Ms McIver has always loved dogs, but due to being unable to adopt her own while renting, she is forced to live "vicariously through other people" who do have dogs.

"I just randomly had the idea one day because... I met this older lady and her dog - who was a support dog to her husband who has cancer - and this dog only eats like grilled chicken and cucumber," Ms McIver said.

"It just made me so happy to listen and learn about this dog. So I thought it was a pretty positive thing [to share] and I also noticed that a hashtag 'Dogs of Orange' already existed [on Instagram], but there was no page so I thought this would be a cool thing [to set up].

"It's just something positive and means I get to pet lots of dogs," she laughed.

The idea is simple enough - while she's out and about at the local parks, cafes or just walking down the street and she comes across a dog, Ms McIver will ask their owner if she can photograph them and grab a few details about their fur-baby.

"Most people find it a bit of a compliment, I think," she said. "Initially I felt bad about stopping people, but you realise quite quickly that people are delighted to have a chat.

"It's funny to hear the names [they're been given] - like there's one dog on the [Instagram] page called Huckleberry.... They all have their little personalities... It's a nice chance to chat to people, especially after COVID, I feel like no one really walks up to people and just starts having a chat anymore," she added.

"I love driving around, especially now that the weather's getting warmer, and seeing everyone walking their dogs - and there's a really good cross-section of breeds in Orange too."

Photographing excited dogs while they're out on a walk has proven to present a few challenges though.

"It can be pretty hard to get a good photo of people's dogs on the fly... and because you don't want to hold them up for too long," Ms McIver admitted. "So that's something I've definitely learnt."

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