Simply flick through a newspaper, open your social media app or turn on the TV and you are almost instantly confronted with far too much negativity. It’s time we bring back smiles to people’s faces all around the world, and what better way than to share dogs and their unique stories.

The Canines of Character project was founded in January 2017, after an image of a surrendered shelter dog was posted on Facebook and went viral. The team began talking between themselves about this image and the story behind it. Was there a way to bring awareness of shelter dogs and raise money for rescue groups, all while using the power of social media? Could the project take off and become a published book?

Our first goal was to create a catalogue of images for use to kick the project off on Facebook and Instagram. Our photographer, Allira Fontana, runs a business specialising in capturing images of dogs all over Sydney, combined with her weekly visits volunteering at the animal, a catalogue of images was born. She is also running a special event where people can book their dogs into a reduced rate photo session for inclusion in the book.
Alex Bogdanvoski was our first writer who created the witty monologues, with Isabella Fontana coming on board shortly after to help bring a new writing style to the group.

Ten images became twenty, twenty became fifty, fifty turned into one hundred and now the catalogue contains over three hundred images! So much so that their plan of publishing a book is very much on track. Our social media following is growing each and every week, we have over 2,700 combined followers with an average of 100 new followers every week.

We are so excited to release this full colour coffee table book towards the end of the year, just in time for Christmas. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to be notified of any news and announcements about our project.