Life-changing dog Instagrams
Print Edition
RAFAEL Mantesso turned 30 in an empty Brazilian apartment after divorce left every wall, floor, closet and shelf bare. The only things he had left were his cellphone and a pit bull named Jimmy Choo that his neighbors went out of their way to avoid.
When he turned 33 last month, Mantesso still owned that apartment and it’s still vacant. But it’s for sale now. And people can’t get enough of his 6-year-old bull terrier — from the Instagram sketches-plus-photos of Jimmy that went viral, the book “A Dog Named Jimmy” and a collection of Jimmy-inspired bags and purses for the high-end fashion brand Jimmy Choo. (Mantesso’s ex-wife had named the dog for her favorite shoes.)
There are future plans too: a calendar, endorsements and launching the charitable Jimmy Foundation. Meanwhile, Mantesso is working at an advertising agency in Sao Paulo in his native Brazil, and doing the occasional photo shoot.
The first night they were alone in the “naked” apartment three years ago, Jimmy did a happy dance through all the rooms. Mantesso picked up his phone and started shooting photos of Jimmy’s contagious dance of joy.
“When I sat in my empty living room, Jimmy was happy, running from one side to the other side, in circles, crazy. The apartment was a playground to him. He was loving that empty place. That energy was amazing. I looked at him and said to myself, ‘Oh my God, I was thinking everything was lost and I had the most important thing in the house — Jimmy,’” Mantesso said in his Portuguese accented-English.
At some point, Mantesso picked up a piece of white cardboard, drew a skeleton with a red heart on it, put it in front of Jimmy and took a photo.
He liked it, put it on Instagram (@rafaelmantesso) and they were in business.
Jimmy also kept Mantesso going at a time when he was feeling down. Because of Jimmy, Mantesso had to take a walk twice a day. Because he had to buy Jimmy food, he bought food for himself. And because of Jimmy, he was motivated to keep taking pictures.
Eventually “A Dog Named Jimmy” was ready for the publisher. Some of Mantesso’s images show the dog’s paws or his pink-and-black spotted mouth. Others show him posed with a human hand, while others feature Jimmy with black-and-white sketches of simple objects or scenes — a piano keyboard, antlers, cartoon characters.
His planned Jimmy Foundation will fund pet food drives, spay and neuter clinics and adoption campaigns at shelters throughout Brazil.
He doesn’t accept every endorsement offer, but he did say yes to Netflix, the Jimmy Choo fashion house and Porsche.
“They want my dog to drive a Porsche convertible. I said, ‘Come on, I want to drive it too,’” Mantesso said.
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