So here's the situation. Your logo is fantastic. It's unique, creative, colorful, fun and everything we asked for in our contest brief. The interaction between the dog and the snake (starting in #9) for example is awesome! We sincerely appreciate the work that you've put in and the revisions you've made for us.
The problem is that none of us involved in the selection process are designers and when we started this we were basically shooting in the dark. Having said that, it's looking at this point like we'll end up going with something that has more realism and less of a cartoon feel. We obviously haven't entered judging mode yet, and haven't made any final decisions. I just wanted to thank you and apprise you of the situation.
We would be very interested to see something from you that portrays more realistic looking animals, though we do realize that the contest is almost over and that that probably involves starting practically from scratch. Regardless, thank you very much for your submissions.