Imagine leaving your corporate job to photograph dogs around the world, forming indispensable relationships with the humans who look after them and capturing the infectious joy and energy of an animal deemed “man’s best friend.”
That’s exactly what American photographer John Fabiano did in 2022. His project, Wags Around The World, has taken him to 19 countries where he has photographed all kinds of dogs—highly intelligent, working dogs in Greenland and Australia, the wild dogs of India and South Africa, purebred dogs like German Shepherds and Shiba Inus, and “the underdogs” or rescues and restricted breeds of America and Ireland. As a matter of fact, he has a personal and emotional attachment to the latter category, as his dog Viola herself is a rescue.
Today, Fabiano’s Instagram handle has nearly 5,500 followers who track his journey around the world. While he was scared to quit his day job and leap into the unknown, the feeling of regret if he didn’t attempt it was too big to ignore. “It was something I knew I had to do as it had been on my mind every single day for years,” he said in an interview with Outlook Traveller. “I put in a lot of work and made countless life decisions to set myself up to take on such a consuming project, yet I was still a nervous wreck the week leading up to my departure. There was no blueprint for what I was doing. But as soon as I got on the plane for my first destination, Germany, all that nervous energy turned into excitement,” he added while speaking to me from The Netherlands.
Before leaving the United States of America to photograph dogs full-time, he had scoped out the four categories that would explore the bond between humans and dogs. To make a good fist of the project, he planned extended stays lasting four to six weeks in two countries that would fit each category. Beyond that, Fabiano kept an open mind and often snapped photos of dogs while walking the streets. “I’ve gotten used to asking people, ‘Can I take a photo of your dog?’ even if that meant making my request with hand gestures when there is a language barrier,” he says.
Fabiano’s work has been professionally lauded, most recently when he won in the documentary category of the 2024 Dog Photography Awards for his “Greenlandic Flat Tyre” photo, which shows a team of sled dogs patiently waiting during a blizzard as their handler untangles the sled ropes. The photo shows the resilience and spirit of these incredible animals, and highlights the timeless connection between humans and dogs in one of the most remote places on Earth. For the Buffalo, New York native, it was a massive achievement.
“I honestly didn’t know if I could compete with the other photographers who submitted their work in the competition, as there are so many I admire. It felt very encouraging that my work could compete on that level and it also pushes me to take my work to the next level,” Fabiano says.
Photographing dogs can be a challenge as anyone who has loved the animal can attest to. So what is a professional photographer to do? “Dogs don’t care about getting photographed, so photos with dogs can be a challenge because they are not always willing to listen to commands or look at the camera. It requires extra work, but I have found that I enjoy just letting dogs be dogs and putting myself in a position to photograph them in their natural state,” he says.
In 2023, Fabiano travelled to India, where he spent a little over a month visiting places like Karnal, Delhi, Mumbai, Goa and Chennai. Before he arrived, he was bracing himself to encounter sick, injured and starving dogs in dire situations. But, he says, the country surprised him with inspiring examples of people caring for street dogs.
“I started my trip by staying at the home of my dear friend, Nikunj Bajaj, in Karnal. He and I had met in business school and he was home visiting his family. He told me about the neighbourhood dogs, those that lived around his block, and how his family, along with his neighbours, always fed them. This was my first glimpse at the relationship that many Indians have with street dogs. Although these dogs don’t have owners, they have people looking after them,” he says.
Fabiano was further inspired by the work of The Welfare of Stray Dogs (WSD) in Mumbai. The organisation focuses on eradicating rabies and controlling the street dog population of the city in a humane and scientific way. Spending a couple of days with Abodh Aras, the chief executive officer of WSD, and witnessing the work he does up close was a “lucky” experience for the photographer.
The lingering feeling Fabiano was left with was that there are just so many dogs that need help in the country. “It’s a daunting endeavour to try to solve any street dog problems at a large scale,” he says. “But I met with Maneka Gandhi (animal rights activist and environmentalist) to speak with her about her incredible work in animal welfare and she told me she takes it ‘one dog at a time’; help a dog in need then on to the next one. This mindset stuck with me and also shows the impact that each individual can have if they want to help dogs in need.”
When travelling to a new place, Fabiano enjoys exploring his destination as a traveller rather than a tourist. He credits his hosts in the destination city for inviting him into their homes and allowing him to experience daily life in their corner of the world. “I try to be a sponge—learn as much as possible, appreciate a different culture and try every type of food I am offered,” he says.
What I am most curious to learn from Fabiano, though, is his perception of the human-dog relationship and what we can learn from it. Dogs' unconditional love for humans and unbounded curiosity can teach us how to live life to the fullest, and Fabiano agrees.
“Dogs are magnificent creatures. They are so reliable and there for us whenever we need them. In a world that continues to get increasingly complicated, dogs remain a simple source of good,” he says.
“The relationship between dogs and humans is a lopsided one. Dogs give us everything: their love, loyalty and companionship are a given, with an emphasis, almost exclusively, to their owners. As humans, we spread these things out between people, pets and even possessions. Dogs require so little to be happy and usually all they want is just to spend time with their people.
What we can learn from dogs is to tell or show our loved ones how much they mean to us. Let go of grudges and forgive others. Live every single day with passion.”
