Not So Beautiful Pictures

I've found a contact that will email pictures of animals and their stories out to folks interested in rescuing animals. So, I bathed the dogs and took pictures. Now I need to put on my marketing hat and try to think of a good way to tell Chip and Sophie's sad, sad story.

As I was snapping the pictures and lamenting the fact that Sophie will not put her ears up on command, but manages to look scared all the time, it dawned on me that these dogs are not at their best. They don't look beautiful.

Each summer, we shave them down. Chip is a black dog and the summers in OK are hot. Since we shave him down, we usually take Sophie in too. Her hair is not as long, she generally looks the same, winter or summer. I say 'generally' because this year, she came out of the groomers looking scalped. Both of them have the shortest hair, ever.

So, as I dangled treats and tried to get them to sit and stay long enough for a picture, it dawned on me that no one is going to appreciate these stupid dogs from a picture. You can only see their flaws in a picture. You see Chip's crazy nose. You see Sophie's beaten stance. Chip's body looks skinny, almost malnourished. When he's fully furred, he's got the fluffy coat of a chow. Really handsome black and tan like a shepherd but full and thick like a chow. These pictures are not showing him in a good light.

Sophie's greatest asset is her total willingness to keep you company. She will follow you wherever you go and be pleased with whatever scraps of attention you lavish upon her. It will never be enough. She's relentlessly needy. A perfect companion animal for someone who won't walk a dog on a leash.

I'm going to have to keep trying to come up with the words to say, "I don't want to get rid of these dogs, but I have to get rid of them."

These dogs aren't puppies, they aren't cute. Who's going to see the possibilities in them?

--Sandee Wagner