Photographer Transforms Shelter Dogs Into Famous Writers (PHOTOS)

You know how they say that after a while adopted dogs start to resemble their guardians (or maybe in some cases, the reverse is true)? After spending so much time together, who can blame them! We might not realize it on a daily basis, but dogs possess many of the same characteristics, likes and dislikes that humans do … they just come with a little more hair.

Capitalizing on the very human-like qualities exhibited by dogs, photographer Dan Bannino, has transformed a group of shelter dogs to look like people. And not just any people, but some of our most beloved authors! If you’re a literary nerd who is also proudly obsessed with their dogs, is this a treat for you!

Bannino worked on the series “Poetic Dogs” for four months and the results are pretty fantastic. Working with shelter dogs proved to be a bit challenging. The dogs he worked with were a bit nervous around new people and they couldn’t be photographed using flash because it would startle them. On top of this, Bannino tells Mashable, “”Not only did I have to recreate the right costumes and scenes for my models, but I had to somehow wait for the right expressions and moves in these amazing dogs.”

However, it seems that after really getting to understand the dogs, their personalities and mannerisms, Bannino was able to nail their literary counterparts right on the head. Check them out:

Mark Twain

Miguel de Cervantes

Charles Pierre Baudelaire

Emily Dickinson

Edith Sitwell

Charles Bukowski

Oscar Wilde

Leo Tolstoy

Charles Dickens 

Dante Alighieri 

Ernest Hemingway

Jean-Paul Sartre

James Joyce

Joseph Conrad

You can learn more about “Poetic Dogs” and read about the stories of each shelter dog by following Bannino on Instagram and Facebook.

All image source: Dan Bannino