The Heartwarming Way a Photographer is Helping Rescue Pets

By Nina Malkin

When pet photographer Teresa Berg went searching online for her dream dog back in 2007, she was excited to find the Dallas-Fort Worth Dachshund Rescue Foundation, but the pictures on the site weren't engaging. "There was no eye contact, no personality," she recalls. Still, she read about one dog, a 6-year-old male, who seemed like he might be a good fit for her. When she saw him at the shelter, she was amazed. "I remember thinking, Wow, he's charming and beautiful-nothing like his picture," she says. Photo by Teresa Berg.



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Teresa adopted the pup and named him Flash. Still, she couldn't shake the thought that none of the dogs' pictures did them justice. She wondered, if their adorableness could come through more clearly online, might they stand a better chance of being adopted? "There's a misconception that animals from a shelter are damaged goods, when in fact many are the healthiest, most loving pets you could own," says Teresa, who believes poor photos contribute to that misunderstanding.


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So Teresa offered to do glamour shots of all the dogs at the shelter for free. Step 1 was styling. "I put the females in pearls or silk-flower collars I made myself, and the males wore neckties," she says. Then with love, patience and, when necessary, string cheese, Teresa coaxed out sweet portraits of 15 dachshunds.


As soon as the photos went up on the website that summer, "people started clamoring for our dogs," says the foundation's rescue director, Kathleen Coleman. "Instead of staying three to nine months, dogs were finding homes in three to six weeks." Within a year, adoptions doubled.


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In 2009, Teresa fanned out to help two more rescue organizations, snapping cats as well as dogs. To date, some 2,000 animals have posed for her, and she's teaching her tricks to other rescue groups in person and through her blog, Focus on Rescue (FocusOnRescue.com). Teresa devotes 20% of her workweek to helping pets find permanent homes, yet insists her contribution is the easy part. "The real heroes here are the rescue workers and the new owners who give these animals a loving home."


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