Photos of the year: Animals

In late April, I came home after a day of work to find a flock of cedar waxwings, one of my favorite birds, eating the buds of my flowering crabapple tree. It had been in bloom for about a week and the fragrence was irresistable, even to them. Cedar waxwings feed among the blossoms of a flowering crab tree in Cedar Rapids Monday, May 6, 2019. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Hawkeye dogs Cody, 11, left, and Chase, 2, of Solon hang out among tailgaters before the game at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019. Before a Hawkeye game it is always nice to have the opportunity to walk around the stadium and see what is going on among tailgaters. I was certainly stopped in my tracks when I looked over and saw Chase and Cody sitting in lawn chairs dressed in Hawks apparel watching the crowd go by. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

A monarch butterfly dries its wings after emerging from the chrysalis in southeast Cedar Rapids on Monday, July 1, 2019. Often on assignment we don't have the luxury of time to wait for the perfect moment. In this case, the subject was in my garden's gradual transformation into pollinator habitat, and I was able to watch and wait for weeks. The caterpillars grew larger, ate most of a milkweed plant down to the stalk, formed into chrysalises, and finally emerged as butterflies. Some were too exposed - bright green on the bright white trim of the house - and were quickly eaten by birds, but these lily leaves provided the perfect camouflage for the bright green chrysalis. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Sometimes a picture is just too good to pass up. A reporter and I were heading back from an assignment in Maquoketa when we passed the three goats soaking up the sun on the roof and hood of an old school bus. I got a few hundred yards away when the itch hit me. As I turned around I hoped the goats would still be on the bus. I was relieved that they were still there. As I made a few frames, the center goat got up and got into a pushing match with the goat on the hood of the bus. I knew I had my composition and moment. Gazette Photojournalist Jim Slosiarek.

Store owner Ashleigh Derby's two shop dogs rest on a sofa at Dot and Dash Boutique in The Depot building in New Bohemia in Cedar Rapids on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. The new boutique offers clothing and accessories. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

A deer runs between camp sites at Backbone State Park in Dundee, Iowa, on Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2019. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

EloQuinnt, known at the farm as Quinn, nuzzles Zoey Stolba, 13, of Clarence at Unbridled Spirits in Lisbon on Wednesday, May 1, 2019. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Just a nice moment showing the love dogs have for their humans. Josh Fettkether of Iowa City, Iowa, gets some dog kisses from of his his and his wife's Chihuahuas- Bindi during the Second Annual Wag-O-Ween fundraiser for Last Hope Animal Rescue at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City, Iowa, on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Attendees could take part in a costume contest, pumpkin decorating, balloon animals, bounce house, and meet adoptable cats and dogs. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Ellie is a 7-8 year old white and tan spayed female spaniel mix available for adoption at Cedar Rapids Animal Care and Control, 900 76th Ave Dr SW. Call (319) 286-5993 for more information. (Andy Abeyta/The Gazette)

Jason 'Doc' Rogers talks with customer Bob Blin of Marion as shop dog Mini rests on the floor at Doc's Repairs in Marion on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2019. 'Doc' fills a gap left by several cobblers who closed in the last few years. He repairs shoes and soles, purses and other leather goods. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Dolly (right) chases Holly in the play yard at Cedar Rapids Animal Care and Control on Thursday, June 20, 2019. The two are a bonded pair of hound mixes and are available for one shared adoption rate. Holly, 3, and Dolly, around one and a half, are believed to be mother and daughter and love to play and chase each other, and would do well in a home with a fenced in yard. The shelter, at 900 76th Ave Dr SW, is open noon to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Call (319) 286-5993 for more information. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Thomas Phan of Iowa City, Iowa, laughs as his five-year-old Pug Jake stands in his garbage can costume during the Second Annual Wag-O-Ween fundraiser for Last Hope Animal Rescue at Big Grove Brewery in Iowa City, Iowa, on Sunday, Oct. 20, 2019. Attendees could take part in a costume contest, pumpkin decorating, balloon animals, bounce house, and meet adoptable cats and dogs. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Sierra looks over donkey Princess at Unbridled Spirits in Lisbon on Wednesday, May 1, 2019. Sierra is one of 30 horses at the ranch for retired or at-risk racehorses. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Whenever I go to a county fair, I walk the livestock barns looking for a shot like this. I think it illustrates the attachment the children have for their animals. I would imagine it goes the other way too since Annabelle was comfortable with Alease laying on her. Alease Knapp, 12, of Prairieburg, Iowa, lays on the back of her Charolais named Annabelle during the 130th Linn County Fair in Central City, Iowa, on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

A bull rests its head on a fence in the arena where the World's Toughest Rodeo will take place at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. The rodeo features specialty entertainers and livestock alongside a team of rodeo athletes on Feb. 8—9. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Baby Duke uses a full-support wheelchair designed for a dog to get around inside the house of Shawna Riche at PuppyCow Farm Goat Rescue in rural Riverside, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Selah Loyd (cq), 12, of Mount Vernon, Iowa, walks her two to three-month-old Angus and Simmental cross Ashley around the show ring during the 130th Linn County Fair in Central City, Iowa, on Wednesday, June 26, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Sunny looks back into the barn at the Iowa Farm Sanctuary in Marengo, Iowa, on Thursday, April 25, 2019. Sunny lost a leg from an infection and lives at the sanctuary. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Clayton Loyd bottle-feeds a calf on his family farm outside of Mount Vernon on Thursday, May 16, 2019. Loyd, a rising sophomore at Iowa State, has changed his major to agricultural engineering and will receive an Iowa Farm Bureau Federation scholarship, awarded to 180 students studying agriculture. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)

Shawna Riche hugs Winston as she visits with her rescued goats at PuppyCow Farm Goat Rescue in rural Riverside, Iowa, on Tuesday, March 19, 2019. (Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette)

Whiplash the Cowboy Monkey, a white-throated capuchin, holds hands with Kenny Petet of Stephenville, Tex., who describes himself as Whiplash's roadie, in the arena where the World's Toughest Rodeo will take place at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019. The rodeo features specialty entertainers and livestock alongside a team of rodeo athletes on Feb. 8—9. (Rebecca F. Miller/The Gazette)

Geese stand on the partially-frozen Cedar River in Cedar Rapids on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2019. Across the river, work continues on the flood wall between the river and the Quaker Oats plant. (Liz Martin/The Gazette)