Penny / Pit Bull & Kitty Connection

Today I had arranged to meet with the owner of Kitty Connection, Marie. The purpose of the visit was to talk about general topics of owning a rescue and adoption organization and well as photographing some of the cats she currently has for adoption as well as her Pit Bull mix Penny.

She was very informative and knew exactly what she was talking about. Topics we discussed ranged from dog bites, to obedience training, to successful adoptions as well as disgruntled turned-down adoptees who were turned away because the organization didn’t feel that they were a good match for the cat or kitten they had originally set their hearts on.

A large part of our discussion was on the bad image Pit Bulls have. She showed me a dog prong collar (shown below) that she uses when she walks her Pit Bull Penny. She said that she didn’t like to use it because of the negative association it has to people and their assumption that it means the dog wearing it will bite or attack them. I had not been familiar with that particular type of dog collar. Marie explained to me the purpose of it’s design: If one dog were to try and bite another dog they would most likely go for the throat. This collar rests around the dogs throat and the prongs are, in a sense, in place of a dog’s teeth. When the owner yanks on the collar when it’s attached to the leash the collar will tighten up but not choke or do any actually harm to the dog. This shows the dog that the owner is the dominant one and to follow their commands. It is a great help when it comes to obedience training.

Marie suggested I browse through the organization’s success stories and possibly meet with a family that had to very young daughters who recently adopted a Pit Bull. As we were discussing this she brought up the story of how she came to adopt Penny, her Pit Bull. Another woman had originally adopted Penny. The woman called the organization and said the dog had been aggressive towards her. The organization suggested bringing Penny to a dog trainer they used with all their dogs to try and figure out why the dog was getting aggressive. At the dog classes Marie was present and Penny showed no aggression and was well behaved. The original adopter brought her back home and soon after she escaped. The Kitty Connection contacted other rescue leagues in hopes of finding Penny. She was missing for several weeks, there were posters put up, and dog traps set but it didn’t do anything. Then one day Penny just shows up at Marie’s front door (a few cities away from where the adopter lived) and she has been at Marie’s house ever since. She knew it was a sign that Penny was supposed to stay with her.

(Prong dog collar)

Click on the images to viewer them at a larger size.

Today I took photos of four different dogs - Duncan, Maggie, Gracie and Tucker. 

Dog Photographs

I have been e-mailing back and forth with a woman who works for Kitty Connection based out of Medford, MA. On their websites they are listed as having several pit bull breed dogs and I have been working out a day to visit the shelter and take photos of the dogs to begin creating my posters.

Amy Stein

A photographer who was discussed today in one of my classes. This is her series on domestication / us VS the wild.
http://www.amysteinphoto.com/domesticated.html

Working out poster text

Ideas for poster line text and photos.
ABUSE
(Show no humans. Allude to physical abuse and emotional abuse.)
1. It’s lonely at the top. (dog left outside, in yard?)
2. My kennel isn’t a babysitter. (dog in a kennel)
3. Unknown message. (a dog and a dog house, have dog “cut out” of image, add dotted line around shape of dog)


BREEDISM
(Show pure bred “power breeds” or "bully breeds"- Pit bull, Rottweiler, Chow Chow, Doberman)
1. Who’s the guiltiest of them all?
2. What’s the verdict?
3. We the jury find…
4. Who’s to blame?
5. One in the same

Or no words ~
1. a large X on a German Shepherd’s face and a check mark on a Golden Retriever’s face - approving a dog based on breed
2. Large red K, idea of the scarlet letter. Pit bull has a K for killer.
3. Third one unknown right now.
4. Unknown.

COMPANIONSHIP
1. Animal first. Companion second.
2. My name doesn’t make me.
3. Table for two.
4. Unknown.

—————————
Book to accompany poster.

