A tool and a trap

Online photographs, and internet generally, have really revolutionized dog rescue. Actually, it might be more accurate to say that it has created dog rescue. Sure, people were pulling dogs from shelters and finding them homes prior to the internet, but now many dogs are rescued from far away and moved long distances to their new homes. Breed-specific rescue groups have formed, such as Virginia German Shepherd Rescue, that make concerted efforts to rescue and re-home all of that breed's adoptable dogs found in shelters. Other groups that take on a variety of pure bred and mixed breed dogs have the ability to showcase their fosters to a national audience of online adopters.

The importance of the photograph can not be overstated. I have had dogs posted on the web with great pictures that get little response. For some reason, changing the picture just for the sake of change, will often bring in email from interested adopters. It is not an exaggeration to say that a good photograph can save a dog's life. That is particularly true if the dog is in a shelter with limited time. It is also true for dogs coming into rescue.

There is one woman from whom I will take dogs sight unseen. Everyone else must send pictures. (It's like the old saying: "In God we trust, everyone else must pay cash.") I've been burned by enough people who have misrepresented a dog's age, breed, size, or other characteristics, that I always want to see a picture before agreeing to take in a dog.

Photos are a double edged sword, however. Once I see one, it makes it twice as hard to decline to take in a dog. Last week I was hit with two requests to take in rottweilers. Now, we are planning a trip to NYC in July, so I'm trying very hard NOT to take in more dogs right now. But when I see faces like these two, I've very hard pressed to turn them down. The two pics on the right are a young male rottie in Pennsylvania who will be coming next weekend along with a German Shepherd pup. The beautiful girl on the left is in WV and may be coming early next week, perhaps with a litter of mixed breed puppies. Apparently the "SUCKER" tattoo on my forehead is visible for quite some distance.