Best in show: Photographer captures the weird and wonderful world of niche animal shows You could be forgiven for thinking the animals are the most interesting things to be seen at a pet show - but you'd be wrong. Photographer Amy Lombard has turned her lens towards the animal enthusiasts who populate these shows and the result is a series of fascinating portraits. The series, called Welcome to the Show, features a all manner of fauna - from the lovable to the downright odd, and the people who cultivate them. Bond: A woman and her cat embrace moments before judging at a cat show in Pennsylvania No dogs allowed: A fearful llama in the petting zoo portion of the Greater Philadelphia Pet and Horse Show Beauty contest: A judge examines and measures a cat at a show in Pennsylvania, 2013 Hands on: A Saint Bernard on view at the AKC Meet the Breeds in New York Big star: An attendee pets a dog laying down at the AKC Meet the Breeds in New York There's the man whose pet rat wears a tiny top hat, the woman whose bouffant rivals that of her schit-tzu and the crustacean-lover who sells hermit crabs with colorfully painted shells. Lombard took in the best the animal show circuit has to offer around the country from the rather eccentric fringe shows (pet costume show in Pennsylvania) to New York's Meet the Breed event. The Philadelphia-raised, Brooklyn-residing photographer says her Welcome to the Show series felt like a natural fit for her. Lizard enthusiast: Alan Both, a vendor at the New York Reptile Show, clad in his signature gecko t-shirt Creepy crawlies: Large cockroaches on view at the Greater Philadelphia Pet and Horse Show For all your needs: A 3-D size chart of dead mice for purchase at the New York Reptile Show Lovable: Sandra Bauer and Elizabeth DiMase, vendors at the New York Reptile Show, look warmly at the snakes they are selling at the show 'I grew up in Pennsylvania with four dogs, five cats, lizard, turtles, birds, etc,' she says. But while she has a longstanding passion for animals and photographing them, she says they're really just a small part of the equation in the ongoing series. 'There's something extraordinary about being in a room with hundreds of people who share one mutual passion... Many people are unaware that some of these niche animal shows exist, or fi they are, they don't necessarily know what they look like,' she says. Colorful: A selection of painted hermit crabs available for purchase at the New York Reptile Show New pets: A father and son hold three crabs they purchased at the New York Reptile Show Lizard in a cup: Geckos on view and for purchase at the New York Reptile Show Love is blind: A woman poses with her one-eyed cat at a show in Pennsylvania In documenting these events and the people who are passionate about them, Lombard explores people's relationships with their animals as well as society's attitude toward animals. She began the project in early 2013 and reflects that it's been a very animal-dominated year. 'I think I hung out with more animals than humans at times,' she says. Dress-ups: A pot-belly pig dressed as a ladybug takes part in a pet costume show in Pennsylvania Big hair is back: A woman and her dog sport a similar hairstyle at the AKC Meet the Breeds in New York Moment of truth: A woman and her cat pose moments before judging at a cat show in Pennsylvania Dapper rodent: A white rat wears a hat at the Greater Philadelphia Pet and Horse Show 'It's clear that relationships with animals are a big park of my work and life.' Welcome to the Show is an an ongoing project, so it looks like Lombard's 2014 is shaping up to be another year full of creatures.