For each set of photos there will be a book that goes with it, sort of a “here’s more info…” type deal. There will be three books. The covers of the book with be one of the photos from each campaign. Book will include an opening paragraph by me, then a few (probably five) articles to follow showing different points of view on the subject matter.
These are two paragraphs I’ve been trying to work out as the opening paragraph of each book
Abuse opening paragraphThere are different types of abuse when it comes to owning a pet. There, of course, if physical abuse but there is also emotional abuse. Dogs, just like human beings, need sunlight, exercise and fresh air. What is the purpose of owning a dog when you have a full time job that requires most of your attention? What about giving a pet the full attention it deserves? After all, a kennel isn’t a babysitter.
Companionship Paragraph
All too often we seem to forget that out beloved pet is an animal at heart. We can dress them in clothing, call them our “babies” and treat them another family member but this doesn’t change their true nature. They are an animal first and a companion second.


None of these are completed ideas. This is just to show a process of figuring out tag lines or body copy of posters and also a book to accompany those posters.

Methuen Animal Care and Adoption Center at Nevins Farm

Today I went to visit the Methuen Animal Care and Adoption Center at Nevins Farm. I had never heard of this place prior to my conversation with Erica Ruch, she suggested giving it a visit. I was very impressed with the place. It is a large property with many animals of all varieties. I only took pictures of the outside of the main building and of the property. It didn't open until noon time, but there was a long line formed outside the door waiting for it to open which was really surprising to me. 

It was really interesting (and aggravating) observing the other people who were also there. It put visual imagery in my head to match up with articles I have read. By this I mean, for example, I have read articles on cases of dog bites, how dog bites have occurred and how the people in most situations are at fault. I watched as a young girl (around 12 years old) and her mother stuck their hands through a fence trying to reach a pit bull who was visibly agitated and angry- she was barking and growling with her tail hidden. A staff member yelled at them THREE times with in 10 minutes telling them not to stick their hands through the fence (which there were also many signs saying the same) because the dog was getting upset. They kept ignoring the woman to the point that the staff member had to take the dog back inside and put her back in her kennel. So this dog's outside time had to end early due to ignorant morons. 

I also watched as a mother let her small son (around 3 years old) throw rocks at the chickens, and she just laughed along like it was the cutest thing she had seen. It was really aggravating to watch. 

Inside the adoption center was very nice. It was large and organized. Each room had volunteer monitors to watch over the animals, each of them had knowledge of each individual animal such as where they came from, their age, and so on. Most of the dogs had pending adoptions or completed adoption processes. The number of cats was unbelievable. They had many in kennels and there was also two large rooms filled with cat furniture and around ten cats in each room. 

On the way out I saw a man with his two small children standing in line with 3 birds in a cage and a very young black cat. I had assumed he was adopting them because the children looked very happy and the man looked/was acting very casual and content. But when a staff member approached him it was clear I had assumed wrongly. What I learned from eaves dropping on the conversation was he was there to surrender the three birds and cat. I was surprised because he seemed completely fine giving up these pets and showed no signs of remorse. (But to be fair, this could also be because he was with his two small children and didn't want to make them upset. It was clear the children didn't know what was going on and that they wouldn't be leaving with the pets.)

Here is a list of adoptable pets at the Methuen Animal Care and Adoption Center at Nevins Farm

Meeting with Erica Ruch

At my review it was suggested that I just focus on the articles and information I have right now and sort through the various topics trying to narrow them down. The topics I have as of now are domestication, court cases/legal articles, companionship & bonding, chemical reactions to animals, and statistics. I was thinking of picking 4 topics and making 4 books each focusing on one topic each.

Last night I met with Erica Ruch who is a teacher at Montserrat and also works full time for PETA. I told her about my idea of making four different books each focusing on one topic. She introduced a new term (& issue) to me, which is “breedism”. We talked about visuals for the books and how to go about obtaining those visuals. She was very helpful with suggestions on how to brainstorm the structure of the books and how to focus on each topic.

After I have the outlines of the books and topics figured out, I am going to e-mail them to her and get her feed back seeing as she works for PETA and knows a lot of information and resources.