“You won’t change the world by saving an animal, but you will change that animal’s world.”
I spent the first couple of years in business trying to get up and running…just trying to survive! There’s always room for improvement and things constantly change, but as the business changed and things changed at home with two of my kiddos graduating with another graduating this year, I now had a tad more time on my hands. I felt compelled to volunteer my time to help those in need. I just wasn’t sure where to start. Then one day I was scrolling through Facebook and someone tagged me in a post. It was an post from LARAS House Shelter and they were looking for photographers to help them put a calendar together that would be used as a fundraiser for the shelter. I applied and they asked me to assist them with the calendar.
Pups used in the calendar shoot for LARAS House.
I had such a great time working with the pets and the staff at the shelter that we began going out there for fun as a family. My kids would interact and play with the cats and dogs and I would work with Kathy taking photographs of the pets. It was a great experience! Such a great experience in fact that my kids ended up falling absolutely head over heels in love with a cat named Mrs. Claus. We adopted her the day after Christmas and she has been a huge hit with our family.
Gracie with Mrs. Claus, the cat we adopted from LARAS House.
About a month later I was contacted by the shelter and I was asked if I’d like to become a volunteer and continue taking photographs of the pets, as well as enter the cats onto sites such as Petfinder and Adopt A Pet so they’d be seen by potential adoptive families. Of course I said that I’d love to volunteer! It has been great for my kids to interact with the pets and how valuable it is to volunteer. It has been great to the pets to receive extra attention when we come and also to have photographs taken of them happy and playing. These photographs which show them happy do make a difference when potential owners see them.
Nettie was one of the first cats that I photographed. She was adopted a short time later.
If you’d like to get involved and help the pets at LARAS House, you can do so in many ways! You do not have to adopt to help the pets. You can foster or just volunteer. These pets need so much love and attention! You can also donate with monetary donations or by providing supplies. The easiest way that won’t cost you anything extra is by simply choosing LARAS House when you shop on AmazonSmile. They will donate up to 0.5% of your eligible purchases!
Meet Rosie
Check out these awesome pets I’ve worked with so far!
Cats
Dogs
