Are we alone? Instead of using the Winter Solitude theme for this issue's Contemporary Haiga section, I thought that instead it might be fun to calling for haiga on the theme of domestic animals: "dogs, cats, farm animals, laboratory animals, any species that has been domesticated or bred by humans whether for purpose or simply to share companionship on our lonely journey," as the call for submissions put it.

It's been fun seeing what has come in. Predictably, there's a plurality of haiga about cats, but we also have dogs, birds, horses, sheep, goldfish and even bees. Missing species include asses, pigs, camels, elephants, chickens, ducks, geese, pigeons and turkeys, rabbits and hamsters and silk moths—that's alright, because the haiga we've selected explore such a wide range of possibilities: the nature of these animals, and relationships with them—from joy and comfort to cruelty and loss. May it be as thought provoking for you as it's been for me.

Alexis Rotella	Martina Heinisch	Emily Romano	Mary Davila
Martina Heinisch	Mary Davila	Emily Romano	Alexis Rotella
Emma Dalloway	Alexis Rotella	John Irvine	John Irvine
Jacek Margolak	Ida Mahulja & Bojan Bonifačić	John Irvine	Alexis Rotella
Linda Papanicolaou	Jan Turner	John Irvine	Emma Dalloway
Linda Papanicolaou	Mary Davila	Sandy Vrooman	Kay Dolezal
Alexis Rotella	Martina Heinisch	Dorota Pyra	Kay Dolezal

For information about our June Haiga Challenge,
click the Submissions link on the left sidebar.