It may seem strange to have a national pet month when for so many people pretty much every day is a pet day! Nevertheless this particular charity initiative is there to celebrate pet ownership and as they say ‘sharing the many benefits of our cherished companions across the UK.’
So many artists have been inspired by their four legged friends and immortalised them in their art, from Picasso to Tracey Emin. As Picasso was quite selective with his friends it is said that Lump was the only one allowed into his studio, there is even a book about ‘Lump, the Dog who ate a Picasso’ ! by Picasso’s friend, photojounalist David Douglas Duncan, detailing how Picasso encorporated Lump into his masterpieces and indeed the two died within ten days of each other.
Many artists and photographers have of course used dogs as a subject matter, David Hicks is a photojournalist who has always appreciated everything around him and as dogs are seen all over the world and will always be a constant friends for so many and after lockdown as we all know, pets became even more important, dogs in particular it seems. The ‘Dogs Waiting’ collection covered such a great mix of dogs, all waiting for someone to come back to them, whether from the shop, the park, the pub!
‘I’ve taken photographs of dogs all around the globe and our four legged friends are frankly everywhere. What’s different is the attitiude that humans have to dogs. There are around 400 million dogs in the world, quite a lot more than the human population of America, and there’s over 700 pure breeds (of dogs, not Americans! ) Even better, someone has actually worked out that, on average, city dogs live longer than country dogs by about 3 years! Who’d have known!’
So often linked to therapy for our overall happiness the unconditional love of a pet is something quite unique and it is often celebrated how much companionship a pet can offer to people and can truly reduce loneliness and general stress.
Pets really can help people live healthier lives, motivating that daily walk with a dog is invaluable for so many, time to get out, walk, meet people and enjoy the interaction your dog can bring to your life.
Obviously in an ideal world, which sadly we don’t have, we would like to mainly focus on the positives of pets and how we humans interact and treat them, but that is something which varies hugely. Unfortunately after lockdown many people rushed into buying their pets and then realised these little friends do need lots of love and attention, time and money, so the animal sanctuaries have been overrun with unwanted pets. Thank goodness for all the amazing dog homes and pet charities like the RSPCA and the caring work they do.
Written by: Lisa Freeman
lisa@quitegreat.co.uk
After twenty-five years as an experienced arts PR, Lisa is now further expanding her focus within the art world to develop PR and Marketing campaigns within all sectors of arts and culture, from art galleries to exhibitions, as well as individual artist campaigns and charity art foundations.
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