Cass C Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 I love seeing a picture or more if possible, because it lets you picture that dog in your family. It sounds like you are doing a great job with your shelter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simba Posted March 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 Sometimes you see posts where there's one blurry photo of a scared, dirty, ribby dog looking away from the camera. Nothing wrong with that, but if the dog's been at the rescue for a few weeks or months- I mean, I hate criticising what is being done by volunteers, but it seems like you could take a more effective photo, one that (as you said Cass C) could let you picture that dog as a family member. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teresaserrano Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 Last year I found three 5 mo pups at the woods, semi feral, that someone had dumped there. I kept them for a couple of months as they where pretty unadoptable at first, but started advertising them on fb and shelters sites soon after. First pics wheren't bad, but the pups looked weird - thin and with dull coats, but most of all with dull expressions. Some weeks later I changed the pics. Their coats where a much nicer stronger golden colour, they looked a lot healthier. But most of all, they where snugling together and SMILING. That's when people started phoning to ask about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borasaurus Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 I always feel sad for the dogs with bad photos or no photos at all. I'm sure they're great dogs, but they don't get the attention they should from potential adopters. Sometimes, a picture really is worth a thousand words. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 I read an article not too long ago about how important photos are. Not just a photo, but good photos get dogs adopted more quickly than just any old picture. I don't think you can underestimate the value of a good photo or 2 for adoptions. Something for you folks who like to take dog pics and have nice cameras. Volunteer for your local shelter or border collie rescue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 I like to see before and after photos - particularly if the before photo is of a scared, huddled dog with the head down and the after photo shows a dog with his/her head up and happy body language. I know it has worked for 2 of the fosters that I have had. But heck, I am a sucker for a before photo because I like to think that I can really help that dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrSnappy Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 A breed specific rescue locally posts NO photos of their dogs - just photos. They do this deliberately, because they were tired of getting inquiries from people who wanted the pretty merles or what have you and ignored the write ups completely, disregarding whether or not the pretty dog was a good fit for their family / situation / what have you. This is not feasible for a shelter or large rescue, but it really does work for them as a rescue of a breed that does not see a lot of traffic ... in this way, people who are serious respond to the descriptions and they get a higher caliber of applicant. An interesting approach. I also prefer photos, and honest assessments of the dog (not cutesy dog pov bios). I don't place much faith in other people's ability to assess dogs though, these days. RDM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alligande Posted March 18, 2015 Report Share Posted March 18, 2015 @Cass - I hate when there's no picture. People fall in love with FACES, not words. I think it's a huge missed opportunity when the dogs on the shelter site don't have photos. One of my jobs as a volunteer is to update photos when they're missing. I try to get good head and body shots with some personality.This is so true, I fell for my first border collie online, there was something in his picture that spoke to me, I kept looking at the picture for 4 months, my husband was travelling around the world at the time as support crew for a race and he would come every month or so for a couple of weeks while the boats were at sea, and everytime I showed him the photo, finally I got him to go to the shelter as Bandit was still there, next day he came home. We did not realize he was a border collie, I think the shelter was thrown by his blue eyes, but he fit our home well and when he passed we never even thought of getting any other type of dog. PS I hate cutesy and first person bio's, give me the basics and a bit of back story and I am happy. I do like stories of where they have come from, and I think it is important to be honest about their characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 Just in case anyone's interested in donating some time taking pictures of dogs in shelters or rescues, here's an article with some tips on taking some great shots: http://moderndogmagazine.com/articles/using-your-passion-photography-help-dogs-need/69483 (I love how so often something shows up just as we've been talking about it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingfisher7151 Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 I've always wanted to volunteer to take photos of shelter dogs, but I've never been sure of how to approach it. Unfortunately my local shelters don't advertise on any online sites, so they don't really have a need for good photos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess's Girl Posted March 19, 2015 Report Share Posted March 19, 2015 I've always wanted to volunteer to take photos of shelter dogs, but I've never been sure of how to approach it. Unfortunately my local shelters don't advertise on any online sites, so they don't really have a need for good photos. Maybe you could volunteer to advertise for them? Many shelters don't have the time to set up petfinder, etc. If you have the time maybe they'd be open to you running their petfinder site and putting up photos and descriptions of the dogs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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