Lorrie Shaw / Contributor

Animals are for most of us, a big part of our lives. They capture our attention for so many reasons, and being in their midst provides us with so much more than just companionship. More benefits include lowering blood pressure, reducing stress and bringing out our more playful sides, just to name a few.

Wild critters naturally pique our interest too — especially when they are doing funny things that we don't expect.

This week, we were so glad once again see the enthusiasm that our readers have for sharing their photos of their beloved pets, as well as some wild creatures.

Would you like to see your pet featured on a future Pet Photo Friday?

Participating in our weekly photo blog is easy — simply email a photo of your pet, just being him or herself, to ppsa2mi@gmail.com any time for our weekly Pet Photo Friday feature.

Be sure to include the name of the animal(s), as well as their age and city or township of residence in your email. Photos should be 600 pixels wide and in .jpg format.

We put the week's photos into a slideshow, publish and promote each Friday here in the Pets section.

Lorrie Shaw is lead pets blogger for AnnArbor.com. Follow her daily pet adventures on Twitter.