Our first-ever North Shore Bank’s Cutest Pet contest received more than 50 adorable entries, and the winners are in — with man’s best friend taking a lead over the other species. Without further ado…

First place: Phoenix

“Phoenix is about 2 years old,” reports his owner, New Berlin Teller Tiffany Dettmann. “My family loves boxers, so we get our dogs through a breeder in Indiana every single time.” The love affair started when Tiffany’s uncle brought home a white boxer — a rare specimen at the time, when many people thought that color meant a boxer wasn’t healthy. “He was amazing, so we stuck with it.”

As for Phoenix, she says, “He is a goofball. Now he’s a little bit bigger than he was in the picture — probably about 60 pounds — but he still thinks he’s a puppy. He tries to sit on my little 10-pound Yorkie, Romeo” — who also placed well in the contest — “and that just doesn’t work.”

Runners-up: Lilah and Stella

Lilah and Stella belong to AVP/Loss Prevention Manager Denine Johnston’s daughters Allison and Amanda, who live in Dallas. They’re both Australian shepherds; Lilah is 3 years old, and Stella is just 5 months old. “We’ve had Lilah up here during the summers while Allison was finishing grad school,” Denine says. “They’re both very sweet together, they play a lot, and Lilah teaches Stella, too.”

Congratulations to our winners, and many thanks to everyone who submitted a photo for the contest! You can check out the other darling competitors here, and be sure to read about Controller Nancy Lepic’s dog Wynne in this week’s Community-Minded volunteer profile.