For most dog owners, dogs are much more than just pets. They become best friends, companions, and members of the family – and they are treated as such. People organize their own space to keep their dogs safe and comfortable. They spend hours reading guides on topics like “how to create a diet for my pet – pet owner’s information” and exercising and playing together so that their best friends can stay healthy and live longer.
Since dogs play such an important role in our lives, it’s no wonder that their presence starts affecting other aspects and creating trends. It may come as a surprise to some people that dog tattoos have become quite a thing recently. Even those owners, who had never considered getting a tattoo, end up with a symbol or a realistic pet tattoo for life.
Pettoos – the Rising Trend
Yes, pet tattoos have even got their own name – pettoos – which may give you an idea about how popular they are becoming. The most famous tattoos artists – who very often are celebrities themselves – have talked about this trend and the requests of their celebrity clients.
For example, Miley Cyrus is known for her multiple tattoos dedicated to her dogs (and even one to her pet fish), and just recently, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner got a matching tattoo to commemorate their dog who passed away.
Why Has Pettoos Become so Popular?
The first and probably the most important reason for that is the fact that tattoos, in general, have become more common. They used to be associated with criminals, rebels, activists – people who wanted to draw attention and who weren’t regular members of the society – but not anymore.
You probably heard someone in your family (most likely from the previous generation) saying that if you get a tattoo, you will never find a decent job. It may have been the case in the last century, but not now. Now even executive directors, managers, professors, housewives, and more decide to get a tattoo or two that will mean something to them.
And what can mean more to a person than their beloved pet? Unfortunately, dogs don’t live as long as people (even though they definitely should), so getting a tattoo with your dog’s face or even just his paw can help you keep him with you forever. With the exception of some drunken mistakes, people have always got tattoos of something they loved, something that was important to them – things linked to their past, families, convictions, preferences, etc.
Apart from that, there are also many improvements that have sped up the growth of this trend. The tattoo machines are much better now, the artists can, therefore, be more precise and provide their clients with almost real-life portraits of their pets. Tattoo artists are very often people who graduated from art schools, so there’s no need to worry about the effects.
According to many tattoo artists, pet tattoos are very often the very first tattoo for people who ask for them.
The Most Popular Tattoo Design types
The paw print designs have been around for some time now, and have been the main way to pay tribute to someone’s particular dog or to express their love for dogs in general. However, what has been trending in the tattoo industry lately are realistic pet tattoos that allow you to keep your dog with you just like he is (or was).
They are rarely in color, and there aren’t any traditional bold lines to which we are used to when we think about tattoos. Artists do their best by sketching, playing with shades of black and grey to achieve the most realistic effect – fur, wet nose, pupils, even the expression – an accurate portrait of your beloved dog. Check out some of super realistic tattoos done by Minh Pham at Hyper Inkers Studio, Texas.
These kinds of tattoos are usually small, yet meaningful, so perfect for all people, no matter what your job, status, etc., as they are easy to hide if there’s a need, and they aren’t that painful to get – an artist will most likely use one needle only.
Pet Tattoos – the Perfect Souvenirs
Of course, getting a tattoo is not a decision that should be taken lightly. It will probably stay with you forever, so you have to be sure that it’s something you want. If the answer is yes, there’s possibly no better tattoo design than the one with your beloved pet.
