Happy New Year! What? That's right, today - February 16th - is Chinese New Years Day and 2018 is a Year of the Dog (let's hear a "woof"!). Chinese New Year is a movable celebration, dictated by the lunar cycle, which can fall anytime between January 21 and February 20.
In Chinese astrology, each year is related to a Chinese zodiac animal according to the 12-year cycle. The Dog is the eleventh of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order would be decided by the order in which they arrived to his party. Monkey, Rooster and Dog were in another country, helping a god defeat evil spirits (of course the dog was; it was probably a Retriever, they're always so helpful!). After, they set off to the party together. Because they arrived at the same time, the Jade Emperor went by the order they met the god in the other country. Thus, Dog became eleventh.
Not surprisingly, Dog is the symbol of loyalty and honesty. People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They are honest, friendly, faithful, loyal, smart, straightforward, venerable and have a strong sense of responsibility (I *wish* I were a dog, but alas I'm a Dragon - we won't get into what that means!).
As we enter 2018 year of the dog, it made me think back to 2017 which was a "year of the dog" for me. As many of you know, I volunteer at two municipal shelters every week taking pictures of the animals there to improve their chance of adoption. At the beginning of 2017 I decided to expand that and invited some local rescue groups into the studio with their dogs to give them a leg up in finding their forever homes too!
I'd like to introduce you to four local rescue groups in North Texas that are doing fantastic work and and the images that I made for each in 2017 (these are by no means the only dogs they rescued, these are just the ones that I photographed!). I'm proud to be associated with them as you can read on the Volunteer Partners page of this site.
Lone Star Labrador Retriever Rescue
Lone Star Labrador Retriever Rescue (Lone Star Lab Rescue) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, all volunteer organization dedicated to preventing the needless destruction of purebred Labrador Retrievers in the DFW/Dallas/Fort Worth/North Texas area. You can learn more about them by visiting their website.
Epic Animal Rescue
Epic Animal Rescue is a 100% all volunteer foster based 501c3 registered rescue organization in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. You can learn more about their work and marvel at how engaged they are in the community with a busy social calendar by visiting their website.
Cane Rosso Rescue
Cane Rosso Rescue is a Dallas, TX-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds and building awareness for dogs in need of homes in Texas. The goal of Cane Rosso Rescue is to find homes for dogs that have been abandoned at shelters or whose owners can no longer care for them. The story of how the rescue came to be is truly unique and inspiring, you can read about it on their website here.
Coppell Humane Society
Coppell Humane Society started out in 1989 as a team of two women who went to a local shelter, took a few dogs to a neighborhood store parking lot and tried to get them adopted. If they were not adopted, then the women took them back to the shelter. CHS has grown quite a bit since then!
Now, their team is a network of foster homes and volunteers that rescue both cats and dogs. These animals are usually at high risk of euthanasia at the shelter due to rampant overcrowding and just need some more time. The rescued animals live in their homes where they can monitor their health and behavior to provide individualized medical attention and/or training.
Today, their mission is to serve homeless, needy companion animals in the Dallas- Ft. Worth metroplex and surrounding communities. They accomplish this through rescue, rehabilitation, and permanent placement in suitable homes; while striving to reduce their numbers through public education. Achievement of their mission depends on honoring, valuing, and supporting the efforts and contributions of our volunteers, donors and adopters.
12 Comments
Feb 20, 2018, 12:07:40 PM
Linda Perdue - Wow - awesome photographs - you give a lot of your time to these shelter pets - and you do an amazing job! I can only hope to get as good at photographing pets are you!
Feb 17, 2018, 9:47:15 PM
Lynda - Beautiful images. Whilst it’s sad to see so many dogs in need of shelter, it must be gratifying to know you had a hand in helping them find their new homes! Well done.
Feb 17, 2018, 1:38:07 PM
Ursula - What wonderful work you do for all those rescues. I love it. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
Feb 16, 2018, 1:32:40 PM
Tracy Allard - Hello Kirsten,
I do need to update the site to include the HeARTsSpeak logo, nice to know there's a kindred spirit in the group. I'm actually working on collages for 2017 shelter animals this week - they're bigger! :)
Feb 16, 2018, 1:26:32 PM
Elaine - I love absolutely everything about this post. Great photography. These rescues are lucky to have you as a partner, and the dogs are indeed the luckiest of all!
Feb 16, 2018, 12:00:54 PM
John - Gorgeous photos! Thank you for the work you do trying to help all these dogs!
Feb 16, 2018, 9:51:01 AM
Kelly Middlebrooks - I am so impressed with how much rescue work you do. I LOVE that you have a different look for the images for each rescue, too. Beautiful!
Feb 16, 2018, 9:12:19 AM
Kirsten - Beautiful work HeARTsSpeak friend!
Can't wait to see how many dogs you photograph for shelters in 2018!!
Feb 16, 2018, 8:37:30 AM
Kim Hollis - Wow - every single one of these is just beautiful.!
Feb 16, 2018, 7:01:25 AM
Linda Metcalf - Your work is truly lovely!!! I love the variety in your studio images.
Feb 16, 2018, 6:57:27 AM
nancy - We think alike, thinking back to the shelter dogs we took pictures of in 2017. Beautiful work.
Feb 16, 2018, 6:24:07 AM
Elayne Massaini - Gorgeous galleries! Beautiful work!