Get You A Partner Who Looks At You Like

Barley, a dog, lies on the floor with a manta ray toy whose face conveys a naked enthusiasm in stark contrast to Barley’s relative seeming stoicism.

I suppose it’s very sensible that most dog toys have either neutral or happy expressions - even a slightly worried expression would add a grim subtext to any photos of a good-natured thrashing. Even so, Barley’s manta ray takes things to another level. The key, I think, is the choice to have the eyes looking somewhere - if they were pointing straight ahead, the manta ray’s happiness would seem unfocused and nutty. In any normal environment, however, there’s going to be something in the direction the eyes are pointing, so long as they’re pointing in any direction at all, making it much easier to tell ourselves a story. And if the manta ray is making eyes at Barley herself… Well! 😀