In our weekday version of the Morning Report, our newsletter, we sign off with photos of our readers’ pets. You can follow along by subscribing to this free newsletter, which arrives by email. Sign up for the Morning Report — and our other free newsletters — at twincities.com/newsletters. For many of our subscribers, the “Daily Meow/Daily Doggo” is a great way to start the day. “You are bringing joy to many with this series of pet photos,” wrote one reader. “Thank you.” Thank you, readers, for contributing to this special corner that helps people smile. As a sample, here are 12 photos of pets featured in the Morning Report in 2024. (Note: Our style is to typically use first names only for readers who submit photos to the Morning Report, and so we continue that tradition here.) December Picture this: December. Petco. Puppies. At the adoption event for Pooches United with People (PUP), which reporter Molly Guthrey attended for a story, a puppy called Tito climbed into her lap. Molly wanted to bring the brown Labrador/Shepherd mix home, but she couldn’t, not with her son’s severe allergies. “I can’t adopt him,” she told Morning Report readers, “but you can.” A reader named Troy responded; he and his spouse, Lorenda, were ready to adopt again after the death of their dog about six months earlier. So they called Jeanne Weigum, founder of PUP, and arranged a meet-and-greet. It was a quick meeting. “Jeanne basically handed Tito to my husband and that’s all it took,” Lorenda said. Tito got a home, just in time for Christmas. November Some pets get dressed up for the holidays. This includes Oreo. “Oreo just got her hair cut yesterday and came home wearing a festive turkey bandana,” wrote Stephanie of Minneapolis. “I gathered some of her friends to pose for a fun photo that fit the theme.   Happy Thanksgiving from this whole rafter of turkeys!” October Some pets we write about appear to lead lives of class and taste. Like Annabelle. “My husband and I returned to Minnesota after working out east for several years,” Caroline writes. “We celebrated coming back to Minnesota with a bottle of Valpolicella Ripasso. Just as we were about to make a toast, our Persian cat Annabelle jumped up on the table, wanting to partake in the festivities!” September A dog is a gift who brings fun every day, like Zoey. “This is Zoey,” wrote Jen of St. Paul’s Como neighborhood in an email to the Morning Report. “She’s a 12-year-old Golden Retriever, with a vast tennis ball collection that she uses for a daily game of fetch in the backyard and also as a buddy to accompany her on any trip outside. She religiously brings them back into the house, for fear that one may get lost! The photo is of her taking a break during said game of fetch. “She is our first family dog, my first dog ever (and I’m 58!) so I have no basis for comparison, but others are amazed at her gentle nature and overall calm, as evidenced by napping through a thunderstorm last night!” August The bond between humans and their pets is often on display in the photos we receive. Take a look at the expression on Gus’ face, it tells a story. “Gus was not a happy kitty when he moved in with me,” Steve writes, “but we worked it out.” July Ah, the dog days of summer. Speaking of those dogs, meet Ajax. “A friend of mine referred me to your email/column that you do in the Pioneer Press,” Justin writes. “So, Meet Ajax (AKA Chubbs)! He is a 13-year-old sassy Pug/Pitbull mix who knows that he is too cool for his own good. I mean, look at him! He never misses his dinner time and makes sure his dads never miss it either. “I adopted him when he was two and has been living the life since then. I’ve never met a dog with such personality and character as Ajax, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. He loves to bathe in the sun and take long naps. He is the goodest boy!” June We celebrate birthdays here in the pet corner of our newsletter. Not all pets have celebrations as big as Summit’s, though. Lucky dog. “Our baby boy Summit turned 13!” Scott wrote. “He doesn’t get around much anymore due to his age, so we decided to bring the party to him. All of his friends and family came and we had a wonderful time. I haven’t seen him so excited and happy in a long time!” What a great idea! We asked for details. “It was on Memorial Day — May 27 — which is his actual birthday,” Scott replied. “We had big gold ’13’ balloons, gold ’13’ candles, a slideshow on TV, a cake, etc. Probably had 20 friends and neighbors over who know him from our previous walks around the neighborhood. Now that he can’t walk very well to visit his friends, we decided to invite his friends to visit him and they all came — even the people who we got him from originally when he was only 1 year old (we kept in touch and she even used to dog-sit for us) came from across town to visit him. He still remembers her and got soooo excited to see her when she arrived. He’s such a good boy and everybody loves him, especially us!” All this love, it’s what every dog deserves. May Remember the eclipse? Even dogs joined in the fun, although Benny wasn’t too excited about it. “This is Benny!” Peggy wrote. “He’s a sweet boy who loves morning walks and napping in the sun. He joined us for the eclipse but wasn’t too impressed.” April When spring comes to Minnesota, there’s nothing like a porch. Especially if you’re a cat. “Max was patiently waiting for me to reopen the screen porch,” Linda wrote. “He is now a happy camper.” March While the Morning Report typically features dogs and cats, there are exceptions — like YooHoo, featured in a Memorial Monday post in March. “Here is YooHoo aka Piglet,” Mary wrote. “I had always wanted a pet pig ever since seeing Arnold Ziffel on the “Green Acres” TV show decades ago. “Piget had a ‘failure to thrive’ issue and was the size of a football her first season. When fall came, she became an acorn addict and bulked up to 80 pounds. “She was a queen and quite demanding. She loved to burrow into a pile of sleeping bags in the bathroom that became hers alone. “She also made it a point to greet me at the door when I came home from work. After a quick snort, she would trot back to her sleeping bags bed and burrow in … unless there was food to be had. “She was highly motivated by food … once she got into the cupboard and ate two pounds of chocolate chips. That resulted in a trip to the ER. Fortunately, there is a pet pig vet in Minneapolis. “She loved car riding and laying next to the fireplace to get extremely hot. Not a good thing for a pig. “Neighborhood kids saved up scraps of fruits and vegetables for her. If she was out in her pen, she was a local focal point. “After three years, I arranged for her to go to a pig sanctuary — she started chewing furniture and becoming aggressive. Alas, Piglet is no more due to her lingering health issues from her youth.” February The pets of Minnesota missed the snow in 2023-24, otherwise known as our winter that wasn’t. Except Cali — she lives in Switzerland. Linda oftens shares stories and photos of her “granddog,” like many readers do. Cali’s European adventures are fun for armchair travelers like us. “Here’s a little flashback of winter,” Linda wrote in February. “It’s my grandpuppy, Cali, enjoying a walk in the woods in January. She found the perfect log to pose on for her photo!” January “Tasha in the window by candlelight waiting for Santa to come,” Cindy wrote on Jan. 6. “Two years old, it was her first Christmas at home. She and her kittens were in foster care the previous year.” Related Articles Local News | There was ‘no room at the inn’ for this dog, but a St. Paul rescue helped save her (and her puppies) Local News | 2 arrested in northern Minnesota animal mistreatment case involving 250 cats and dogs Local News | Pets featured in the Morning Report in November Local News | Feline Rescue raises more than $50,000 on Give to the Max Day for outreach services Local News | St. Paul man gets nearly 3½ years in prison for ‘cruel’ robbery of pricey dog on Payne-Phalen walk