Two unusual dogs that look like ‘mops with tongues’ have been turning heads everywhere they go.
Eight-year-old Zeb and nine-year-old Kimba are Pulis, a Hungarian herding dog, known for their long, corded coat.
Their owner, Mica Quartey, says she is constantly asked how long it takes her to braid their fur by people unfamiliar with the breed.
The 49-year-old said: “When Pulis hit their teenage stage, their puppy fur changes texture, it begins to merge together to create the cords.
“As an owner, you just have to maintain the coat and ensure each cord has skin all the way around it to avoid matts, so I don’t find it hard work anymore - but it does make me laugh when people ask how long it takes me to do.
“Another question we always get is if they can see, and I always liken it to them seeing through open vertical blinds, they can see fine. And when they run, all their hair goes back anyway.”
Pulis have been bred over the years to have such an interesting coat by means of protection from attack on the plains of Hungary, as well as shielding them from extreme weather.
But Mica, from Miles Platting, Manchester, does often find things lurking in their fur - including her lost belongings.
She said: “Their coats are like magnets and attract everything from brambles and sticky buds.
"Over the years I’ve found bees and I even found a ring I’d lost a week previously whilst I was bathing Zeb once.”
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Mica was inspired to get a dog after seeing the talented Pudsey on Britain’s Got Talent, and fell in love with Puli breeds after seeing one on a TV advert.
She added: “When I saw Pudsey on Britain’s Got Talent, I told my partner at the time that if I was getting a dog, it needed to be as special as that one.
“I rescued Zeb from Hungary, and she changed my life from day dot.
“When I took Zeb to a Puli dog meet, I noticed that she came out of her shell more surrounded by dogs that looked like her, which is when I decided to get Kimba.”
And their fur isn’t just a magnet for lost rings and bumblebees - but crowds of curious shoppers in Manchester city centre.
Many people stop Mica in the street to take pictures of the dogs, and on one occasion, a video of her walking Zeb and Kimba went viral on Dog Spotting .
Mica - who runs the @mopsofmanchester Instagram - added: “It’s a bit crazy. It’s like they are famous sometimes. They get crowds of people on occasions asking to take photos. It’s bonkers.
“They get called all sorts when we’re out, like Dog Marley and Rasta Dogs, but most people say they look like mops!
“We get tagged in loads of Instagram pictures where people have spotted us out. We got caught on the Dog Spotting Facebook page once too.
“I’m happy for people to take pictures of the dogs so long as they’re both in the mood.
“Sometimes I put a GoPro on Zeb and get a dog’s eye view of Manchester, but sometimes that attracts even more attention!”