Keep the face you know
The seal body is new; your pet’s expression, ears, coat color and markings are what connect it to the original photo. A clear front or three-quarter view makes those features easier to read. Include the body and its chair, sofa or floor rather than uploading only a tiny face crop. The background in your photo provides the starting setting, so an ordinary resting spot is a useful choice. One animal per image keeps the subject unambiguous; this is a single-pet transformation, not a two-pet scene.

