Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog. - Sydney Jeanne Seward
Many of us can relate to the overwhelming sense of joy experienced with owning a dog. We often read, share and recount stories of happily adopted pups romping with delight in their forever homes. Senior dogs are not always as fortunate as these pups and a good deal of the time are dropped at shelters to make way for new ‘trainable’ or children friendly young pups as families grow tired of rising medical bills, or ‘accidents’ inside the house as their pet gets on in years. Similarly senior dogs are often the last to be adopted at shelters, as few people are willing to accept an ailing old soul who could be set in their ways into their homes as a companion.
The 2015 Sandton SPCA calendar theme “Golden Oldies” stemmed from this noticeable need to showcase older pets as deserving adoptive candidates. Now in its fourth year running the calendar project is a much-loved fundraising initiative for the Sandton & Eastern Metro SPCA. Emma O’Brien, Fine Art Photographer, well know pet photographer and brain-child of the calendar, opened her studio to the elderly calendar stars in order to create awareness around their often-excluded appeal, “Older dogs are frequently over looked by people visiting shelters to adopt a dog and as the proud owner of a rescued oldie from the Sandton SPCA, I wanted to emphasise how much pleasure having an older dog can provide and just how lively and full of character senior dogs are.”
“We decided that in order to give these seniors the best chance we could we needed to do more than just the calendar. So we teamed up with the gang from Dust Cloud Productions who often collaborate on projects pro-bono with the Sandton SPCA and put together a behind the scenes mini-documentary for animal lovers to enjoy.” The video features interviews with each of the owners giving some background on their elderly companions and the joys of owning an older pet.
The “Golden Oldies” in the calendar were selected via a competition on Sandton SPCA’s Facebook page, the winner of the prestigious cover star spot was Rossi. Rossi is a 14 year old Staffie who has been on wheels for the last 7 years after complications from a back operation. Despite his disability, Rossi was very lively during his shoot, scooting around the studio and playing up to the camera.
The 2015 Sandton SPCA ‘Golden Oldies’ calendar will officially be launched for sale in September 2014. You can find out more information about how to order your copy of the calendar and to watch the behind the scenes video on the Sandton SPCA website www.sandtonspca.org.za
CREDITS:
Proudly brought to you by
The Sandton & Eastern Metro SPCA
www.sandtonspca.org.za
Photography by
Emma O’Brien Fine Art Photography
www.emmaobrien.com
Production by
Dustcloud Productions
www.dustcloudsa.com
