Finalists, Keep Your Ear to the Ground...

Decisions have been made. Finalists have been called. Confirmation letters and emails have been sent.

67 of them (plus some alternates just in case).

As we've mentioned, it wasn't an easy call to make. There certainly were many submissions that we're heartbroken didn't make it into the top group. (And there also are quite a few that just had such low resolution - from a camera phone maybe? - that they'd print really funny.) (Do check your design's image resolution (dpi) is high enough when you submit, pretty please!)

A few days ago, the Hallmark judging team (your hosts) invited Dr. Wayne Hunthausen, a local veterinarian and pet behavior specialist, and Brian Bengelsdorf, the Art Director of "Dog Fancy" magazine, to make the final call on which cards should make it to the finalist round.

They, too, were impressed with the quality of the entries, particularly how well many of you tied your photograph to your birthday sentiment. Also, with just how well your photos came out. (They know from lots of personal experience how squirmy even the most patient pet can be.) Nicely done, you guys.

To those of you who didn't make the cut this time, remember that this is not the end, but the beginning (we hope we hope we hope) of all these competitions. Stay tuned.

Random aside: At dinner with our pet experts, we found out both of their last names means something funny or pet-related when translated to English. Any guesses?