AN artist inspired by the dog walking community in Warrington has joined forces with her brother to create a book about the philosophy of dogs.

To get the project up and running, Rosie Benson, 41, of Fairfield, is offering the community the chance to have their own canine companion drawn in a personalised portrait, in return for a donation towards the costs of publishing the book.

Philosophers' Dogs, created by Rosie's 28-year-old brother Samuel Dodson, features illustrations of human philosophers and their dogs along with the philosophical thoughts of our four-legged friends.

In its pages, readers will discover the minds of Karl Barks (Karl Marx), Sun-Shih-tzu (Sun Tzu), and Mary Woof-stonecraft (Mary Wollstonecraft).

Rosie is offering supporters the chance to have their dogs drawn as part of the crowdfunding campaign, but contributors can choose from a selection of different rewards as an incentive to donate.

These include becoming a book patron, postcards, artwork and joining the author for a group dog walk.

Rosie said: "I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember.

"The moment my brother pitched the idea of Philosophers’ Dogs to me I was immediately drawn to the challenge of illustrating the book and bringing these dogs to life.

"Dogs are such wonderful animals to draw and paint, and they play such a huge part in so many people’s lives.

"With these ‘paw-traits’, I wanted to offer our supporters a beautiful and permanent portrait of their dogs that they can cherish forever.”

Rosie also explained how important Warrington and its dog walking community has been in inspiring her work.

She added: "I’ve been living and working in Warrington for years, and always love meeting dog walkers and their dogs in parks like Moore Nature Reserve, Walton Gardens, Latchford Locks, Paddington Meadows, Victoria Park and The Twiggeries.

"There are so many lovely dogs I’ve met who have all sorts of interesting characteristics and quirky personalities.

"When I used to walk my dog, Hector, he and his friends always seemed to be pondering the most important of philosophical questions, like, ‘why can’t we eat that leftover barbecue food?'"

Philosophers' Dogs is being published through Unbound, an online crowdfunding model, and once the target has been reached everyone who has pledged to support the book will receive a copy of the novel along with whatever reward they have signed up for.

Visit unbound.com/books/philosophers-dogs/ for more information or to pledge your support.