This Dog Will Change Your Life

Elias Weiss Friedman is the author of This Dog Will Save Your Life. As a photographer living in New York, his popular social media brand, The Dogist, where he features photos and videos of dogs and their owners, inspires the reflections and arguments in the text. Launched in 2013 on platforms including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter, The Dogist celebrates Friedman’s love of dogs and the connections he makes with other dog owners.

Friedman’s childhood bond with his family dogs provides personal context for his worldview. He grew up in Pennsylvania with his parents and two younger siblings, Isabel and Henry. As a child, Friedman was shy and struggled to make friends and communicate with others. He found it easy to connect with his beloved family dogs, Ruby, Maggie, Matilda, and Oreo. His faithful companion, Ruby, especially helped Friedman to overcome his social anxiety and to communicate with neighbors and locals when out for walks, evidencing the Transformative Power of Human-Canine Bonds. This childhood love would later beget his lifelong dog-inspired career.

Friedman emphasizes a shared love of dogs as the foundation for his romantic relationship with his partner, Sam.