Dogs Go To the Cinema

This article originally appeared on VICE Spain

The Secret Life of Pets premiered in Spanish cinemas earlier this month. In the run up to that official premiere, cinema company Cinesa and pet charity The Affinity Foundation invited 40 humans with their dogs for a pre-screening at the Cinesa Proyecciones Theatre in Madrid. On the night, professional dog trainers acted as ushers, while popcorn and soft drinks were replaced by dog treats.

At the last minute the programme was changed to Ice Age 5 – the powers that be didn’t want a showing for dogs and their owners to be the first screening. Ice Age 5 wasn’t premiering and has no dogs in it, but does star a squirrel, a mammoth and a llama, so the sudden change didn’t ruffle any feathers. Photographer David Ruitz doesn’t have a dog, but he did go to the premiere to take some cute pictures.

More on VICE:

Homeless Dog Owners Talk About What Their Dogs Mean to Them

Inside the Luxury Fat Camp for America’s Wealthy Dogs

Laurie Anderson’s Concert for Dogs Was Packed with Freezing People and Their Freezing Dogs