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Lower your blood pressure as you wait for election results with these Salem pets

Belle Starr (Courtsy/Pete DeWitt)

When we put out a call for your pet photos over the weekend, I expected we might get a dozen or so.

Instead, my inbox is full of your beloved rescue pups, ornery kittens, one parrot and many tales of your pets’ hijinks and love. Some of you wrote elaborate backstories or captions explaining how your pets have felt about the 2020 election season.

I don’t pretend to be an animal expert of any sort and didn’t feel qualified to curate so many submissions, so we’re publishing at least one photo from every reader who submitted one, with the stories and captions you gave us.

We hope the collection gives you a chance to take a deep breath and get a few laughs in today as we prepare to give you election results tonight.

-Rachel Alexander

“Molly, with portrait of Molly.” (Courtesy/Joseph Gramer & Sarah Rohrs)

“Domino and Hank: Looking fabulous in black and white!” (Courtesy/Tracy White)

“This is Murphy, a 3 year old corgi from Salem. We’ve recently taken a couple of trips to Mt. Hood, the Yachats to get away from it all… totally Murphy approved.” (Courtesy/Janet Miller)

“Harry and Hazel are two rescues living the good life! They support and love the USPS for all the treats our mail carrier brings. Lady Liberty and Uncle Sam are just reminding you to honor our democracy by doing your civic duty— VOTE!!!!” (Courtesy/Sue Luft)

“This is my kitty Parker. He is about 7 years old and I adopted him from Meow Village 3 years ago. He is a big ham.” (Courtesy/Vicky Wood)

“McCoy is ready for 2020 to be over” (Courtesy/L. Campbell)

“Denim is coming back in a BIG way.” (Courtesy/Keegan Rank)

Gidget (left) and Moondoggy, 7 (Courtesy/Linda Parker)

“Charlie, a brindle greyhound border collie mix, the calmest member of this Salem household.” (Courtesy/Kate Ratcliffe)

“This is Winston. He doesn’t know what a vote is…just throw the ball already.” (Courtesy/Tom Mundal)

“Patriotic Bella” (Courtesy/Mark Dobbins)

“My 1 year old Cardigan Welsh Corgi enjoying a moment in the garden last summer.” (Courtesy/Carol Schroeder)

“The English Bulldog is Nigel, the little Frenchie is a rescue who has had a lot of names but none of them is terribly important since he doesn’t answer to anything as he is deaf…my step son calls him Adonis mostly because it is ridiculous.” (Courtesy/Jon Taylor)

“This is Frank. He is a very good boy. He’s an 11-year-old Boston Terrier, a rescue.” (Courtesy/Sarah Chilcote)

“My dog Snickers helping me work from home” (Courtesy/Alma Whalen)

Tanya (Courtesy/Sarah Rohrs)

“Merrilee Mitchell loves peanut butter better than any candidate. Never mind the election, just pass the peanut butter.” (Courtesy/Carol M)

Zoey (Courtesy/Tina Andersen)

Finnegan (Courtesy/Kirbey Geissler)

Cleo (Courtesy/Kirbey Geissler)

“Falcon posed perfectly He’s a stray rescue, 6 months old.” (Courtesy/Careylynn Patterson)

“Here is BettyBoop, a whoodle, at the dog park.” (Courtesy/Ann Kresge)

“This is Hazel, who we adopted from the Willamette Humane Society about 3 months ago. She had been adopted and returned twice for being “sassy” and “fractious”. We took a chance and we are so happy: she is a love bug and fits right in with Buster, our 10-year-old male Tuxedo cat, and her humans.” (Courtesy/Susan Patterson)

“This is Mollie, our golden retriever puppy. She voted, but is very sad because she found out the dog next door ate their ballot instead of voting!” (Courtesy/Phil and Theresa Lee)

“My parrot’s name is Saffron. He is a huge character!” (Courtesy/Leslie Lindberg Harper)

“This is the cat they call Midnight (His name is Minuit which is French for Midnight).” (Courtesy/Monica McQueen)

“Our beloved Polara.” (Courtesy/M Streubin)

“This is our mini long-haired dachshund named Strudel. It was taken with her favorite friend when she was about five months old.” (Courtesy/Brandon and Pamela Filbert)

“Fifa is our Great Dane/Labrador/Border Collie mix. She loves playing with her ball and visiting with people who come to our house.” (Courtesy/Stephanie Barth)

