Doggie Daddies and Other Fur-Covered Beasts (Photos)

Fred Says, the renowned foundation that raises funds to support programs and services around the United States for HIV-positive youth, is releasing a new 80-page book titled Dogs & Daddies to continue to support youth around the country.

“Throughout my career I have always wanted to do a photographic project that involved dogs and their owners,” says inkedKenny, who is known for his raw, moody images. (See his portfolio on our site here.) “And this collaboration with Fred Says was the perfect vehicle to extend my aesthetic to a wider audience while simultaneously giving back to a community that is vitally important to me as an artist and activist.”

After losing numerous friends and witnessing firsthand the extensive damage this disease has done to the LGBT community, InkedKenny had been looking for a way to give back to the community and help fight the HIV epidemic through his work. Being an animal lover himself, this was the perfect project. 

And it’s through this shared mission of fighting this virus that inkedKenny and Dr. Robert Garofalo, founder of Fred Says, came together to bring Dogs & Daddies to fruition.

"The undeniably stylish and moving photos in Dogs & Daddies so accurately capture the loving relationship that exists between dogs and their owners,” says Garofalo. “My dog Fred saved me after my HIV diagnosis and brought peace and joy back to my life when I feared both may be gone forever.

“So we are thrilled to be collaborative partner on this project,” he continued.

Dogs & Daddies launched May 25 and is available for purchase at www.fredsays.org with proceeds going to directly support HIV-positive and affected youth around the country.

InkedKenny is not afraid of the dark. His moody, bruised-looking images explore every shade of black from aggressive to submissive. His models talk of how he explores their fantasies before a shoot so he can push them deeper into their risky desires.

InkedKenny was found abandoned in Macau at the age of 6 months. He was adopted and brought to Vancouver, where he grew up. In the eighth grade he discovered both barbering and photography. Barbering won — for the time being. He shaved the heads of his fellow rugby team members. (If only he had shot the event as well!) That led to cutting mohawks and cutting class.

His barbering tendencies evolved into a career in hair and makeup design for fashion and advertising clients.

After the loss of his father and and his lover, he found it too difficult to return to his old work. Friends suggested he pick up a camera, and his next career was born.

His first monograph from Bruno Gmünder, The Men of inkedKenny, packs a load of steaming testosterone into a beautiful 128 pages of slickly produced, quality photo book. Check out his site, and go to Bruno Gmünder for more about the book.

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