Day 57

Fort Mill, South Carolina Photographer Posts Shelter Dog Portrait Photos for 365 Consecutive Days to Raise Donations for Local Animal Rescue Groups

The goal of the 365 campaign is to raise awareness about the number of animals in the shelters and to raise money for the rescues that give them a chance to live. Limited edition prints of selected photos are now available to purchase. 50% of the proceeds go directly to local animal rescue organizations.

Limited Edition prints are now available! CLICK HERE

Homeless Pet Portrait- Fort Mill, South Carolina Photographer
Homeless Pet Portrait- Fort Mill, South Carolina Photographer
365 Shelter Dogs- Day 57 Blue Nose Pit Bull
365 Shelter Dogs- Day 57 Blue Nose Pit Bull

<<< Day 56 | Day 58 >>>

Photos by Alison Kirkconnell

Day 56

Lake Wylie, South Carolina Photographer Posts Shelter Dog Portrait Photos for 365 Consecutive Days to Raise Donations for Local Animal Rescue Groups

The goal of the 365 campaign is to raise awareness about the number of animals in the shelters and to raise money for the rescues that give them a chance to live. Limited edition prints of selected photos are now available to purchase. 50% of the proceeds go directly to local animal rescue organizations.

Limited Edition prints are now available! CLICK HERE

Homeless Pet Portrait- Lake Wylie, South Carolina Photographer
Homeless Pet Portrait- Lake Wylie, South Carolina Photographer
365 Shelter Dogs- Day 56 Pit Bull
365 Shelter Dogs- Day 56 Pit Bull

<<< Day 55 | Day 57 >>>

Photos by Alison Kirkconnell

Day 55

Indian Land, South Carolina Photographer Posts Shelter Dog Portrait Photos for 365 Consecutive Days to Raise Donations for Local Animal Rescue Groups

The goal of the 365 campaign is to raise awareness about the number of animals in the shelters and to raise money for the rescues that give them a chance to live. Limited edition prints of selected photos are now available to purchase. 50% of the proceeds go directly to local animal rescue organizations.

Limited Edition prints are now available! CLICK HERE

Homeless Pet Portrait- Indian Land, SC Photographer
Homeless Pet Portrait- Indian Land, SC Photographer
365 Shelter Dogs- Day 55
365 Shelter Dogs- Day 55

<<< Day 54 | Day 56 >>>

Photos by Alison Kirkconnell

Day 54

Ballantyne Charlotte, North Carolina Photographer Posts Shelter Dog Portrait Photos for 365 Consecutive Days to Raise Donations for Local Animal Rescue Groups

The goal of the 365 campaign is to raise awareness about the number of animals in the shelters and to raise money for the rescues that give them a chance to live. Limited edition prints of selected photos are now available to purchase. 50% of the proceeds go directly to local animal rescue organizations.

Limited Edition prints are now available! CLICK HERE

Homeless Pet Portrait- Ballantyne Charlotte Photographer
Homeless Pet Portrait- Ballantyne Charlotte Photographer
365 Shelter Dogs- Day 54
365 Shelter Dogs- Day 54

<<< Day 53 | Day 55 >>>

Photos by Alison Kirkconnell

Day 53

Charlotte, North Carolina Photographer Posts Shelter Dog Portrait Photos for 365 Consecutive Days to Raise Donations for Local Animal Rescue Groups

The goal of the 365 campaign is to raise awareness about the number of animals in the shelters and to raise money for the rescues that give them a chance to live. Limited edition prints of selected photos are now available to purchase. 50% of the proceeds go directly to local animal rescue organizations.

Limited Edition prints are now available! CLICK HERE

Shelter Dog Portrait- Husky with facial chemical burns
Shelter Dog Portrait- Husky with facial chemical burns
365 Shelter Dogs Day 53
365 Shelter Dogs Day 53- Husky with facial chemical burns

<<< Valentines Day Love Story Starring 2 Pit Bulls | Day 54 >>>

Photos by Alison Kirkconnell

Valentine’s Day Love Story Starring Pit Bulls from the York County Animal Shelter

Valentine’s Day Love Story with a Happy Ending, Starring 2 Pit Bulls from the York County Animal Shelter

Homeless Pet Portrait- Fort Mill, SC Photographer
Baby pit bull and Mama Blue nose

My husband and I met these 2 dogs at the York County Animal Shelter on June 16, 2019 at 10:19 AM. It was a blistering 91° with a 61% dew point, even at that hour. Photographing dogs out in the midday sun for hours  was excruciating and physically recovering from the 20-30 dogs per 90 minute sessions averaged 10 days.

