Human PUPS

  • Dates
    2016 - 2016
  • Author
  • Topics Daily Life, Contemporary Issues, Documentary

Human pups are people who dress up and live like dogs. Thousands of people around the world act like playful puppies. The most active puppy scene is in UK, where organisers claim there are up to 10000.

"Who let the pups out?" Human pups, or people who dress up and act like playful puppies, are rapidly growing in numbers and confidence, spreading from the underground world of gay leather bars and bondage into a new and more mainstream “pup community”. Thousands of people around the world don dog-like hoods, tails and leather or rubber suits to indulge in puppy play and perhaps the most active puppy scene is in Britain, where organisers claim there are now up to 10,000 pups and handlers. Once confined to gay men, this “lifestyle hobby” is being taken up by women and straight men who are chasing non-sexual fun and relaxation. The author of the world’s only academic paper on puppy play, Liam Wignall of Sunderland University, says there has been a “fascinating shift from the original emphasis on dominance and submission towards a new focus on fun and escapism.” We speak to pups and their handlers, sexologists, psychologists and businesses involved in the world of human pups.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Don’t chase that car! Handler Andy keeps a tight hold on the leash as he walk two pups on the streets of Crowdon, southern London.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Spot’s “human” name is Tom. A 32-year-old theatre technician. Just an ordinary woman and her extraordinary pup. Spot’s obsession with puppy play led Rachael to break off their marriage plans eight years ago but she says the relationship would have survived if it had happened today, as pup play is better known and she would have found it easier to understand.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Welcome home!! Rachael returns from a shopping trip to find “Spot” waiting eagerly. Spot’s “human” name is Tom. A 32-year-old theatre technician.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Spot is the biggest celebrity of Britain’s pup play scene. Spot has been practicing puppy play for 14 years and says it is part of his daily life. Spot’s “human” name is Tom. A 32-year-old theatre technician

© Erik Messori - Chip, a 48-year-old father of two, relaxes at home in the family living room.
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Chip, a 48-year-old father of two, relaxes at home in the family living room.

© Erik Messori - Puppy love!! Married couple Chip and Biscuit nuzzle and frolic in the family living room.
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Puppy love!! Married couple Chip and Biscuit nuzzle and frolic in the family living room.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Andy takes two pups, including his boyfriend Scamp, right, for a walk in a park in Croydon, southern London. Teenagers occasionally react aggressively but older passersby and children tend to laugh or shrug.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Andy takes two pups, including his boyfriend Scamp, right, for a walk in a park in Croydon, southern London. Teenagers occasionally react aggressively but older passersby and children tend to laugh or shrug.

© Erik Messori - Scamp, a 32-year-old bycycle repairer in London, has been enjoying puppy play since his teenage years.
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Scamp, a 32-year-old bycycle repairer in London, has been enjoying puppy play since his teenage years.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Hexyc, a 22-year-old finance worker in west London, goes through the elaborate process of squeezing into his latex suit and other puppy accessories. Hexyc with his dog bowl and toys. The physics graduate designed his own suit with colourful hexagons to reflect his interest in science and physics.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Hexyc, a 22-year-old finance worker in west London, goes through the elaborate process of squeezing into his latex suit and other puppy accessories. Hexyc first came across puppy play while surfing the internet as a 13-year-old and bought his first dog collar as a 15-year-old.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Selling hoods and other pup products has become a valuable business. Rafal Liszewski, manager of the Clone Zone sex store in London’s Earls Court says it has rapidly become a lucrative market.

© Erik Messori - Archie Alpha getting into character after a day working in a London sex shop.
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Archie Alpha getting into character after a day working in a London sex shop.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Ian Dinev, a 20-year-old student at Birmingham University, is one of the braver pups who are starting to come out of the “kennel” and into the public realm about their unusual hobby

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Ian Dinev, a 20-year-old student at Birmingham University, says he started growling and acting like a puppy as a child. Not everybody understands the life of a pup but Ian Dinev says he is determined to “be myself” and enjoy pup play.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Pepper the pup, a 23-year-old woman from Ashford, Kent. Pepper the pup is rewarded with a scratch behind the ear from her handler Rich. Ae is not normally allowed on the couch but Rich is pleased that she is sitting quietly.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Hexyc, a 22-year-old finance worker in west London, goes through the elaborate process of squeezing into his latex suit and other puppy accessories. It is thirsty work wearing a full-body latex suit and hood. Hexyc enjoys drinking from his own bowl.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Ian Dinev, a 20-year-old student at Birmingham University,he says his puppy persona is instinctive and comes from within instead of being something he has to consciously act out.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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Spot’s “human” name is Tom. A 32-year-old theatre technician, he says his friends and family have to accept that puppy play is an integral part of his life.

© Erik Messori - Image from the Human PUPS photography project
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The pups are out of the kennel!! Chip, a 48-year-old father of two from Guildford is one of the “New Guard” pups trying to take their hobby out of the underground world of gay bars and into the light.

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