In our most recent blog post, you learned a bit about City of Elderly Love and their first meeting with Photographers for Animals’ volunteers, Colleen and Glenn of Do Good Photos. Today we’ll learn more about Colleen and Glenn and we’ll check in to see how they feel as their work is being shared across the Internet to help find homes for their canine and feline models. And, of course, we have some more of the beautiful pictures captured at their first photo shoot.
The Role of Photography in Glenn and Colleen’s Lives
Glenn and Coleen both work in marketing and have enjoyed challenging themselves with their shared passion of photography. When the weather is good, you can find Glenn and his brother traveling the back roads of Bucks County, PA, capturing images with his 1800’s collodion tintype camera. Colleen is also the volunteer photographer at their son’s school. “It’s like the best backstage pass I could get that lets me capture all these amazing moments of my son enjoying his elementary school years.”
Colleen and Glenn work as a team to get the perfect shot
Getting into Photography for Animals
Colleen told us, “Glenn and I both have an enormous love of animals and have always adopted rescues. At the moment, along with our almost 9 year old son who also adores all things fuzzy, we have 2 awesome pups and a cat. Simon (almost 9) and Henry (1 1/2) are both scrappy wire haired terrier mixes and Zoe (almost 17!) is our spunky calico kitty.
Zoe with Henry
Simon and Henry
Colleen continued, “After coming across a video of a photographer that was volunteering his time to shoot photos of rescues, I mentioned to Glenn how awesome it would be to do this as a family. It just so happened he had seen the video as well and had been thinking the same thing. I then reached out to my good friend Christie who has worked in animal welfare for years to see if she had any ideas of how we could go about this. Little did I know, she was working with For All Animals’ Photographers for Animals program, pairing photographers with shelters to do just that. Meant to be!”
So, with the simple idea of doing something for others, they joined the Photographers for Animals program and created “Do Good Photos” on Instagram.
Let’s take a look at a few of those City of Elderly Love animals :
Jared and Charlie
Colleen says, “We were super excited about the match up with City of Elderly Love as we know it can take a little longer for these older guys and gals to find a home, so if our photos could hurry that process along we would be thrilled. Each of the dogs we photographed had such an awesome personality and just wanted affection, which we were more than happy to give.”
“We must admit, we fell head over heels for quite a few, including the dynamic duo Jared and Charlie… Jared being blind and Charlie his BFF and seeing eye dog!
Glenn working with Jared and Charlie
From COEL: “Meet the dynamic duo, the odd couple, partners in crime, the Skipper and his little buddy.. Jared and his seeing-eye dog, Charlie! These sweet boys came to City of Elderly Love after spending months in the shelter after being seized as part of a Humane Law Enforcement cruelty/neglect case. They have been through so much and have been together most of their lives and really depend on each other so MUST be adopted together!”
From COEL, about Jared:
“Jared is a stunningly handsome 10 year old Australian Shepherd mix (perhaps part Border Collie?). Despite being blind, it seems as though Jared never stops smiling! Jared’s vision loss happened gradually over time so he has adapted to his disability well. Jared isn’t scared to explore his surroundings, isn’t deterred if he bumps into something, and once he finds you, immediately snuggles up for love! Jared actually loves to fumble around, search for toys (especially squeaky ones), and climb up on furniture (he’ll bring his toys to bed if you let him). He’s always the first one out of the door on walks and is ready for any adventure – he’s full of personality! And besides, Jared has his little buddy Charlie to help him navigate the world! Charlie is always aware of where Jared is and makes sure to stay close in case he needs anything.”
From COEL, about Charlie:
“Charlie isn’t actually a senior dog, but came to City of Elderly Love by default. He’s a 6ish year old wire-haired Dachshund mix with a gorgeous graham-cracker coat and adorable little face. Charlie is always sure to keep an eye on Jared and help him out if he can’t find his dog bed or gets stuck behind a piece of furniture. Besides being Jared’s best friend and eyes, he also has a big personality of his own! He loves his human friends and will follow you around the house hoping to catch some crumbs. He loves to go on walks and really enjoys the recent nice weather! Charlie’s little tail will wag a mile a minute when he meets new people!”
More COEL animals from the first photo shoot:
Dallas
From Dallas’ COEL bio: “Beware – love at first sight is imminent! Dallas is a ~10 year old Pit Bull terrier who was surrendered to Philly’s animal control shelter because his previous family was moving and could not bring him along. The shelter is no place for any pet, but especially not an amazing, social, older guy like Dallas so a City of Elderly Love foster family scooped him up and is now working to help him land his forever home!”
