Even if you’ve been so busy that you haven’t had the time to give your dog the attention he deserves, he’s still madly waiting for you to come home. On my recent trip to the U.S, I traveled to San Francisco and New York City, I was deliriously ecstatic to see the bond between humans and dogs, despite of busy schedules and working hours, people were spending time with pets like they were spending time with their kids.

What I felt was that these people were connected to them on an emotional level, whether it was walking in the evening or even a silent talk between them while crossing a traffic signal, the glances they shared with each other, the smile they passed to each other, that gentle pat on the back or a big hug just out of the blue.

I even came across a woman who took her pet out on a picnic and got it acquainted to the famous Statue of Liberty and spent the entire day with her pet just out of sheer love and togetherness. I felt the gaze between the dog and the owner was just like how a mother gazes at her child. As a passerby, I felt that pets were so crucial to a person’s sense of self and well-being. While in some cases I experienced individuals were feeling stronger, more protected and more powerful in the company of their companion the pet, and it was totally reciprocal.

To my surprise,  there were even billboards of Pets. The pet itself is creating a human’s personality and people with pets came across as more compassionate and their smiles were bigger compared to others while walking on the street. I didn’t speak with any of the pet owners because I felt it was like asking a parent about his love for his or her child. My Leica kind of helped me in silently taking these candid moments which were uncanny and ironic in ways; it made me invisible.

What I felt in two weeks was that pets can and often do lead us into a world that is qualitatively different from the world of people, a feeling that can transform us. Fall in love with a dog, and in many ways you enter a new path, a universe that features not just vivid colours, rituals or rules, but a new way of experiencing a bond. Now when you’re feeling low and think that no one loves you, you always have a snuggle partner, your pet.

About Vineet:

Born in Delhi, India I did a master’s in fine arts from the prestigious College of Arts, I am a self-taught photographer and street photography is a passion that I live like a discipline. Although I started shooting as a wild life photographer for two years I switched on to street in 2001 and instantly became my passion and my first nature. In 2011 I formed APF (artphotofeature.com) along with my brother, Rohit Vohra, who is also a street photographer. APF is born from an education imperative, it’s an evolving magazine where we recognise fresh talent. The intent is to provide a platform for emerging photographers, artists and designers to showcase their works, works that are not necessarily commercial, to create opportunities and open new doors.

To know more about Vineet’s work, please visit his official website. 

Vineet Vohra will be conducting a Leica Akademie workshop at the Leica Gallerie Singapore on August 19th and in New York on September 23-25.