In my world...by
ShutterPugComment: Well Linda, here is my take on the scores you received, and are only my opinons.
First of all, a 5.0 really isn't a bad score. This was a challenge of creativity, mood and "Heebie-Jeebies" in a way. Your picture is touching, and as a former Pug owner, hits a soft spot here. Here is where I believe it had problems:
The average voter spends only a couple seconds to look at it and cast a vote. Your image needed a few seconds longer to get a feeling for and perhaps understand. When a voter has to try and understand too much, they vote in the 4, 5 & 6 realm, as the bulk of the scores on yours reflect. Pet pictures seem to generally score a bit lower too, now adding a second strike in a way. That image means 100x more to you than anyone else here, and becomes self-explanitory in your world, but may not click in a voter's eyes. Perhaps a more powerful title may have helped convey that the dog wasn't just closing it's eyes, with something like "Blind at birth".
Technically, the focus is a little soft in my opinion for something with a minimal dof. Sharper features in the face may have also helped. Composition & framing is decent, with it not being a dead-center mug shot.
Remembering who is scoring these challenges is to understand what to produce if you only care about a high vote:
Eye candy and wow factor always seem to come out on top.
When the power goes off on your PC, you still have a touching print to look at,
worth far more than other people's opinions and lack of compassion.
(copied from reply in forum so it would have a more suitable home here.) 
Photographer found comment helpful.
