Why Labs & humans click

Photographer William Wegman once said that dogs make us feel better – and they do so much more than that. Authors Robert Merritt and Miles Barth said that dogs "often become (our) true soulmates. They manifest whimsy, evoke pathos, and exude elegance." And George Eliot said, "Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms."

All this comes to mind when I look at the photos that won in the Labrador Retriever Owners Club photo contest last month, an organization headed by Patricia Carrascoso as president. The entries are from club members and their friends – amateur photographers and professional Lab lovers – who show us how their dogs have become emblems of their happiness, triumph, fragility and vulnerabilities. A small child sleeping on the floor, for instance, uses his giant Lab as a pillow; a puppy seemingly tossed in the air shows his own fear; and five Labs wade in a pool, looking up as if waiting for a dog biscuit to be thrown; while a child lets a Lab’s giant head rest on his shoulder, tickled by the dog’s fur.

Along with the annual photo contest, the Lab Owners Club sponsors river trekking for pet owners and their dogs – what a thrill it must be for dogs who are always ready to go out! – to places like Quezon province. Last summer they also spearheaded the rally "Justice for Francis, Save the Animals" to protest against animal cruelty. Their activities are not limited to members, and fortunately often not limited to Labradors either (one of the club’s friends, Dinky Ang, has a huge, 200-pound-plus St. Bernard that she takes to activities like the rally).

Pets as subjects for serious photography or even books in the Philippines haven’t really taken off. Except for the manuals put together by groups such as another club, the Labrador Retrievers Club of which Marilen Concepcion is a member, we have no locally published materials on dogs. I know of just one professional photographer who does pet portraits but he’s now studying abroad. Contests such as the one held by LROC encourage people to look deeper into their relationships with their pets – or just to repeatedly enjoy their moments by capturing them on film.

With that, here are words from American photographer Robert Adams: "What sustains the artists’ affection for dogs is above all the animal’s enlivening sense of possibility. Artists live by curiosity and enthusiasm, qualities readily evident as inspiration in dogs. Propose to a dog a walk and its response is absolutely yes."