A pup with personality...

On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of meeting Sampson. Sampson is a 5-month old Boxer/Shepherd mix. I found out pretty quickly that Sampson was a hugger, much like Milt. He was extremely playful which translates to very hard to get a good shot of. I edited a few of his images to give you a sense of his personality. After I played with him for a couple of minutes, I said, "Okay Sampson. Let's see how photogenic you are." Sampson said...

"How 'bout I stick my tongue out at you?"

I said, "Come on Sampson! Just one nice shot." Sampson said...

"No No No No No!!"

I said, "Pleeeeease Sampson! Just one. For me?" Sampson said...

"Well...okay. But I refuse to smile."

So this is the shot I am most proud of, because it was not easy to get. I think Sampson is adorable...even without the smile.

Regarding where all of these animals come from, I think it is a mix of those brought in by animal control, those that are surrendered by someone, and those that are simply abandoned. I've been there when two animals were surrendered. I always wonder what the story is behind it. I know that sometimes it is because of blatant irresponsibility of the owners, but sometimes people have to move somewhere they can't take the dog or have some physical problem that prevents them from having a pet. There's always multiple sides to something like this. I have to wonder if the down turn in the economy has caused more animals to come into the shelter. With people losing jobs or having to sell their homes or worse, I just wonder how many animals have lost their homes as well.

But there are many homes that can have pets. I am hopeful our work will help some of these animals find their forever home.

Happy shooting!