How Dogs Help Us Matter: Elias Weiss Friedman (The Dogist) on Passion Struck In Passion Struck Episode 688, host John R. Miles sat down with Elias to explore how dogs help us remember we matter. What began as a street photography project evolved into a global movement that celebrates connection, empathy, and the healing power of our four-legged friends.When Elias Weiss Friedman left his job in brand strategy during a New York layoff, he dusted off his camera, wandered the streets, and started asking strangers a question no one else was asking: Can I photograph your dog? That simple act became The Dogist, a storytelling movement with over 11 million followers and more than 50,000 dogs photographed worldwide. What began as an experiment in street photography evolved into a profound exploration of love, connection, and what it means to matter. Elias’s latest book, This Dog Will Change Your Life, begins not with cute street photos but with a question: What is a dog? He explains that dogs are entirely human inventions—creatures we bred from wolves to serve, protect, and eventually love us. Yet the miracle is that in shaping them, they reshaped us. “Dogs have an innate positivity,” Elias told me. “They live in the present. They don’t dwell on the past or worry about failure. They just look forward and trust.” That trust, that relentless optimism, is why dogs help us remember we matter. They meet us without ego, judgment, or agenda. They lead with love when humans so often lead with doubt. They lead with faith while we so often lead with fear. Spend enough time around a dog, and some of that light rubs off.
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