The Birth of a Photographer-Rescue Partnership– Part One

A sunny sky and a roster full of foster dogs and cats pulled me out of bed earlier than usual on a recent Sunday morning. I was heading to New Britain, PA, to introduce two of my close friends, Glenn and Colleen of Do Good Photos, to one of my favorite animal welfare organizations in the Philadelphia area, City of Elderly Love. Glenn and Colleen were bursting with excitement all week as they prepared for their first assignment facilitated by Photographers for Animals.

A Perfect Match

Their match to City of Elderly love is an example of love and dedication meeting “right place-right time.” When I was having lunch with Colleen a couple of months ago, she asked me about my work with For All Animals’ Photographers for Animals program.

Colleen and Glenn both have incredibly busy schedules, with their jobs, a son in elementary school, extended family commitments, plus two dogs (Henry and Simon, below) and a cat keeping them on their toes. (Suffice it to say, there’s not a lot of downtime in their household.) But despite everything going on in their own lives, Glenn and Colleen felt they were missing something: they felt a deep need give back to their community by helping animals.

I’ve known Glenn and Colleen for well over 15 years, and I’ve always been a fan of their photography. From hobby pics to professional-level work, their photos are quite beautiful and evocative. Their love of animals is also evident in their lives and in their photos, and I felt that the Photographers for Animals program would be right up their alley.

It just so happened that City of Elderly Love, a non-profit animal welfare organization that is “dedicated to saving Philly’s vintage pets,” was looking for some photography assistance to capture the individual character and beauty of the animals in their care.

City of Elderly Love (COEL) rescues senior animals from potential euthanasia at Philadelphia-area animal shelters and also works to prevent older animals from entering the shelter system whenever possible. COEL utilizes a network of volunteers and foster homes to place adoptable pets into loving adoptive homes, and also provides palliative and hospice care for animals when needed.

While much of COEL’s work is done in Philadelphia itself, they have a satellite adoption center for cats (thanks to a partnership with Dog Town Rescue) located not too far from Colleen and Glenn, and they hold dog adoption events there quite frequently. I chatted with Samantha Holbrook, a co-founder and board member of COEL with whom I’ve worked in the past on other projects, and we came up with a plan to invite several of the dogs in their foster program up for a photo shoot at Dog Town. While there, Colleen and Glenn could also get photos of the cats in the cat room. We were off and running!

The Day of the Shoot

I arrived early at Dog Town on the day of the photo shoot and immediately saw one of my favorite COEL dogs, Harvey, hanging out in a dog play area in the front window. I knew Colleen was also quite taken with Harvey after reading about him on COEL’s Facebook page, so I saw it as a great sign. As it turned out, we’d meet several of our favorite COEL dogs and cats throughout the morning, and our excitement leading up to the photo shoot had nothing on how we’d feel during each animal’s session.

 

Colleen and Glenn, of course, were a bit nervous. This was their very first assignment with COEL and they didn’t know exactly what to expect. Would the dogs all be sweet and cuddly, or would some be rambunctious and hard to manage? Would the light be good, and if it wasn’t, how would the animals handle the flash? How long would each dog session take? What about the cats: would they cooperate?

Lots of questions, but we knew the best thing to do would be to set up a basic plan with COEL and just roll with any last minute changes. After all, we would be working with non-professional models, and we were up for anything.

We set up a tentative schedule for dog sessions, allowing 30 minutes for Colleen and Glenn to get their equipment set up and about 20 minutes to photograph each dog. Happy foster parents arrived in a steady stream, and the dogs settled in (or not!) for their close ups. Each session was unique, from lively and very energetic Dallas to shy and quiet Lily. And in the Cat Adoption Room, hijinks and demure beauty were on display in equal measure. Foster parents (and even foster siblings!) helped to settle nervous dogs, and sloppy kisses flew in all directions from the day’s canine subjects. The cats took everything in stride, and we were pretty sure at least one of them was working the camera in an attempt to become a supermodel.

Harvey Dent

First up for photos was Harvey himself, who is being fostered by Erin Lewin, President and co-founder of COEL.  From Harvey’s COEL profile: “Harvey was rescued from a neglect situation by the Humane Law Enforcement division of the Pennsylvania SPCA and transferred to COEL for care. He was emaciated and had a deep wound on the side of his face that was necrotic.” Thanks to COEL, he had surgery to repair his face and received lots of other great veterinary care. “Despite everything he’s been through, Harvey is sweet. His tail wags a mile a minute when you talk to him and he gives gentle kisses every chance he gets. Once fully recovered, dog, cat and kid-friendly Harvey will be ready to find his forever home.”

COEL board member Holbrook was really pleased with how the sessions transpired, and said, “Glenn and Colleen had a great rapport with the animals, and we loved watching them work. They were able to capture each animal’s personality in such a special way, and highlight through their photographs just how wonderful these adoptable seniors are!”

Dylan

In between dog sessions, Colleen and Glenn stepped into the Cat Adoption Room to get to know some of the feline residents. They couldn’t help but notice Dylan.

From Dylan’s COEL profile: “This stunning blue-eyed boy is named Dylan! Dylan came to City of Elderly Love, along with 2 of his former housemates, after they were rescued from a holding case in Philadelphia along with over 50 other cats. Despite there being so many cats living in deplorable conditions, the cats were all relatively healthy despite some scrapes and scratches. Dylan is now safe and is looking for a forever home where he can forget his past! Dylan is around 5 years old and has a unique mostly white coat with splashes of gray. What stands out the most about Dylan are his stunning sky blue eyes.”

Colleen and Glenn met so many amazing animals during their first assignment with COEL that there was no way to fit them all in one blog post. In our next blog post, we’ll introduce you to more COEL cats and dogs and you’ll get Colleen and Glenn’s thoughts about their first animal welfare photography experience! If you’re a photographer or shelter/rescue organization who would like to be part of the Photographers for Animals program, please visit our webpage to learn more!

 

As For All Animals’ Photographers for Animals program manager, Christie Rogero actively pairs animal shelters and rescue groups, who are implementing proactive, life-saving programs and working hard to increase their live release rates, with photographers in their area to help with adoption photography.