Touching Portraits of Dogs from Puppy to Old Friend

By Alison Nastasi

Oct. 25, 2015

Pet photographer Amanda Jones fell in love with a long-haired Dachshund named Lily, adopted the puppy, and spent the next 16 years with her faithful companion by her side. She captured Lily’s life in photos, from a silly little ball of energy to a stately elder. The relationship with Lily inspired Jones to create a series of photographs of other dogs that documents their lives and stories.

The result is Dog Years: Faithful Friends, Then & Now , published by Chronicle Books. Each pair of photos, one taken as a puppy and another captured as an older dog, becomes a touching portrait of each pup’s personality and a lifelong friendship that only a devoted pet can provide.

“My time spent with these dogs on the set and in their homes has been an amazing journey and learning experience. I now feel that I am part dog-portrait photographer, part dog psychiatrist, and part dog trainer, all of it coming from years working with dogs and their owners,” Jones writes. “My shoots are about so much more than the photographs; they are about the dogs and the people who love them.”

Dog Years is filled with beautiful black-and-white images and anecdotes told by their human companions. See a preview in our gallery, and watch an adorable video of Jones at work in her studio.