Helping Scared Shelter Dogs

Several days ago, I stopped in to our local animal shelter just for a visit to say hi to the animals. There was one dog who looked cute but you could tell by looking at her that she was scared. She just had that posture that indicates I am frightened. She didn’t like being looked at. She did not come to the front of her kennel and try to solicit attention. She didn’t even bark at me. She simply slunk around the perimeter of her kennel and hugged the wall. Her head was down, her posture was slouched and her tail was down and not wagging. I can’t help but feel bad for a dog that is scared.

A few days later, I was back at the shelter to do some photography of the animals for the shelter. After I photographed a few of the dogs that were there, I came to the scared dog from the other day. It was her turn for photos. She seemed to be terrified of me. I was not sure if I would even be able to take photos of her. She had the classic whale eye and other obvious signs that she was scared and anxious. She was cowering back a little and against the wall. She would not come near me. I couldn’t entice her with toys or with treats. I was concerned that if I tried to hook a leash on her harness that she might be afraid enough to bite me and there was no way I was going to put this dog in that kind of situation.

I just decided it was worth some time to sit there with her. I sat in the entryway to the kennel with the door part way open. Just sat waiting for her to become comfortable with my presence. I was hoping that it was just going to take a little time for this terrified creature to get used to the idea of me being there. I did not want to put her in a situation that would have any sort of negative impact on her. I just tried to sit there crouched down at her level not facing her. I tried to act as if I was not paying attention to her but still watching her out of my peripheral vision. If she seemed to relax some, I would get a slight bit closer and if she then withdrew, I would back up again. Eventually she seemed to relax a little. At least enough that I felt comfortable enough reaching towards her to clip her leash on. Then I could give her more space and let her get out of her kennel area. She allowed me to do so and we slowly walk outside.

Once we were outside I took her to the enclosed play area the shelter has and unclipped her leash and it was like a miracle. This poor dog who was terrified looking in her kennel was replaced by a happy friendly and playful dog. She was running around. We played fetch. She would run up to me with tennis balls with no hint of fear in her eyes. She brought me the tennis balls and allowed me to reach and take them out of her mouth. She was transformed. She just needed a little time to get used to me and then the freedom to get out of her kennel where she would no longer be afraid.

It was so great to see this dog go from being scared to happy and excited to be playing with a human. It is for these dogs particularly that I feel like the work photographers working with shelters make a real difference. In her kennel, she looks scared and may not present as a dog that is friendly and happy to go become part of a new family. This could cause potential adopters to overlook her based on the first impression.

I hope that my photography can be that first impression instead. If I can get outside with the dogs and capture images of them being happy and friendly and playing that will be what sticks in the minds of potential adopters. The shelter can use those photos in social media and other materials and people will see that image of the dog and know that they are friendly and might come to the shelter specifically looking for her. Even if when they get there and see her cowering a little in her kennel they will hopefully remember how she looked in the photos where she was happy and want to take a closer look at her and ask a staff member if they can see her outside of her kennel where she will shine.

Now say hi to the surprisingly happy and excited to play Savannah.

So get out there and make a difference in the lives of animals any way you can and maybe adopt your next best friend.