Pug Shots (Hardcover)

~ Jim Dratfield (Author)
Key Phrases: Pug Shots

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With their squished-up faces, solidly built bodies, bug-eyes, and curlicue tails, pugs are one of the most oddly endearing of all canine breeds. What other breed can look so philosophical, dignified, puzzled, content, or just plain cool with only a slight change of expression? The pugs in Pug Shots look right at home whether getting married on the spur of the moment in a Las Vegas chapel, studying the fine architecture in a Gothic cathedral, or trying out a new toupee.

Photographer Jim Dratfield has captured pugs in all of their moods in sepia-toned and full-color photographs, along with a fitting, pun-filled caption for each. You'll meet a pot-bellied pug, litter pugs, a horse and puggy, and pugz 'n the hood. Dratfield is the creative director of Petography, Inc., a fine-art photographic pet portrait studio, and is obviously adept at capturing the personalities of animals on camera, as well as using props and settings to bring out their personas.

If you've never been introduced to the all-pug band The Puggles, a dune puggy, or Three Pugs in a Fountain, Pug Shots will acquaint you with these strangely likeable little creatures. All dog lovers, especially pug fans, should enjoy this energetic, creative photo collection. --Kris Law

Product Description

The perfect--and wonderfully quirky-- gift for a pug owner or fan, this is an adorably amusing photographic tribute to the new "IT dog" and classic favorite!

From Winston Churchill to American humorist Margo Kaufman, who quipped "the pug is living proof that God has a sense of humor," these little dogs with squashed faces, protruding eyes, bulging bellies, and corkscrew tails have always had a devoted following. Now, however, they are at a zenith of popularity. Protagonists in movies like Men in Black, Pocahontas, and Otis and Milo. . . ABC's Primetime Live featured a story about a California festival called "Puggo de Mayo" and The New York Times' recent piece on the pug phenomenon. . . they conquered the art world when Sotheby's hosted "The Pug Tea" prior to the auction of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor's estate, which included many valuable pieces from their collection of pug paintings and decorative objects.

Celebrity pet photographer Jim Dratfield has compiled a witty album of pug shots, matched with timeless quotations and witty captions from "Litter Pug" and "Pugnacious" to "Pugs and Kisses" and "Sex, Pugs, and Rock and Roll." Cute costumes and whimsical props and settings capture the roguish essence of the pug in a wealth of clever settings, making Pug Shots the definitive homage to a dog that almost defies description--and can't be resisted by dog lovers of any age.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Studio (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670887269
• ISBN-13: 978-0670887262
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #206,301 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PUG SHOTS, December 20, 1999

By A Customer

IF YOU ARE A LOVER OF PUGS, YOU WILL FALL IN LOVE WITH THIS BOOK. AS THE OWNER OF TWO OF THESE FUNNY LOOKING AND FUNNY ACTING DOGS, MY WHOLE FAMILY WENT CRAZY WITH GLEE UPON REVIEWING THIS BOOK. THE AUTHOR HAS CAPTURED SOME OF THE MOST ENDEARING AND HEARTWARMING PHOTS OF PUGS AND PEOPLE. I PURCHASED TWO OF THESE BOOKS FOR FELLOW DOG LOVERS. OUR BOOK SITS ON OUR COFFEE TABLE AND EVERYONE WHO PICKS IT UP, SMILES WITH DELIGHT.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ADORABLE, October 3, 2002

By	Concerned parent "Sam" (America) - See all my reviews

Great gift item for pug lovers, dog lovers or animal lovers in general. Use it to feel happy instantly when you se the cute pictures. Leave it lying around your house for guests to enjoy. Guaranteed to make you smile.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Pics, Wish There Were More!, December 27, 1999

By	California Reader (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

The photographer succeeds at truly capturing the wacky personality of Pugs in his clever (but posed) pictures. Pugs in a variety of costumes and getups cavort and preen, and most of the pics are lovely, rich sepiatones -- which works wonderfully well for fawn Pugs in particular. There's a lovely balance between perfect-conformation show Pugs and ones that look a bit more "real" (i.e. like the Pugs many of us actually own). The main drawback to the book as I see it is that it's *short*. Not a lot of photos (95 pages, of which many are quotes, etc.) and it does leave you wanting more. A lovely gift to receive, but like many novelty books, not necessarily something you'll look at more than a few times.