A Few Shelter Animals

I go out to the Salt Lake County animal shelter every other Thursday - I just don't post pictures every time because I'm usually in a rush to get the photos out to the shelter, and then I get busy with other stuff.  However, since I have a few minutes today (yesterday was crazy busy), I thought I post some of yesterday's adventures.

First was Nebo.  I usually have a friend of mine or one of the shelter staff assisting me with the dogs, but my friend was sick and the shelter staff were busy, so Nebo was my first completely solo dog shoot - I got him out of his kennel, and out into one of the pet yards, and tried to keep him amused all while trying to get his attention for some photos...  My solo dog wrangling/photographing technique definitely needs a little work.  But Nebo was a very well-behaved boy, and I had a fun time with him.

I think he might be related to Gene Simmons!  Heehee!  (Actually, this was after some zoomies.)

A very handsome boy!

 After Nebo, I had a long list of cats.  Cats are wildly entertaining because, to quote T.S. Eliot, "A cat is not a dog."  And while I have known a few cats in my life, only through photography have I really begun to appreciate that simple statement.  Cats are SO not dogs.  With a dog, all you really need is a squeaky toy or some treats, or to make meowing noises.  With cats, well, when I figure out how to reliably get their attention, I'll let you know!  But I am having fun working on my cat wrangling skills!

Thomas was REALLY interested in treats....

He was also really interested in not sitting on my backdrop - and I think he was a little irritated that I was trying to distract him while he was hunting for treats...
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Cali (so named because of her coloring) is a WONDERFUL cat (and definitely not a dog).  She was inquisitive (again, cat, not dog), but also a bit of a diva, and once she figured out that the whole backdrop thing, she went into diva mode.
 

Luckily a few more cats found their inner divas (and dandies) on my backdrop.  For future reference, it is WAY worth the effort to bring in one of my backdrops to photograph the cats - it covers a lot more of the painted cinderblock wall that then blankets I borrow from the shelter laundry.  I will be on the lookout for 10x12 muslin backdrops that are on sale!

Abraham was a little cross-eyed, but so fluffy and soft and sweet - and has gorgeous blue eyes!  

Geno was one of those 'Lady, I am not interested in your froo-froo backdrop" cats.  Which is totally fine - other than that I had to track him around the cat colony, and finally had to hoist him into one of the boxes on the wall.  Even then it was hard to catch him before he jumped out of the box (and then I hoisted him back in, and tried again before he jumped, rinse, repeat).

This guy was new enough to not have a name.  I called him Bilbo because most of the cats at the shelter have normal names.  (I almost called him Severus because I've been re-reading the Harry Potter books, but Bilbo seemed a bit less controversial!)  He was a very handsome young fellow!

Two and a half hours, one dog and nine cats later, and I was done.  And very tired, as pet photography involves a lot of stand-squat-walk around in a squat-kneel-stand-repeat motions.  But I had a great time - as always; the shelter staff are great to work with, and the environment is pleasant and uplifting.  It doesn't hurt that the pets get adopted pretty quickly - which is always nice!