“What’s Wrong With Your Dog?”: 50 Hilariously Derpy Dogs That May Make Your Day (New Pics)

Depending on who you ask, you’ll hear various reasons some people believe we don’t deserve dogs. One couple was so curious to find the answers that they set off on a truth-seeking mission that lasted over a year. Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker traveled to several countries, meeting dogs and their owners. They are the filmmakers behind the documentary aptly titled We Don’t Deserve Dogs. They took time out of their shooting schedule to chat to Bored Panda.

Salleh says he and Tucker had always wanted to make a film about the relationship between dogs and humans around the world. They believe that the "unique bond, framed within different cultural contexts, says a lot about who we are as people." The entire point of the documentary was to contemplate "whether we deserve the loyalty and love that dogs show us."

During their journey, they ventured to 11 countries and encountered a whole bunch of pawsome things. The couple had already completed another documentary by the time we caught up with them, but they were happy to look back on their 365 days spent with dogs all over the globe.

"Making our film was an amazing experience," said Tucker during our interview. "We were lucky enough to travel to Chile, Uganda, Peru, Italy, Turkey, Pakistan, Finland, Romania, Vietnam, Nepal and the United Kingdom. As completely independent filmmakers, we had to take breaks between shoots so that we could work our 'day job' (video editing) to pay the bills and fund the next part of our adventure."

"We captured all sorts of amazing stories. Everything from Romanian shepherds who work with their dogs to move sheep across the mountains, to young women in Peru who celebrate their dogs' birthdays with extravagant dog-themed birthday parties, to stories of former child soldiers in Uganda who work with dogs as therapy for their PTSD," she added. "We even witnessed 'Kukur Tihar,' Nepal's national day of dog worship."

We Don't Deserve Dogs was their second doccie. They used the funds from their first, Barbeque, to pay for their flights and production costs. "We make films about familiar, everyday things, and examine how different cultures around the world make that thing a part of their lives," Salleh told Bored Panda during our interview.

"With 'We Don't Deserve Dogs,' exploring the special relationship between humans and dogs not only showed the unique differences between cultures, but also let us seek out the similarities and celebrate all that we have in common.”

We were curious to know whether the couple thinks humans deserve dogs, or not. So, we asked... "There's an old phrase I like: 'Be the person your dog thinks you are.' I think that by thinking about how dogs view us, it can help us become better versions of ourselves," said Tucker. "We need to work to be our better selves, and fulfill that automatic affection that dogs give us."

The couple told us that spending a year filming dogs was amazing but it definitely wasn't easy. There are some moments that they will never forget, even after moving on to their next doccie. "One of the strongest moments we observed when making this film was the relationship between the former child soldiers in Uganda and their therapy dogs," said Tucker.

"The Comfort Dog Project is an amazing program run by The Big Fix Uganda, where they team former child soldiers with dogs in need of a home. Together, both the humans and their dogs' lives are improved."

Tucker added that whenever they did an interview, the dogs would never leave their owner's side. "They would sit calmly throughout the entire interview, as their owners would stroke them for comfort whilst explaining their traumatic pasts," she said.

Salleh added that Finland was home to quite a few heartwarming moments for him and Tucker. "We filmed with an organization called 'Hali-Koira,' which translates to 'hugging dogs.' Maarit Haapasaari would travel to aged care facilities with her Bernese mountain dogs, and they would work their way around the room, gently jumping up to each person to be hugged," he told Bored Panda.

The couple worked alone while making the film, in a bid to keep costs low. "Rose and I work as a crew of two. I'm shooting the camera, Rose is recording the sound," Salleh told Bored Panda. "This small footprint allowed us to embed with our subjects, gaining their trust. We also worked with a wonderful team of translators across the world. It was important to us that people speak in their preferred language, and as a result, our film has 10 languages!"

As with children, filming dogs is no easy feat. We asked the duo how they coped. "We would set the gear up in advance, let them have a sniff, and then we would completely ignore them, not making any eye contact. The dogs would forget our presence soon enough," revealed Salleh.

So why would anyone invest time and money into researching whether we deserve dogs or not? They must have their own four-legged friends, surely? Apparently not! "Matthew and I both grew up with dogs as a huge part of our families. We moved from Australia to New York in 2016, and live in a small one-bedroom apartment, with sadly no room for a dog!" said Tucker when we posed the question.

But all is not lost for the pooch-loving couple. Even after they've completed the production of their film. "Lucky for us, we live in Park Slope, Brooklyn, which is a very dog-friendly neighborhood, and we are able to 'dog-watch' on a daily basis."

We think they might be onto something... So please excuse us as we rush off to "dog-watch" with our puppy-dog look of longing in our eyes. Before you do the same, please let us know in the comments whether you think we actually deserve dogs, or not...