Everyone that knows me knows I am an advocate for animals, all animals. I have dedicated my life to many animal causes including being a dog walker, cat watcher and animal washer at animals shelters everywhere I have lived since I was ten years old. I started going to animal shelters with my parents who instilled volunteerism in me from a young age. My parents also always had many pets, most of whom where adopted from shelters and one that was on the news for being abused who had been beaten by its owner with a baseball bat and had it's legs and spine all broken. They adopted him, payed for multiple surgeries and we had him all of my young childhood from the time I was 1 until age 10. He shaped my world view of those who abuse animals from a young age and we named him Huggy Bear because he loved to lay on the ground and have me and my sister hug all over him on the ground even after he was hurt so deeply by other humans. He was a 100 lb. Old English Sheepdog and he was my first pet. We always had multiple cats and dogs in our home and rode horses as a family because my sister used it as therapeutic sessions for her intellectual and developmental disabilities (or IDD). Animals helped her tremendously and she is much more high functioning because of them. She now has two pugs and my husband and I have a pug and a new pit bull rescue puppy after losing our older rescued pit bull to cancer last year. Currently, I give my voice to pit bull causes after falling in love with my now-husband's 4 year old pit bull when we began dating. They are truly the most misunderstood breed of dog and I vow to do all that I personally can to change that. I also volunteer my photography to the foster care animal rescue, Furry Friends Network, where I do professional portraits of their veteran animals to help give them a better profile on their website in the hopes that they find a forever home more quickly. Below are some of my favorite animal photographs through the years.
Pug
American Pit Bull Terrier/American Bulldog mix
Squirrel
Shetland Sheepdog
Fish at National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland.
Fish at National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland.
Jellyfish at National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland.
Frog at National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland.
Monarch butterfly on butterfly bush.
Pug getting bath
Ducks at Children's Lake in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania
Ducks at Children's Lake in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania
Black Labrador Retriever
Pug and American Pit Bull Terrier/American Bulldog mix
Pug
Family with their Bluetick Coonhound
American Pit Bull Terrier/American Bulldog mix
Coonhound
Australian Cattle Dog
Siberian Husky
Cat
Horse
Emperor penguin at the Penguin Encounter attraction at
Sea World in Orlando, Florida.
Polar bear at the Wild Arctic attraction at Sea World Orlando.
Dolphin at the Dolphin Nursery at Sea World, Orlando.
The next three photos are of Harlan, a year old black lab
who was in training to become a seeing eye dog and his
trainer/handler brought him to work everyday at the
navy base where I worked in Philadelphia.
Harlan getting ready to go outside mid-day to work on
his commands and exercises.
Portrait of Harlan and his handler/trainer,
Ron Walton in the navy yard.
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