When his wife left him with nothing but the dog, this man found his new calling

It can be hard to find you feet again after a break-up. Some cry and eat their way through countless tubs of Ben & Jerry's. Others write music about their troubled love lives. But when Rafael Mantesso’s wife left him – on his 30th birthday none the less – it was his bull terrier, Jimmy Choo, who got him trough the rough patch. In fact, Mantesso’s wife had left her husband with nothing but the pup, as she stripped the house clean of all their furniture and furnishings, all their photos — everything, before taking off. But when she was gone, the 30-year-old was happy to have Jimmy there, to keep him company, and started taking picture of the dog as he trotted trough the empty house. ’With only Jimmy for company, I found inspiration in my blank walls and my best friend and started snapping photos of Jimmy Choo as he cavorted around the house in glee," Mantesso explains to Boredpanda.com. "When Jimmy collapsed in happy exhaustion next to the white wall, I grabbed a marker and drew a new world around my ginger-eared pup. Suddenly, I felt this long-dormant inspiration for drawing — for art, for life — returning." So inspired was Mantesso that he, in fact, made a whole series of photographs depicting various funny scenes with his beloved dog, and now the optimistic and sweet pair have a whopping 485,000 followers on Instagram. And as if that wasn't enough, Mantesso recently published a book featuring the best photos of Jimmy. C.U.T. E. Talk about whipping up some lemonade when life (or, in this case, you wife) leaves you with lemons!