Forget any other, unimportant votes that have taken place recently – this is the one that really matters.

The time has come to vote for which entry should win News Shopper’s Cute Pets competition.

Over the past two months we have invited proud owners to send in photos of their furry, feathered and scaly friends for our contest to find the area’s most adorable animal.

From a field of hundreds, we have selected 25 gorgeous finalists – now we need your help to decide the champion.

To see all the dogs, cats, reptiles and rodents that have made it through, browse through the gallery above and choose your favourite – whichever you think is the most picture-perfect pet, the one that makes you smile the most or say the longest ‘aww’.

Make a note of the reference number after the pet’s name then vote by sending a text to 80360, starting your message with NSPETS followed by a space and the four digits under the photo of your choice.

Texts cost 25p plus your normal operator text charge.

Voting closes at midnight on July 15-16.

A cash prize of £75 and much glory will go to the owner of the winning pet which has the most votes at the end.

Runners-up prizes of £50 and £25 will be awarded to the owners of the second and third-placed pets.

We’ve had great fun going through all the entries to choose the finalists – we now look forward to seeing who you select as the cutest of them all.