“The small dog’s name is Rascal, he lives up to his name. Just an amazing little guy!!” (Courtesy/Leslie Lindberg Harper)

“Paisley will ring her bell when this election is finally over!” (Courtesy/Michael Carrick)

“Luna and Tiny, rescue doggies who came to me this year. They are as ridiculously sweet as they look. They’re not too concerned with the election but they tolerate my views.” (Courtesy/Deborah Day)

Hansel relaxing. (Courtesy photo)

Gretel “helping” with fall decorating. (Courtesy photo)

“This is Loki, our Halloween cat. He’s an indoor cat, but he loves to go outside and spend time in the yard with us.” (Courtesy/Stephanie Barth)

“We have a pair of brothers who comfort us with their companionship with each other and with us.” (Courtesy/Sharon Pierson)

“Attached is a selfie I did waking up one morning with my foster cat “Pal” sleeping on my head. I run the volunteer FETCH pet rescue for hospital patients’ pets and Pal was one of my favorites. I had her for about three months.” (Courtesy/Shannon Priem)

“Here is our dog Sara with her pillow friend.” (Courtesy/Susan Wood and Nicole Duplaix)

Koda and Cosimo (Courtesy photo)

“Harry — hedonist” (Courtesy/Wendy Hudson)

“Our golden retriever Sunny. At left shortly after we adopted him from the Willamette Humane Society and at right today, he is 10 years old.” (Courtesy/Bob & Susan Tribotti)

Autumn, a five pound Pomeranian. (Courtesy/Pat Grimmett)

“Sophie driving our Winnebago” (Courtesy/Eric Schuman)

“Beckett, a rescue from Mexico. Beckett is thought to be, on any given day, a Bichon or Poodle mix. He is the funniest dog we’ve known.” (Courtesy/Valerie Brooks)

“This is Buster. He’s 10 years old, and he was adopted from the animal shelter as a kitten. On his first night at his new home, we were watching the SF Giants playing in the World Series. He kept reaching up to touch the screen, but he wasn’t tall enough. Buster Posey came up to bat and we both said ‘Buster – that’s his name.’ The Giants went on to win their first World Series in 50 years.” (Courtesy/Susan Patterson)

“Carlito is a rescue dog, chiweenie (doxie/chihuahua) from the Willamette Humane Society. He came from a California kennel when they were needing space for dogs displaced by the fires a few years ago.” (Courtesy/Mary Louise VanNatta)

“Dude. You need to get OUT more!!!” (Courtesy photo)

“This is Glinda (like the good witch from the Wizard of Oz). She would probably be very upset if we tried to put a costume on her, so we settled on putting a pumpkin next to her instead. She is a very old lady and enjoys walking around the house while meowing loudly at us. We love her dearly.” (Courtesy/Anna Harlan)

“My pandemic adoption” (Courtesy/Cheri Walker)

“Daisy at a concert on the Capitol Mall, 2019. Hoping we’ll have It again next summer!” (Courtesy/Nancy DeSouza)

“Alfie the tiny T-Rex!” (Courtesy/Jennifer Warner)

“Here’s Ellie. We adopted her in March 2020. Great timing! She’s saying “wake me when it’s over.” (Courtesy/Mary Jane Williams)

Riki and Sophie at Coquille River lighthouse (Courtesy/Eric Schuman)

“Coco and Cooper after some mud slinging of the happy kind!” (Courtesy/Nancy DeSouza)

Belle Starr (Courtsy/Pete DeWitt)

“Toofy. My Maine Coon.” (Courtesy/Michele Vanderyacht)

“Hazel is a staunch Democrat who wants to decriminalize catnip nationally. Clover is right-leaning and believes that we need stronger laws regulating and restricting spaying and neutering. Despite their political differences, they’ve remained close in an increasingly polarized time. An inspiration to us all.” (Courtesy/Paul Boers)

“This is Mochi, our 6-month-old Pembroke Corgi. Named for being our ‘sweet treat’ because we waited many, many years to get him! He’s a Pandemic Puppy! Currently in obedience classes to help ‘guide’ his ebullient personality. He’s a real character!” (Courtesy/Shellye Hodges-French)

Rachel Alexander is Salem Reporter’s managing editor. She joined Salem Reporter when it was founded in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She’s been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she’s a skater and board member with Salem’s Cherry City Roller Derby and can often be found with her nose buried in a book.