I got an unexpected call from Taylor Crossing Animal Hospital (my dog’s vet) the other day. Normally that would be alarming, but I was at home and Watson was with me, so I knew he was fine. They said the photographer who had originally volunteered to shoot their “Pet Pictures with Santa” event called to cancel at the last minute, and they asked if there was any way I could get there ASAP and fill in. I knew they had been planning this event for a while, that it was a fundraiser for the Troy Animal Rescue Project, and that it was supposed to happen THAT DAY. I looked at the nearest clock, it said 1:30pm. I asked when the event was supposed to start: 2:00pm. 😮 I thought to myself, “Do I even have what I need to pull this off???” So I asked if they had some kind of set for the pictures, they said yes, and that Santa and Mrs. Claus were still planning on coming. Phew! Then I asked how many pets they were expecting, and they replied, “Right now we have 51.” Holy crap, that’s a lot of dogs.
There was a flurry of not-so-graceful activity after that, as I ran around throwing whatever gear I thought I might need into two bags, packed a tripod, got myself looking halfway decent (not dressed up by any means, but at least I didn’t look like I was just bringing stuff down from my attic), put Watson in the car, and headed to the clinic. With the help of Taylor Crossing‘s crew (including helper elf Whitney), and Santa and Mrs. Claus, I photographed 104 pets in about 3.5 hours. That’s not a typo – there were ONE HUNDRED AND THREE dogs and one brave cat, and included everything from puppies to Great Danes. It was a crazy day, but Troy Animal Rescue Project got a bunch of donations and came away with a nice check. Take a peek below at a few of my favorite pics!
