked in her water, and get flipped inside out — but they are still just too adorable.”

Shayna Hipson, Interpreter Services. ” ‘Queen’ Suzy’s favorite hobbies include hopping around on the couch, eating hay, and cuddling.”

Diana Phillips, Center for Professional Health. “Apollo loves to nestle on the couch pillows. All 110 pounds of him.”

Bobby Wells, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center. “Brian was a stray adopted from the Greater Birmingham Humane Society.”

Amy Shelton, Clinical Pharmacology and Genetic Medicine. “Hardy was rescued from Mid-Atlantic Pug Rescue in 2008.”

Leslie Reneau, Vanderbilt Medical Group. Cooper.

Suzanne Conway, Vanderbilt-Eskind Diabetes Clinic. “Sophie is a 5-year-old miniature schnauzer. She loves people and other dogs (no cats!) and shows her excitement with a high-pitched, ear-piercing scream to announce her presence and ask to play.”

William Rankin, VUMC Real Estate. “Sophie is a 5-year-old border terrier and a complete princess.”

Tiffanie Markus, Health Policy. “Maude chose our family out of all those in the neighborhood. She has been a great cat for a little girl to dress up and drag around. She is very loving and calm.”

Brittany Shores, MCE Discharge Pharmacy. Lexie and Meredith.

Christian Carpenter, Trauma. Coco and Roger. “We got Coco, the blue tick coonhound, around 10 months after her first owner could not keep her since he had to move to an assisted living facility. Roger the cat was rescued from an Indian reservation in California. He rode in the back window all the way across country when we moved. He is a well traveled cat.”

Ashley Fallon, Child Life. “Tucker loves to be comfortable and can always be found resting on a blanket or pillow. Tucker’s favorite food is lettuce. Seriously.”

Marta Hernanz-Schulman, Radiology and Radiological Sciences and Pediatrics. Mariah the shih-tzu.

Jordan Patterson, Anesthesiology. Kuma in repose.

Keith Vencel, Human Resources. “Stella Mae is a 3-year-old Jack Russell and German Shepherd mix.”

Sandra Jill Wingate, Vanderbilt Coordinating Center. “Winston is our sweet Yorkie who insists on bringing all his toys to us in bed in the mornings and has a very ‘old dog’ bark.”