I had been quite ill for nearly 2 years with a serious chronic illness, visiting a doctor and/ or hospital 2-3 times/ week. One of the side effects of my medications was sun exposure and heat sensitivity. 

My husband’s assistance was very helpful since he was the only one who knew I was not well. It’s just not something I normally talk about. When you’re sick the last thing you want to talk about is being sick. Anyway…

The foster dogs arrive on July 1- a blue nose pit bull and her 6-8 month old puppy

On June 30th the shelter put out an urgent request: these 2 dogs needed immediate rescue out of the shelter or they were at risk for euthanasia because the shelter was out of space. Although we already have 3 dogs, we agreed to foster them for 2 weeks as travel schedules allowed. We made the preparations and picked them up from the shelter on July 1. 

Mama, a gorgeous blue nose pit bull, moments after arriving at our home
Mama, a gorgeous blue nose pit bull, moments after arriving at our home
Later that afternoon the mama dog and my husband watched an old western movie together
Later that afternoon the mama dog and my husband watched an old western movie together

The mama dog is very sick with heartworm

It is believed they are a mother daughter pairing, with the blue nose pit bull being the mother and the white one still a baby, maybe 6 months old. The mother was very ill with advanced heartworm and needed to be kept as still and calm as possible.

If you know puppies, there is nothing calm or still about them. So I took the puppy out often to give mama a chance to rest.

Mama dog was so distressed with advanced heartworm I worried she would not survive
Mama dog was so distressed with advanced heartworm I worried she would not survive

How to manage 3 resident dogs and 2 foster dogs in the same house

For this to be successful we devised the cycle system: cycling the foster dogs and our dogs through multiple gates and doors so they never met. We designated separate areas of our house and cycled each dog group throughout the day. When our dogs were outside we’d move the fosters to the common areas for a bit and put them into a private area when our dogs came in. We’d put the fosters in our bedroom while our dogs were in the common areas and so on. Cycle, cycle, cycle. 

Pit bull mama and puppy in their crates- notice which is in which
Pit bull mama and puppy in their crates- notice which is in which. That puppy was a pushy little thing.

It was our system and it worked. But it was absolutely exhausting for us and for the 5 dogs.

4th of July morning. I'm not sure we could have done this had it not been a holiday week with both of us having almost 2 weeks off.
4th of July morning. I’m not sure we could have done this had it not been a holiday week with both of us having almost 2 weeks off.
They sure are sweet and cuddly
They sure are sweet and cuddly

Training the puppy was a joy

My husband was with them mostly but I took the puppy and trained her. She was a great learner and knew her basic commands when we returned them to the shelter for rescue transport. 

I was already in love with this puppy by day 2. We sat outside early in the morning for a couple of hours after our morning walk.
I was already in love with this puppy by day 2. We sat outside early in the morning for a couple of hours after our morning walk.
She was a great walker. She didn't pull, heeled well and she was not at all reactive to other dogs. But to be honest other dog parents often pulled their own dogs away when they saw her. The pit bull stigma- unfortunately it is a real thing.
She was a great walker. She didn’t pull, heeled well and she was not at all reactive to other dogs. But to be honest other dog parents often pulled their own dogs away when they saw her. The pit bull stigma- unfortunately it is a real thing.

We pulled out all the stops to get these dogs rescued. My neighbors even got involved and had their adorable daughters sit for a promo photo for them. The general idea was the little girls and the dogs were going to have a tea and cupcake party.  Until the dogs turned out to really like the cupcakes the little girls were eating. The best laid plans…

Little girl model props
Little girl model props
Cupcake party- what happened to the cupcakes?
Cupcake party- what happened to the cupcakes?

On July 9th while I was cycling my own dogs inside our bedroom with a double barrier entrance, my 80+ pound Dogo Argentino landed hard on my right foot and I couldn’t walk. 

A foot is not supposed to look like that
A foot is not supposed to look like that
My Dogo- sorry about the quality. I downloaded it off my FB page. She ain't dainty, folks.
My Dogo- sorry about the quality. I downloaded it off my FB page. I’m sure you get the point. She ain’t dainty, folks.

