How about that Oregon-based photographer Carli Davidson's new book, Shake Puppies, also has a great message about adopting homeless pets.
The book includes information about puppy care, training and development, so perhaps more dogs will get to stick around with their families past that impossibly cute, incredibly challenging stage, and well into adulthood.
"Most dogs end up in a rescue when they are about a year old, and so much of the reason is a lack of understanding. I want to use this platform to combat that," Davidson said in a news release.
Davidson, who previously photographed wiggling, waterlogged adult dogs for her book, Shake, said she faced a number of challenges while working on the new project.
For one, the hundred-odd young'uns she was shooting were not always in control of their bladders in the studio. In addition, Davidson had to be sure her models were ethically sourced.
"I worked with rescue shelters and pet owners as much as possible," she said in the release. "I also worked closely with my production assistant who happens to run an animal rescue and who helped make sure that any breeders we worked with were philosophically in line with both of us. This meant that instead of just finding breeders in Portland, Oregon, we sometimes had to pack up and drive down to California so we could feel good about the shoot!"
Her goal is to use cute images to increase compassion toward animals -- in fact, she told Wired her next project is about cats, which are euthanized at alarmingly high rates in shelters across the country -- but another hope is that the images help increase people's compassion toward themselves.
"As I’ve struggled with depression and general emotional burnout in my life, I look to uplifting stories and imagery to keep me balanced. I hope others can take that away from my images, too," she said.
Apparently, being surrounded by cute canines had an effect on Davidson: The photographer ended up adopting another dog while making Shake Puppies.
Her beloved "epic shaker," Norbert, whose photogenic way with moisture inspired the first book, has now been joined by Saul, an 8-year-old schnauzer, whose previous owner could no longer take care of him after developing dementia.
"Here I was surrounded by puppies and I opted for the grey, bearded old dude," said Davidson. "As cute as puppies are we really have to be honest with ourselves about adopting them."
Here's a behind-the-scenes video of Davidson wrangling some puppies:
Behind the Scenes Shake Puppies from Carli Davidson on Vimeo.
Get in touch at arin.greenwood@huffingtonpost.com if you have an animal story to share!
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/28/shake-puppies-carli-davidson_n_6061052.html?utm_hp_ref=weird-news&ir=Weird+News
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