More than 25 years ago, a long-haired Saint Bernard came into Andy Seliverstoff’s life, and things were never quite the same again.

Because dogs never live as long as we want them to, Andy eventually found himself without an industrial-sized mound of fur at his feet. That’s when the first Great Dane arrived at his family’s home in Saint Petersburg, Russia — and he’s had one ever since.

The dogs also led Andy to his career as a professional dog photographer. For the last decade, he has been a fixture at major dog shows throughout Russia and Europe, where he photographs big-winning show dogs and the people who love them.

Andy Seliverstoff and a Great Dane

When good friends asked Andy to photograph their two-year-old daughter, they showed up at the park with their Great Dane in tow. Blown away by the relationship between tiny Alice and gigantic Sean, Andy decided to incorporate him into the shoot. When Andy posted the photos on Facebook, he discovered that lots of people were moved by his photographs. And so his Little Kids and Their Big Dogs project was born.

In January 2017, Andy unveiled his enormously popular Little Kids and Their Big Dogs book, published by Revodana Publishing. He is already hard at work on the second volume of Little Kids and Their Big Dogs, with a new crop of gorgeous dogs and adorable kids. And a stunning calendar and line of greeting cards are in the works, too.

In the end, Andy hopes his photos convey this important message: Love for dogs and children makes people kinder.