Artist Creates Amazing Surreal Photos to Help Abandoned Dogs Find Forever Homes (PHOTOS)

Millions of stray dogs wander the world’s streets every day. Some of these dogs end up killed through cruel culling programs, others are kindly spayed and neutered by rescue groups, and a lucky few end up in shelters and find forever homes.

But even with the proliferation of shelters and rescue organizations, there are only so many animals that can be saved from the streets and from euthanasia due to a lack of space and willing adopters.

In fact, even the animals who end up in shelters have a 50 percent chance of survival. According to the Humane Society of the United States, six to eight million dogs and cats enter U.S. shelters each year but only around half, or three to four million, are adopted. What’s more, a staggering five out of every 10 dogs and seven out of every 10 cats are euthanized in shelters every year.

It is in our hands to change these heartbreaking statistics on pet homelessness and we can do so in a variety of ways from encouraging adoption and supporting legislation that bans puppy mills to becoming a foster parent or a self-appointed “pet reporter.”

Another way is through photography. Good photographs have been proven time and time again to increase the chances of getting a homeless animal adopted and this is exactly what Hungarian artist Saroltan Bán has set out to do with her new photo project “Help Dogs with Images.”

For her project, Bán finds or is given ordinary photographs of homeless dogs from around the world and transforms them into a true work of art with digital photo manipulation. She takes the dogs and places them in an otherworldly environment to bring their personalities out on a whole new level.

You can witness Bán’s stunning transformative work in the image below, which features Patti, a homeless puppy up for adoption at Hand to Paw Temple Dog Outreach in Thailand. On the left-hand side is Patti’s before photo and on the right is Bán’s surreal interpretation – truly a remarkable and memorable difference, which is exactly what dogs like Patti need.

A long-time animal lover, Bán tells OGP that she likes to include animals in her work as often as she can and that she has a great desire to help them, especially shelter animals.

“I work with photo montages, that’s what I do every day, and I hope I can help to give them exposure through my Facebook Page as well, where I have 160,000+ fans,” Bán says.

Currently, Bán is running a contest on her Facebook page where anyone can submit a photo of a homeless dog in need and put them in the running to be a part of Bán’s digital photo manipulation project. Photos will be accepted until June 30, 2014 and can be submitted through this page.

With her project, Bán hopes to inspire others to become heroes for shelter animals.

“There [are] really a few chances for shelter animals to get adopted because they get really [limited] visibility. That’s why it’s really a great idea [for] everybody can be a hero (not only professionals) with a single iPhone if they make a picture from the shelter dog and upload it to an internet.”

The great news is that it looks like Bán’s message of compassion is spreading and lighting a spark in others. Since starting this project, Bán tells OGP that she has received many messages from fans saying that they now want to adopt a dog or help prepare similar images since seeing her stunning work. How wonderful!

In the near future, Bán plans to open a “Help Dogs with Images” exhibition at a gallery and to create a calendar out of the re-mastered photographs, which will help spread her message and raise greater awareness about homeless animals.

All-in-all, Bán just hopes that she can show how all shelter animals can be “very special and beautiful too.”

Below, check out some of Bán’s amazing photographs from her “Help Dogs with Images” project.

To view more of Bán’s work, please visit her Facebook and her website.

All images: Saroltan Bán