Photography: Painted hermit crabs and dogs with dreadlocks. You're welcome

I don’t know if you’ve seen Toddlers in Tiaras, the TV show about mothers who tote their children at beauty pageants like they’re tiny little dolls in eyeshadow and crunchy dresses, but it’s disturbing stuff. Imagine, though, if you took every little girl from that show and replaced them with a painted hermit crab or a dog with dreadlocks. It would be not only a lot more entertaining, but pretty aesthetically pleasing, right?

This is that! This is Toddlers in Tiaras for animals! Also known as Welcome to the Show, the new series by Brooklyn-based photographer Amy Lombard. Her excellent series puts all manner of fauna, and the extraordinary people who look after it, under spotlight. Now I know this isn’t the first the we’ve seen a series about animal shows, but it certainly is the first time we’ve seen them quite like this; so brightly coloured that they almost don’t look real, and featuring funny-looking creatures who seem to have as much personality as their owners. It’s not the only project in her portfolio which is day-making material, either. See for yourself.