I’m going to go off on a little tangent today. So far I’ve been bringing mostly nice doggie pictures and happy stories to this blog. Today, I feel the need to remind myself and as many other people as I can that there are so many dogs in this world who do not live happy lives.
“Of the hundreds of millions of dogs and cats in the world, around 80% are thought to be strays. They are threatened by starvation, disease, traffic accidents, aggression from other animals, and abuse at the hands of humans. ” WSPA
Never was this more evident to me than in India. Of course they were great subjects for photography, but the reality is that every one of the dogs I photographed was living a tough existence. There is so much work that needs to be done to control the stray dog population and it seems to me that the most humane way to deal with overpopulation is the ABC (Animal Birth Control) method. The Visakha SPCA in Andhra Pradesh is doing some great work in this area.
And while the problem is very evident in India, unwanted and dumped dogs occur far too much in Western society as well. There are fantastic organisations working throughout the world to save dogs from death row every day, but we need to educate people that it is not ok to buy from puppy mills and it is not ok to buy from pet shops who are often supplied from puppy mills.
I personally feel like I should be doing more and I have some thoughts about how I can do that. I intend to do something with all my dog photos from India, and it will be something for good. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think I should do to raise awareness (and money) to put to this very important cause.
Thanks to everyone for the great comments and I’m so glad to see some new people here. Welcome. As for your suggestions, I’m thinking more and more that I would love to turn these images into a book. The great feedback I’ve been getting on the India photos on this blog has confirmed that they are universally appealing (at least to dog lovers). I’ll have to give it some thought. Also, some great ideas for organisations to support. Thanks. I can’t wait to get started.
Thank you Mia for these fantastic photos. I loved the “King of Fleas”! I wish you good luck in doing a book to benefit India’s street dogs. Actually we call them “community” dogs as they are often tolerated and even fed and sometimes loved by their communities. I found your site as “google alerts” sends me an email whenever Visakha SPCA is mentioned. Visakha SPCA is working hard in India with the ABC program (animal birth control) which spays/neuters/vaccinates street dogs which are tolerated even more by their community after this is done (look for the ear notch on these dogs). We appreciate any support and for just USD 10.00 you can sponsor the spay/neuter/vaccination of a dog http://visakhaspca.org/donate.php
We also have a video of our shelter (its a beautiful place and not the video is not depressing to watch) on: http://www.youtube.com/user/vspca
Eileen Weintraub, USA
Visakha SPCA Volunteer Global Outreach Director
http://www.VisakhaSPCA.org
Visakha SPCA
Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Maybe you could do something with Bob Barker’s foundation. He is a passionate advocate for spaying and neutering animals. Here is a link to his website…
http://www.thepetpress-la.com/articles/bobbarker.htm
This image hurts my heart. It must of been so hard to see so many stray dogs in India.
I admire your passion for Dogs and Photography, A book and this blog are an awesome way to share and make a difference. Love to know more about what you were doing in India. Sorry if you already share this I’m new to your blog.
Hi Mia my name is Frances and I live in Atlanta.
Thanks for sharing.
Oh Mia, I find all of your India dog photo’s so sad, this one takes the cake though. Those poor, poor dogs, breaks my heart! I think you’re already doing a fantastic job raising awareness of the plight of strays through this blog and by donating your incredible photography skills to organisations like ARF. Damn this is such a sad shot!
holy crap. this image is AMAZING. it’s so moving. oh my gosh. you should do a coffee table book!! I’d totally buy one as long as it was autographed :)
Im totally with you, I have a pampered little blessing (my beloved poodle) but am always feeling so guilty of those who are not as fortunate as he is. I wish I had some great suggestion of how to help, your doing a pretty good job of it so far by raising awareness and animal appreciation through your beautiful art.
Hi Mia, I think if more people did half as much as you to support these important causes, the world would be a much better place for our four legged friends. I particularly admired your support of ARF back home, it used your gift of photography to raise awareness and money for a great organisation.
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