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Portraits of Dogs and Lifestyle-Specific Possessions Reveal Their Personalities

by viralbandit May 9, 2018, 4:24 pm 1.2k Views

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A Dog’s Life Dog Portraits by Alicia Rius

“The Neurotic”

You might be familiar with the popular What’s in my bag? trend, where beauty experts, fashionistas, and travel bloggers give us a peek into their lives by laying out their daily essentials and snapping a photo from above. Well, humans aren’t the only ones with personality-specific possessions. Los Angeles-based lifestyle and animal photographer Alicia Rius reveals the objects that shape the daily routine of our canine friends in a series of dog portraits titled A Dog’s Life.

Having been an animal lover her whole life, Rius wanted to find a way to express the unique personalities of her furry subjects. The inspiration for A Dog’s Life came from realizing that, in many ways, dogs are “just like humans.” She explains, “Dogs form attachments to their personal possessions and can give the viewer deeper insight into their identity.”

After putting out a call for “dog models” on several Facebook groups, Rius met with the owners of the canine characters to get to know them. “Each dog has or does certain things in his life that define who he is or what he is going through,” explains Rius. After asking to see some of the dogs’ most favorite items, she reveals, “The objects that ‘go with’ each dog truly exemplifies who the dog really IS. Using the dog’s belongings allowed me to go deeper into the life of the dog, and opened my eyes into his real world.”

Shot against different colored backgrounds, each of the series’ six images represent the subjects in two frames: “the dog and his world.” The photographer’s models include Bear, “The Neurotic” English Bulldog who is shown beside an array of chewed-up toys and shoes. Rius explains, “English Bulldogs are known for their stubbornness and sometimes get frustrated when they don’t get what they want. So how does he channel all that frustration? By chewing everything he can!” Another posing pup is Lola Rose, “The Princess” Maltese Shih Tzu mix. Next to a wardrobe of pink outfits, booties, and glittering accessories, Rius reveals, “She is a very spoiled dog that has her own Instagram profile and she’s very much treated as the princess of the house.”

See more of this photographer’s work, and find out more about the series on Rius’ website.