Big dogs, small dogs, top dogs. It was a fun and furry session as we captured the bonds between four sets of owners and their best bow-wows.

Joe (left) and Josh, dog-tired after an hour of posing.

Six dogs. it sounded like trouble when we were planning for our feature on industry leaders and their canine best friends for this month’s issue. We were prepared for a photo shoot that would be remembered by ear-splitting barks, episodes of dogs jumping and knocking the wind out of us, and a human domino scene as people slip on squeaky chew toys and trip over leashes. But there was none of that. 

 Conversations were mostly centred on the dogs and the experiences they shared with their owners. Eric Khoo shared a goofy incident where “recently, a lady at the mama shop asked if Woofy was a baby bear. I told her yes, and she believed me!” and Ginny Wiluan, a scary one: “Teddy once swallowed a spongy ball and it got lodged in his intestines. He had to undergo surgery to remove it and was hospitalised. We really thought we were going to lose him and that thought was heartbreaking.” 

Sure, Thio Shen Yi and Stefanie Yuen Thio’s rambunctious senior dogs Josh and Joe stepped on a few toes (literally, but no one minded) as they asked for a pat. And Poppy and Teddy, the brindle and wheaten Scottish terriers of Richard and Ginny Wiluan, were rather demanding with the belly rubs. 

Mike Lim and Kiro exchange affectionate gazes in between shots.

Khoo’s uber-fluffy Pomeranian Woofy had barked sternly at us when we tried to lift him by his waist, but Mike Lim’s 13-year-old cocker spaniel Kiro sometimes ignored us even when we offered satisfying ear scratches.

Everyone came out of the two-day shoot unscathed and, if we might say, happy as a flea in a doghouse.