Men treat their dogs as "mates" but for women they are part of the family.
That's the conclusion Springwood photographer David Darcy reached after criss-crossing the country over the last two years photographing men and women and their dogs for two best-selling books. Every Man and his Dog was released in 2013 while it's companion title, A Girl's Best Friend, has just hit book stores.
"There was one question I posed to all the blokes and all the women: what does the dog mean to you?," said Mr Darcy, 42. "All the blokes would say 'it's my best mate'. I asked the exact same question to the women and they said the dog is part of the family. I got a real sense of women treating dogs more like the family... whereas the blokes were more guarded about their emotions [towards their dogs]."
Mr Darcy spent four months travelling the country for his latest book, meeting dog owners from the outback to the coast, to major cities and small towns. In most cases his uncomplicated approach would see him simply turn up at the local pub or post office and ask for interesting canine stories.
The story of indigenous woman Dena from Cardwell in far north Queensland affected him more than most. Having lost three sisters and her mother to cancer in three years, Dena was diagnosed with cancer herself - on the same day she received a new dog, Bunjie.
"I've met thousands of dogs but I told Dena I could take this dog home, he was an absolute beauty," said Mr Darcy.
"Bunjie senses Dena's need for support when she returns from chemotherapy. She lies down and the dog will come up to her about every 15 minutes and put his chin on her hand just to say 'everything's alright'," he said.
The stories in A Girl's Best Friend cover all walks of life - Rose Porteous features in one portrait while Mr Darcy's own mum Barbara also makes the cut with her dog, along with several other Blue Mountains women.
"Everyone who owns a dog has a story to tell. For some reason I just get to meet some incredible people and hear incredible stories," he said.
A Girl's Best Friend is available in book stores now. For more details visit www.mongrel.com.au.