Elias Weiss Friedman

And I remember photographing a Frenchie in Williamsburg and he said, what's this for?

I said, the Doggists.

And so maybe that was one of the first moments.

The first picture posted to the Doggists was a boxer I met in Vienna as the basis of the Doggists logo.

But yeah, I think...

Someone, this project is, like everyone's a dog photographer.

This is something that the world needs, right?

Especially in these times of divisiveness and stress and shocking things that happen.

Dogs are the antidote to that.

So I felt like

We needed this project.

I missed having a dog.

And dogs are one of the few things people want to talk about their dogs.

If I'm stopping people on the street and they go, I don't want to talk about myself or I don't want to talk about my kids.

Those are two, they're different.

But when you ask about their dog, they just completely open up and they'll tell you like the most candid, sometimes embarrassing story right off the bat.

And that's like a refreshing thing in today's world to just have someone like,

completely relax and just tell you an honest, authentic story.

They're like a force of socialization.

The thing I've been saying recently is before you get a dog, you know, your neighbor, and after you get a dog, you know, your neighborhood.