Which landed me in the hospital with a broken foot. I was back photographing shelter dogs in the sweltering heat on one foot 5 days later. 

In the hospital with a broken foot
In the hospital with a broken foot

I hopped around ok but it’s difficult to control multiple large breed dogs at the same time. In the meantime it meant my husband had to cycle the dogs in the house without me. He managed to introduce the puppy to 2 of our dogs and they played and interacted well in the yard. 

A successful dog group introduction
A successful dog group introduction

After 2 weeks we returned to our normal schedules and the pair went to rescue. They both took a piece of our hearts with them. My husband and I cried quite a bit but knew they were going to their forever homes Aiken, SC. The puppy was adopted right away. The mother dog was successfully treated and cured of heartworm and was featured on TV!

Mama pit bull foster on TV
Mama pit bull foster on TV

DONATE. FOSTER. ADOPT.

Tega Cay, South Carolina Photographer Posts Shelter Dog Portrait Photos for 365 Consecutive Days to Raise Donations for Local Animal Rescue Groups

The goal of the 365 campaign is to raise awareness about the number of animals in the shelters and to raise money for the rescues that give them a chance to live. Limited edition prints of selected photos are now available to purchase. 50% of the proceeds go directly to local animal rescue organizations.

Limited Edition prints are now available! CLICK HERE

<<< Day 51 | Day 53 >>>

Photos by Alison Kirkconnell

Day 51

Fort Mill, South Carolina Photographer Posts Shelter Dog Portrait Photos for 365 Consecutive Days to Raise Donations for Local Animal Rescue Groups

The goal of the 365 campaign is to raise awareness about the number of animals in the shelters and to raise money for the rescues that give them a chance to live. Limited edition prints of selected photos are now available to purchase. 50% of the proceeds go directly to local animal rescue organizations.

Limited Edition prints are now available! CLICK HERE

Shelter Dog Portrait
Shelter Dog Portrait
365 Shelter Dogs Day 51
365 Shelter Dogs Day 51

<<< Day 50 | Valentines Day Love Story Starring 2 Pit Bulls >>>

Photos by Alison Kirkconnell

Day 50

Lake Wylie, South Carolina Photographer Posts Shelter Dog Portrait Photos for 365 Consecutive Days to Raise Donations for Local Animal Rescue Groups

The goal of the 365 campaign is to raise awareness about the number of animals in the shelters and to raise money for the rescues that give them a chance to live. Limited edition prints of selected photos are now available to purchase. 50% of the proceeds go directly to local animal rescue organizations.

Limited Edition prints are now available! CLICK HERE

Shelter Dog Portrait Red Nose Pit Bull
Shelter Dog Portrait Red Nose Pit Bull
365 Shelter Dogs Day 50- Red Nose Pit Bull
365 Shelter Dogs Day 50- Red Nose Pit Bull

<<< Day 49 | Day 51 >>>

Photos by Alison Kirkconnell

Day 49

Indian Land, South Carolina Photographer Posts Shelter Dog Portrait Photos for 365 Consecutive Days to Raise Donations for Local Animal Rescue Groups

The goal of the 365 campaign is to raise awareness about the number of animals in the shelters and to raise money for the rescues that give them a chance to live. Limited edition prints of selected photos are now available to purchase. 50% of the proceeds go directly to local animal rescue organizations.

Limited Edition prints are now available! CLICK HERE

Shelter Dog Portrait Female Pit Bull
Shelter Dog Portrait Female Pit Bull
365 Shelter Dogs Day 49- Female Pit Bull
365 Shelter Dogs Day 49- Female Pit Bull

<<< Day 48 | Day 50 >>>

Photos by Alison Kirkconnell

Day 48

Ballantyne Charlotte, North Carolina Photographer Posts Shelter Dog Portrait Photos for 365 Consecutive Days to Raise Donations for Local Animal Rescue Groups

The goal of the 365 campaign is to raise awareness about the number of animals in the shelters and to raise money for the rescues that give them a chance to live. Limited edition prints of selected photos are now available to purchase. 50% of the proceeds go directly to local animal rescue organizations.

Limited Edition prints are now available! CLICK HERE

Shelter Dog Portrait
Shelter Dog Portrait
365 Shelter Dogs Day 48
365 Shelter Dogs Day 48

<<< Day 47 | Day 49 >>>

Photos by Alison Kirkconnell