Pitbulls

I have to admit, since adopting Trudi, who has possibly a pitbull mix, that I have developed an affinity to this breed of dog. They are often beautiful and unique in their colouring and markings and have the most adoring eyes. When loved, trained and treated with care, they are one of the most loyal breeds to have in the family.  

In my opinion, this terrier breed is no different that any other dog and should be given the opportunity to have a good home. The general population however, tend not to adopt pitbulls, assuming that they cannot be trusted and forgetting that ANY dog, big or small, can turn dangerous when untrained or mistreated. (Need I mention that the majority of aggressive toy dogs I've met while walking Trudi have been little lapdogs who have been coddled instead of taught not to fear larger animals). Thus pitbull mixes, are generally feared, unwanted and sadly, in many cities, banned. 
 
This is Mika, currently at the SPCA. She was initially found as a stray and is a bit timid. But with the 15 minutes that I spent with her, it was clear that she is a gentle sweetheart.
Mika's petfinder profile can be viewed here.

Sweet Boston

Selfishly, volunteering at the SPCA as a photographer,  I am conflicted between selecting images that I would consider as good photography versus photos that will get the pet adopted. It's really a challenge to shoot these animals, especially since they don't get outside much and when they do, are extremely excited. This in turn makes shooting them close to impossible, especially when they don't stop jumping up or sniffing around head down, eager to explore their new surroundings.  

Yesterday's Boston Terrier was a gem though. I think I managed to satisfy my creative needs and those of the SPCA's adoption team with these shots. She was gentle, calm and most attentive to the treat in my hand. Off course, how can one not love these huge eyes as they stare up at you!

kleejourneys at the SPCA

Petfinder  is an online resource to find a pet to adopt, be it a cat, dog, rabbit or rodent. However, when looking at the photos of these animals up on the website, I am generally appalled at the quality of them. How does a rescue operation expect to get their dogs adopted when the first impression of a potential owner of the animal is an out of focus image of their ass? First impressions do matter I must say.

So in my efforts to make some kind of difference with my photo skills,  I decided to volunteer for the SPCA in Montreal as a member of their Petfinder team. If I could have it my way, I would spend all my volunteer hours making full use of my photography expertise, and taking the amount of time needed to shoot the animals, best when they are relaxed and at ease with me. As it turns out, 70% of the SPCA volunteer job is administrative and 30% related to photography. It's no wonder that somewhere along the line, image quality is compromised.

However, let's hope that this volunteer is able to find the happy medium between getting good images up online and doing in-house administrative chores to get these animals into a new home with a better future.

Here is my first contribution...