33 Pawdorable Film Pet Portraits from the Awwdorable Animal Archives

Laurent Shinar • Writer and Editor

Mar 6, 2026 2:00 PM EST

While not too many intimate moments between hoomans and their pets exist from the age of film photography, there are some that have stood the test of time. And we are delighted to be sharing them with you in this collection of pawdorable pet portraits.

While today we spend inordinate amounts of data and time photographing our pets both with and without us in frame, once upon a time it was a fair bit rarer to do so considering we did not have such readily available photography machines to hand. But with a little luck we have come upon a treasure trove of awwdorable animals with their pawrents from the past. Giving us a rare look into what it was once like to play with puppies, cuddle a cat or even caress a chicken.

And let us tell you the freedom and calm we see in these photographic prints is something that many of us pawrents spend so much time craving for our pets today. So step right up and find out how much better the pet-pawrent relationship once was all those many years ago.

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Apparently, long before Lassie was on the silver screen saving all manner of hoomans from the disastrous situations they got themselves into. She was protecting her feline sibling with all her might. Granted we are not all too sure what she could have been protecting her cat sister from, but nonetheless as exemplified in this photo she took her role with the most serious of attitudes and would do whatever it took to ensure the safety of her sister. Though judging by the cat we might have to adjust that relationship to a mafia boss-enforcer relationship, because that cat looks like it has some slightly evil intentions.
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Back in the good old days a child like this could be left to play, fend and learn for itself what it takes to care for puppies. At the same time, the puppies would learn very quickly how to cope with small, inquisitive hoomans who have little to no understanding of boundaries. And together the three of them would learn a whole lot about the world, life and how to live it together. Which if you ask us is a much more pawsitive way to live and raise kids and puppies than the hovering helicoptering we tend to engage in nowadays.
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