“Dallas weighs just over 70 lbs. and has the cutest black accents. His smile is infectious so be prepared to have people stop you to say hi! Dallas is currently living with other dogs and gets along with them great! His tail looks like a propeller when he gets to interact with other dogs and he’ll do adorable little hops and play bows to show them that he’s happy to see them and wants to be friends! He has no issues sharing his space with other dogs so he’d do well in both a multi-dog household or as an only pet. When he’s not playing with his foster siblings or his favorite toy (Kongs, squeakers, balls), you can usually find him snoozing on the couch, in his crate or at your feet. Dallas is crate trained and has no trouble snoozing in it while you’re at work or at night (though wouldn’t be opposed to sharing the bed with you!).”
Pilot
From Pilot’s COEL bio: “This tiny adorable man is named Pilot! Pilot is an 8-ish year old Chihuahua who was found as a stray in Philadelphia and was brought to the animal control shelter. Despite his epic side-eye, this friendly little man caught the attention of a City of Elderly Love foster family and was quickly whisked away to foster care! He’s now on the hunt for a forever home!”
“Pilot is a tiny dog with a big personality! He spends the majority of his day finding the largest pile of pillows and blankets in the house to perch himself upon. Pilot currently lives with two small children, two large dogs and a cat. He gets along well with everyone since they are respectful of his space and love of naps. Pilot’s favorite activities are snuggling under the covers, sitting in your lap and taking walks.”
Pilot with his foster brother
“Even for an older guy Pilot can walk with the best of them! He only has two teeth left as a result of a recent dental cleaning and extractions at our vet but that doesn’t stop him from perking his pointy ears to ask for treats! Pilot would do best in a home where he can receive frequent bathroom breaks and with someone who can continue working on house training (small dogs, small bladders!), but will definitely repay you with hilarity and snuggles!”
Monroe
From Monroe’s COEL bio: “This stunning beauty-marked girl is named Monroe (because of her gorgeous beauty mark of course)! She is around 8-10 years old and was surrendered to a Philadelphia shelter because her owners were moving and could not bring her along. She quickly became a staff favorite, but was having a hard time catching the eye of potential forever homes while in the shelter so City of Elderly Love stepped in to help!”
“Monroe is estimated to be around 8-10 years old and has lots of energy and personality! She LOVES to meet new people, enjoys chit-chatting, and will do a little dance when having her back scratched. Unfortunately, Monroe has been adopted and returned to the rescue a couple times due to her adopters’ allergies and also because of some litter box issues due to the stress of settling into a new environment. The good news is that Monroe has always been a happy, litter box-using girl while with the rescue so once over the adjustment period of settling in with her new family, it should be a nonissue. She just needs a committed and stable home where she’ll be given the chance to feel like a member of the family! Because she is otherwise such an easy-going girl, she would likely do well in a home with kids. She gets along great with other cats and recently lived with a large dog with whom she got along with great! Monroe is quite the catch – besides being very social, she is also as healthy as can be! Don’t miss your shot at adopting this amazing cat!”
Tyra
From Tyra’s COEL bio: “Meet our little social butterfly, Tyra! This petite pit bull is around 7-8 years old and made her way to City of Elderly Love after being brought to Philly’s animal control shelter as a stray. Though microchipped, the shelter couldn’t locate her former family and no one came forward to claim her! Because the shelter is no place for an older dog, a City of Elderly Love foster family stepped up to save Tyra’s life!”
“Tyra may be an older dog, but it doesn’t stop her from being an adventure-loving sweetheart who is always down for a ride. She’s the perfect mix of laid-back and easy-going. Tyra LOVES to go on walks and will drag her leash around the house to let you know she’s ready to go out. She adores meeting new people or all shapes, sizes and ages and would make a wonderful family dog! She also enjoys meeting other friendly dogs, but can get a bit spooked if an off-leash dog bum rushes her. She’d be happiest not going to an off-leash dog park and prefers to keep her friend circle small, but once Tyra likes another dog, they are her friend for life! She isn’t currently living with any dogs, but did live with another foster dog previously before he was adopted. Tyra is also completely housebroken and loves to just lounge around the house while you’re at work!”
About the COEL photo session, Colleen said, “We left smiling from ear to ear that day, feeling so great about deciding to start this new adventure. We couldn’t wait to schedule our next volunteer gig. It not only gives us a chance to help these wonderful animals that just want to be loved and find a forever home, but we get to volunteer doing two things we really, really love… shooting photos and spending time with adorable dogs and cats as a family. An extra perk, too, is that it’s setting a really good example for our son.”
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.