Adorable Photo Series Lets You Look 'Up' to Shelter Dogs

Nothing beats cute like cute with a cause, which is exactly what Slovenia-based photographer Katja Jemec did with her adorable photo series, "I Looked Up and There You Were."

The images are being used to promote awareness of abused, neglected, and abandoned dogs across Europe. Each pup has been photographed literally from the ground up to show them from a unique perspective that flies in the face of how we might normal see stray animals. These heroic images are sure to leave a smile on your face for all the right reasons.

Jemec writes on her blog:

Overcrowded dog shelters, lack of food, and space have been a pressing issue for quite some time now. In Slovenia alone, thousands of dogs are admitted to animal shelters each year, and the situation south of the Slovenian border is even worse due to a large number of stray dogs. Although castration and sterilization are a cheap and easy method of reducing the number of unwanted puppies, people still rather leave the little ones on the streets, starve them out, or shoot them. Some pups manage to get saved and come to a loving home. But they do not escape the consequences – the fears – and their owners work hard to overcome it. The series of photographs comprises portraits of dogs that have achieved that and their stories.

Her passion for tail-waggers of all types is evident in the images, but also in the personal stories she shares for each of her canine subjects. Jemec describes the snowy white dog: "Tara has a mysterious past. She was found starved and has 'til this day a fear of men wearing a cap and carrying a shovel or sticks. It is assumed that she had been beaten several times."

Each dog has its own tale, and thanks to this photographer, we'll all get a chance to share in them. See more of Jemec's work with dogs on her doggy-dedicated site. See the rest of her photography on her site or on Instagram.

All photos used with permission of Katja Jemec.