Columnists

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

'Say... catnip!'

New photo book documents the hilariously strange relationship people have with their pets

By: Alison Gillmor

Posted: 11/19/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Enlarge Image

Snapshots show pet owners who love their animals far more than they love their dignity.

Love is blind. Just check out Awkward Family Pet Photos, the newest book from the folks behind the popular website awkwardfamilyphotos.com. In picture after picture, people's heartfelt affection for their animals has somehow clouded the fact that these are deeply weird images.

Website founders Mike Bender and Doug Chernack have always offered what-were-they-thinking examples of Christmas cards, wedding photographs and baby portraits. But they noticed that photos with pets were consistent fan favourites. No wonder, since the presence of dogs, cats and pot-bellied pigs adds a certain cross-species frisson to the already awkward mix of inadvertently exposed family dynamics and awful '80s clothes.

These photos also reveal our often confused relationships with non-human animals. The people in these photos are overflowing with love. Too bad for their pets that much of this love seems tragically, comically misdirected. We sometimes wonder what's going on inside our animals' heads. But our behaviour must seem absolutely baffling to the creatures on the other end of the leash.

The first thing you notice when riffling through the pages of AFPP is that animals hate wearing hats. (Also ball gowns, ski goggles, dinosaur costumes and Renaissance Fair capes.) Dogs and cats and iguanas don't want you to buy them hats. They want you to take all the money you spend on hats and spend it on liver treats and catnip and... and whatever the iguana equivalent is.

Along with a tendency to overdress their pets, some people have a habit of under-dressing themselves, with several book and website images celebrating the bond between nudists and their animals. Frankly, some of these photos look borderline illegal.

In fact, the human subjects in many of these photos seem to be struggling with boundary issues, like one father who makes no distinction whatever between his child and his chimp. There's a clear tendency to make animals into substitute babies or replacement spouses, a trend that becomes exacerbated during the holidays. Never mind the dog dressed as Santa: There's a nativity scene in which a Boston terrier plays the part of the infant Jesus, wrapped in swaddling clothes and surrounded by an adoring Mary and Joseph.

The book mostly covers dogs, cats and birds, but for many folks, the definition of what constitutes a pet is elastic, sometimes alarmingly so. Here are families proudly posing with skunks, monkeys, goats, pigs and an aristocratically aloof capybara. One guy has a horse in his living room. Domesticated opossums seem to be as common as golden retrievers.

Some menageries cross the line from all-embracing eclecticism to just plain nuttiness, especially in light of recent news stories. Consider "Sadie the cougar" in a crib with two toddlers, or a pair of sisters being menaced by the family caiman. The kids in these photos know what's what. It's the parents who are oblivious.

The animals aren't oblivious. The dogs mostly look sad-eared and embarrassed. The book's cover canine, hugged into awkwardness by its insanely enthusiastic owner, stares at us in mute doggy dismay. The felines tend to look slumpy and seriously miffed. One cat, being posed on the lap of a gigantic plush Easter bunny in what it clearly believes to be a gross violation of nature, looks implacably, hilariously hostile.

The faces of AFPP's people, on the other hand, positively glow with good intentions. Awkward Family Photos is actually a friendly, all-in-this-together site made up entirely of reader-submitted photos. Granted, the images are often submitted many years after they were shot, when the passage of time has softened the pain, but the pics are all there voluntarily.

Good intentions notwithstanding, the cumulative effect of the book is to expose the perplexing extremes of pet love. What these dear creatures want most is our company. (And food. Lots of food.) They don't really need more photo ops. Their idea of a fun outing probably doesn't involve heading to a department store for a themed studio portrait.

Still, these dogs and cats and parakeets remain staunch good sports. As Bender and Chernack wisely point out, the animals keep their dignity in even the goofiest circumstances. It's the people who are awkward.

alison.gillmor@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 19, 2011 G5

Factual inaccuracy? Something missing? Help improve our journalism.

Know about news? Share your story suggestions, photos and video.

Spelling error? Punctuation problem? Send us an email if you’ve found a typo.

More Columnists

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

Have Your Say

New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.