
For many people, a pet can be their most loyal companion - a trusted soul-mate with whom they experience the highs and lows of life.

Now, photographer Elena Shumilova has captured the inseparable bond that exists between pets and their owners in a heart-warming selection of pictures.

They capture children and their pets at various moments in every-day life in Moscow and Andreapol, Russia.

Children are pictured playfully chasing their pets in a woodland, gazing out of a frosty, steamed up window before bed and finally snuggling up with their pets as they doze off.

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Photographer Elena Shumilova captures a young boy gazing out on to a lake with his arm wrapped around his pet dog

A young boy rests his head against his loyal companion as they snuggle up together on a cosy rug

A boy and his cat collect leaves in one of the pictures taken by Ms Shumilova to demonstrate the unique bond between pets and owners

A young girl is chased by her dog as she charges through a woodland - the photographer said 'pets are members of our family'

The photographer shows the moving moment a girl cuddles her cat - the pictures were taken in Moscow and Andreapol, in Russia

The pictures are taken by Elena Shumilova, a mother-of-two. She said: 'I felt so inspired when I was creating these images. Pets are members of our family and there's nothing more natural and more important than the desire to care for someone you love.

'The children in the photos are from Moscow and Andreapol, and they are photographed with their own pets.'

She added: 'Children and animals - that's my life.

'I am mum to two boys and we spend a lot of time on the farm. I shoot my boys, my dog, rabbits, ducks and sometimes my friends and their children.

'And I always photograph my kids and friends when we go for a walk.'

A girl shelters under the lashing rain on a rock with her spaniel and cat also jostling for a dry spot under her umbrella

A boy and his cat create drawings on a misty window in the selection of pictures that show the powerful bond owners have with their pets

A child drifts off to sleep while cuddling her puppy - the photographer said she felt 'inspired' while capturing the moving moments

Rural settings, natural phenomena and the changing seasons seem to be the greatest stimuli in her works.

'When shooting I prefer to use natural light – both inside and outside. I love all sorts of light conditions – street lights, candle light, fog, smoke, rain and snow – everything that gives visual and emotional depth to the image,' the photographer said.

The work was commissioned by Petcurean Pet Nutrition.

Jaimie Turkington, from Petcurean, said: 'The images Elena has contributed to our Nourish for Life campaign fully express the depth of the human and pet bond in a way that words alone never could.