Shooting Pictures for the Pound was a delightful experience for me. May 1st was sunny and warm. Dogs, kids and parents were all in a fun spring spirit. We had big dogs, little dogs and even a chicken! New puppies full of love for everyone and faithful senior dogs just happy to be with their owners. All of it was connected by the love that people had for their animals. There was a lot of hugging and kissing and chatting and playing, and even a singing/howling a cappella moment that I wish had been on video.
We Einarsens are a huge pet family, and warmed my heart to have us all there. My husband, Paul, managing the image files and my boys, Connor and Carson, helping wrangle wandering pets and kids. But seeing all these people and the animals that are so much a part of their lives made me see Boomer and Gravel, our shelter dog and cat, through refreshed eyes. It made me thankful that I could do something to help other strays find loving families like these.
Thanks to Earth Animal and the landlord, we were able to set up a temporary studio in the empty storefront next door which helped contain energetic dogs and roaming children. We scheduled 23 sessions but the event was so popular with walk-ins that we had to extend the day and ended up shooting 37 families and their pets, plus Perry from Adopt-a-Dog. In the end we raised over $2700 for Westport Animal Shelter Advocates to use for improvements and supplies at the Westport Dog Shelter. I encourage everyone to contact and help out with their great work.