Volunteers are such an important part of our countries make up. If you have ever been involved in some form of community group you would have seen first hand how much they contribute to day to day activities. From sporting clubs, to community groups and charity organisations, volunteers are everywhere. Without them a lot of the groups, that we take for granted, would cease to exist, as they are always struggling to raise funds or have enough people resources to get work done.
They sacrifice their time, money and don’t expect anything in return.
One such couple are Rita and her husband Andreas who have been volunteering at the Victorian Dog Rescue and Resource Group (VicDRG) for some time now. The VicDRG is a not for profit organisation whose purpose is to decrease the number of dogs killed in Victorian pounds each year. Nearly all these dogs could be rehomed and end up in pounds and shelters through no fault of their own.
Rita is amazing. Her main role is to organise VicDRG’s charity events. She spends a huge amount of time running around finding venues, contacting businesses to donate prizes and trying to promote the events.
I first met Rita when Volare Photography donated vouchers to one of VicDRG’s auction events. Since that time we have contributed to other charity events that VicDRG has held, as well as photographed some of VicDRG’s dogs who were in need of foster homes, in the hope that better images would give the dogs more chance of finding a new home. You can see some of those photo sessions here: rescue dog photography and adoption dog photography.
I had the honour of photographing Rita, Andreas and their four dogs Billy, Juniper, Frisco and Hayley. Juniper, Frisco and Hayley are all rescue dogs which just goes to show how much they love dogs and how they are so committed to a cause that they believe in.
When Rita first contacted me about photographing their fur family I remember her saying something along the lines of “you’re going to have your work cut out for you”.
Then she explained why….FOUR dogs!!!!
I agreed this would be a challenge but having trained lots of dogs myself I knew it could be done.
They wanted a large family portrait for their home. I am sure you will agree from the final result that on the day everyone came to the studio (dogs included) with their game face on and any shenanigans were quickly curtailed.
Rita immigrated from Germany. Germany does not have a ‘death row policy’ for healthy abandoned and/or surrendered dogs and they take care for all of them as long as needed. She did not think that it could be any different here in Australia, but unfortunately it is. Foster care groups like VicDRG and animal shelters without a kill policy try hard to make a difference for pet animals in this country.
I like to ask our clients more about their wonderful dogs as it gives everyone a better appreciation of the photographs taken. Here are some of the things that Rita had to say:
How old were they when we got them?
Billy was a 10-week-old puppy (June 2008), Juniper’s age was approx. 10-12 years (March 2012), Hayley was 9 months old when she came to us as foster dog in June 2012 and the last addition Frisco was 8-10 years when he moved in as short term foster dog in April 2014.
Any specific circumstances on how we got them?
We looked for a new companion for our Billy who felt lonely after our 14-year-old Beagle Elvis passed away and we also wanted to fill the big hole in our family. We looked for an elderly dog, because Billy grew up with Elvis who joined our family when he was nearly 11 years old.
We found Juniper’s profile on the Victorian Dog Rescue (VicDRG)-website. After an adoption process of seven weeks (application, interview, meet and greet at the foster carer’s home and property check), he finally joined our family and has been Billy’s best friend since then.
After a few weeks, we started fostering for VicDRG and Hayley was our second foster dog. After five weeks fostering and holidays coming up, we had to say good bye to Hayley and she moved on to her next foster home. We thought that we would never see her again. While on holidays we kept in touch with VicDRG and heard that Hayley needed both hips done, because she developed hip dysplasia. As her foster family could not provide rehab care, we took her back straight after our holidays. We did not think of adoption at this stage, but time was passing by and after nine months of fostering her, we realised she was a great companion for our little ones.
Some more short term foster dogs (holiday guests) came to visit us and stayed for some nights, but then moved back to their original foster carers. Frisco also was supposed to stay with us for eight nights, because his foster family went on a holiday, but we just fell in love with this little fellow and we asked VicDRG again for another adoption. Frisco just made our fur pack with his unique personality complete.
When do they make you smile/laugh?
All the time actually, we have lots of laughter in our family, but with four dogs with great unique personalities – no wonder.
When do they make you angry?
Never!
Favourite thing you like doing with them?
Taking them on holidays, we all love our dog friendly accommodations in Sandy Point and Coronet Bay, going to dog friendly beaches and if the weather is fine also going for a swim.
Any other comments?
Our fur pack is just perfect and it would not exist without VicDRG.
Well done Rita and Andreas on donating so much of your time to a wonderful cause. Given your passion for dogs and the VicDRG it is truly a labour of love.
If you would like to discuss having your pooch photographed on their own or as part of your family then give us a call at the studio on 9570 6191 or contact us here.
Until next time.
Take care.
Warren
P.S. If you are thinking that there is no way you could ever get your dog to behave or stay still long enough for photographs like those taken of Rita’s fur family, then you may need to watch my short video course on Basic Dog Obedience. It’s free and you can get instant access to it by entering your details below.