It can be quite the sad sight: the family pet, recovering from surgery, having to wear that awkward cone on their neck to keep them from licking at their stitches.
They look miserable. They look silly.
But Winnie Au is hoping to flip the script with her new photo book, “Cone of Shame.” In these portraits, dogs are wearing fashionable collars that they can be proud of.
“I wanted to take that post-surgery humiliation — that saddest moment for every pet — and twist it into something beautiful and majestic,” Au says in her book. “I wanted to take the shame out of the cone.”
Au teamed up with designer Marie-Yan Morvan to come up with the cones in the book. Their dog models are sporting one-of-a-kind collars made from all sorts of materials — and it’s not just different fabrics or fibers. These cones also repurpose everyday household items such as drinking straws, makeup sponges and those foam noodles that float in swimming pools.
“I wanted people to think of them as works of art — not just your pet, not just the dog that you passed by on the street,” Au told CNN. “I really wanted people to pause and look at them.”
Some of the ideas would come from things found in nature or on the street. But many were also based to fit specific dog breeds.
“If I saw a dog with a unique look, I’d share it with Marie-Yan and we’d try to figure out how we can build a cone that complemented their look,” Au said. “Which I think is apparent with Calvin, the Komondor, and his yarn cone. And we did another one with a Bedlington terrier named Waldo and he’s got pompoms that kind of mimic the texture of the dog’s fur. Those are fun because it’s all supposed to be like, where does the dog end and where does the cone begin?”
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