Pima Animal Care Center: Grant Report
How did this grant help your organization and the pets in your care?
Last year, the Petfinder Foundation generously gave us a grant so that two of our most devoted volunteers could attend the One Picture Saves a Life photography workshop in Las Vegas. These volunteers brought back lifesaving photography equipment, software and skills!
As our community’s only open-admission animal shelter, Pima Animal Care Center takes every lost, abandoned and ailing pet who comes to our doors. They number nearly 24,000 every year, and thanks to generous support from the Petfinder Foundation, we are saving more of their lives than ever before!
Volunteer Kelly Comstock, who attended the One Picture Saves a Life workshop, manages a Facebook page that’s devoted entirely to networking our pets (http://on.fb.me/1hpfkLT). Her personality-revealing, One Picture-style pet photos have found homes for hundreds, if not thousands, of our community’s most at-risk pets. She made a video showing how much the grant helped her lifesaving work, and you can see it here: http://bit.ly/OnePictureSaves.
The One Picture training has helped folks beyond those who attended the workshop, as we are utilizing the lessons on Pima Animal Care’s official Facebook page, too (http://on.fb.me/1lFSbc5). While we are still always working to improve our intake and adoption photos, the lessons our supporters learned at the One Picture workshop have proven truly invaluable. We are incredibly grateful for your support!
How many pets did this grant help?
Hundreds have already been helped by this grant, and it will help thousands more in the months and years to come.
Please provide a story of one or more specific pets this grant helped.
PePe, a 5-year-old Chihuahua/Terrier mix (first photo), was surrendered to us when his family moved into an apartment that would not allow pets. Understandably, small PePe was frightened by shelter life, and this scared little boy was not showing well in his kennel. His initial intake picture was not flattering, too. Thankfully, our One Picture-trained volunteers were able to shoot his new photo, which showed off PePe’s personality and helped to find him a home!
A Staffordshire Terrier mix, Pinky (second photo) first came to us as small and underweight puppy in summer of 2013. After we nursed him back to health, Pinky was adopted, but unfortunately, he returned to us again as a stray in January of 2014. While his first intake photo made Pinky look frightened and unruly, his One Picture-style glamor shot showed him for the handsome and gentle gentleman he is. We are happy to report that the photo helped Pinky find a home that’s stuck!
Photo 3: After adopting this 2-year-old Australian Shepherd mix from another area shelter, Sally’s first family surrendered her to us because she was playing too rough with their other dog, who suffered from a skin condition that was being exacerbated by the rough play. Our adoption counselor volunteers report that Sally’s terrific photo helped her find a new forever family that is willing to work with her needs!
Photo 4: Cricket first came to us in 2013, when our Animal Care Officers rescued her from a family that had been neglecting her. She’d recently had puppies, and she was lactating. She was adopted, and then a month later, she was returned. Cricket finally found the right family with help from her gorgeous glamor shot. Instead of her intake photo, which was grainy and unappealing, her One Picture-style photo showed Cricket grinning ear-to-ear and helped her find a home!
