A Photographer Puts Rescue Pets in the Spotlight

Jazzy, Katie, and Lily

Well, everybody can do something! Just think outside of the litterbox. I’ll be sharing stories of wonderful people who have taken the step to make a difference, I want to give them a HIGH PAW!

Today’s angel is a woman named Sherry Stinson. Sherry is a photographer who donates her time to the Washington County SPCA in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. She has a greeting card business, TylerDog Cards, and applies these same principles to take photos of the pets at the shelter to help increase their chances for adoption.

I caught up with Sherry not long ago to learn more about her program and the terrific person behind the camera.

Romeo: Do you have pets?

Sherry: Yep, three dogs and two cats. I have Jazzy the Amazing Wiener (a 6-year-old Miniature Dachshund, but she insists on the Amazing Wiener part) and Katie, a two-year-old Doberman Pinscher. My partner, shooter of the cats and dog handler, Angela, has a Boston Terrier named Lily. Then there’s the cats. Tucker is my old man, going on 13; a big black cat who thinks he’s a Doberman, and Angela’s big black cat, Tips. Jazz is the pack leader, of course, and has her own blog, WienerBites and a twitter account. She’s a bit mouthy and is constantly telling me I need to blog for her more!

Romeo: What inspired you to take action and begin this program?

Sherry: One of my former photography students, Lianne McKinley, who’s now the Washington County SPCA programs director, contacted me asking if I knew any students who might want to take pictures of the shelter animals on a weekly basis. I jumped at the chance because it was a three-fold blessing for me: one, it would give these animals incredible photos thereby increasing their chance for adoption. Two, it would add to my “stable” of animal photos I use to create the greeting cards for my card business, TylerDog Cards

I'm calling the shoots "All Creatures Great and Small," which is borrowed from James Herriot's wonderful series of books I grew up reading.

The WCSPCA Executive Director, Richard Parsons, told us they were getting around 2,000 hits a month before we started taking pictures. Once we started the "All Creatures Great and Small" campaign, cross-posting them on twitter , our Facebook page, flickr , twibes, youtube and via email, their hits jumped to 12,000 a month! The increased exposure has been fantastic for them.

Romeo: How has volunteering in this way impacted your life?

Sherry: It’s increased the amount of pet hair in my life! I’m covered head-to-toe by the end of a shoot! Seriously, it’s enriched my life knowing I’ve been able to help these little angels find forever homes. We take time for each animal, give some good cuddling and love, little treats, then we take the photo. If the animal’s scared, we calm and soothe him. If he’s overly excited, we let him play a bit. Just taking those few minutes not only helps them, but it helps us find a calmer place. We’re Zen-like when we leave there. Covered in dog and cat hair, not smelling too great, but Zen-like. My heart is full.

My mantra is, “I’ll know it’s a job well done when my services are no longer needed because it means everyone has a home.”

Romeo: Have you noticed that your work has inspired others to take action?

Sherry: Yep! I’ve had several former photography students who are now part of my “SqueakTeam.” They come out each week to help handle, give treats, squeak the “squeaker” or just love on the animals. One day, we had so many volunteers, there wasn’t hardly room for everyone in there! Just in the past few months, I’ve had a regular bevy of volunteers: Judy Brown, Dee Chambers, Jill Noble, Lynn Carpenter, and Sheila Kilpatrick to name a few. I can always count on them to come help. Another former student, Barbara Pearson, a fantastic still life photographer in her own right, was curious how in the world we managed to get the photos we were getting, so she came out to do a “behind-the-scenes” shoot of her own, which shows all of us in action; mostly me getting pounced and kissed by huge dogs!

And no matter how good you are at shooting, if you don’t have a good handler, the shoot will take forever. Angela Hawkins, my handler and the awesome cat shooter (she’s allergic, can you imagine that?! Tips makes her itch like crazy!), makes it much easier getting the dog shots. All it takes is a second and you’ll have a dog leaping off the table, knocking over lights, and good handlers prevent that. She’s my Dog Whisperer. The SqueakTeam, they’re just awesome!

Romeo: May I tell other professional photographers who want to do this to contact you for ideas to get started?

Sherry: Absolutely! Having better photos make the animals look more adoptable. People see them and think, “Wow, this guy would look great sitting next to the couch by me!” or “She’s so pretty, I want her!” Most people think shelter animals are dirty, stinky mutts and can’t imagine them in their homes. It’s just not true. We just photographed a purebred Great Dane last week, with papers! And a gorgeous Miniature Schnauzer. All purebreds. You’d be amazed what you find at shelters: mutts, purebreds, you name it. Our photos help increase their visibility and adoptability, no matter what their heritage.

This is so wonderful. THANK YOU SHERRY and the Squeak Team for the work you do.

If anyone wants to contact Sherry, you can email her at: sherry (at) tylerdog (dot) com.