Serena Hodson - Upside-Down Dogs

The author and publisher have provided this e-book to you for your personal use only. You may not make this e-book publicly available in any way. Copyright infringement is against the law. If you believe the copy of this e-book you are reading infringes on the authors copyright, please notify the publisher at: http://us.macmillanusa.com/piracy. To Rocco, Ralph, Henri, Simon, and Garfunkel. This book was created out of the joy you showed me from behind a lens.

Thank you for your patience with me and my camera. Im forever in your debt. Your loving human

When I first got involved in photography, I saw it as a hobbya way for me to record those magical moments that happen in an animals everyday life. At the time I was living with Rocco, my bullmastiff, and my sisters dachshund, Ralph. Their relationship was my inspiration and what I managed to capture drove me to take my photography seriously. Ive always been an animal lover, but I never knew that passion would lead to my lifes purposephotography.

This creative outlet allows me to capture the joy dogs bring to my life and then share that with the world. I believe every animal has a secret lifea unique personality that few people get to witness. Thats why I get so much satisfaction from capturing each individual animals expression. I love working with animals because they have no hang-upsthey dont put on an act, they dont complain about an unflattering photo and most of all, they make me happy. My aim is to capture the unique personality and humor that animals can bring into our lives. I believe a home isnt complete without a companion animal.

This book began with a simple ideato capture the delight and joy of dogs in an upside down pose. Their facial expressions offer an antidote to human stress that should be bottled and sold as medication. My two bulldogs, Simon and Garfunkel, make me laugh every daythey keep me grounded through stressful times and always improve my mood with their antics and attitudes to life. We live complicated lives and we often dwell on the downside of situationsthats why we need dogs. Simon and Garfunkel are my best friends because they bring an optimistic and fun-loving perspective to every day. A ride in the car is like a roller-coaster ride, a bowl of kibble is a delicious five-star meal, and rolling around on their backs is heaven on earth for them.

This is where I saw my first glimpse of Upside-Down Dogs captured in that unique moment of on-bed-upside-down-bliss. Through my dogs eyes I can see lifes silver linings and find an upside to getting out of bed every day, no matter what, and I thought this inspiration needed to be shared. This project goes to the heart of why humans and dogs have such a wonderful, symbiotic relationship. We need dogs to help us find joy in everyday pleasures, and our dogs need us to make the bed so they can jump up and roll around.