Couple poses for 'newborn' shoot with their dog

— -- Chelsea and Jared Price were tired of people asking them when they would have kids. The couple, who have been married five years, get asked this question a lot.

"In our small-town, rural community, it's pretty much expected for babies to quickly follow a wedding, and I think many people are confused by our choice to remain childless," Chelsea Price told ABC News. "It's not that we dislike kids. We have two nieces who are the most amazing kids ever. Children just aren't in our plan right now."

Besides, the couple already has a baby of sorts: Riley, a dog they adopted from the Humane Society of North Iowa while Chelsea Price was employed there.

"He was only there for about a week before my husband and I decided that he was meant for us," Chelsea Price said. "Riley had been living with an older lady for most of his life, and she passed away. He ended up with some of her relatives, who decided they didn't want him and surrendered him."

Riley, now 11, has spent the last five years as the heart of the Price family.

To celebrate the couple's recent five-year anniversary, they decided to have a family photo shoot with Riley as their "baby." The idea was sparked by a conversation Chelsea Price had over the summer.

"I was at a work-related event where I was asked if I had kid," she recalled. 'No, just a dog!' I joked. But he's basically our child. I felt a little shamed, and it wasn't the first time I've experienced something like that. I talked about it with Jared, and we decided that to celebrate our anniversary, we would have this photo shoot done, and it could be our tongue-in-cheek response to everyone who asks about future babies."

The couple contacted photographer Katie Arickx of Osage, Iowa, to make their idea a reality.

Her favorite moment, she said, was "getting Riley to sit in the baby carriage. [He] flashed me a smile as his parents look down at him in admiration. You can really see the love they have for their fur baby. I also love his expression in the second one. His cocked head, little tooth hanging out like, 'What are my parents up to here?' He has so much personality!"

She went on, "I always have encouraged families to include their fur babies in their sessions as they are part of the family too, but have never done or seen a session with this idea in mind to the extent of the dog being the focus! I hope to get more couples to follow this trend, as it was so much fun."

Chelsea Price said people "have really responded to the photos. I have a pet-sitting business on the side, and Jared and I both volunteer in animal rescue, so we have a ton of dog-loving friends who thought the pictures were funny and adorable. Even though I suspect our parents would rather have a grandkid than a 'granddog,' they still thought the photos were cute."