To my Animal Lovers Tribe.....

I need your help.

Over the last year, I’ve been quietly documenting the dog overpopulation problem in the United States—and Texas, where I am right now, is ground zero.

Shelters are full, rescues are full and fosters are full. This is REAL. Dogs are getting euthanized daily, and intake rates in Texas are some of the highest in the country. Every day, unseen on the back roads of rural communities, new dogs are discarded into the streets where they are fighting for survival. They are covered in ticks and fleas, ridden with mange, and as their bodies slowly shut down, they are run over, abused, shot, ignored.

I have seen this all first hand.

In the beginning, I thought this endeavor would be similar to many of the stories I’ve done. It would have an easy narrative, a beginning, a middle and an end. I was wrong. Not only has it become a bigger and more complicated issue than I could have imagined, it’s become expensive, and time consuming. No one is paying me to do this. But the story is so important and little known outside the rescue world.

I adore the work I do, telling stories of the relationships between Humans and Animals. Most of my work has been about wildlife. The work is hard, and these days, with all the environmental degradations, sometimes, I lose hope. I wonder if my work makes a difference. I wonder if any of my stories about bees and bobcats and Condors and Kestrels make a difference. The sadness is overbearing at times, and sometimes it’s hard to continue, never knowing if the images I make and the stories that are so important to me ever have any tangible positive effect.

There is also good.

In my journey to connect with boots on the ground, I found a woman doing God’s work. In the beginning, she blew me off. So, I got “politely” persistent. I liked what she was doing: feeding and saving the street dogs of Texas, on her own time, on her own dime, often with her two small daughters in tow. Her name is Zully. And she’s a dog Angel.

Zully finally welcomed me into her dog world. When we are together, the power of photography happens in real time. I ride along documenting what she does. She asks me to take pictures of specific dogs; to show who they are, what they are suffering, and reveal their true souls. This I know how to do well. Then, each night, I go back to my room and process the images. The next day she posts about the dogs, and then dogs that she might have tried to network before get seen in a new light. And they get saved.

Here, on the streets with the dogs, my work ACTUALLY makes a difference, to the life of EACH SINGLE DOG who is rescued. It’s one by one, but it’s tangible and real.

On June 26th, I will head to Houston. Zully has helped organize a free vaccine clinic for cats and dogs in her community. I will photograph the clinic, share the images, and stay for five days.

I am reaching out today for help to cover some of the expenses. Gas prices are through the roof, and it’s a six hour drive each way from where I am to Houston. There is no free space for me to stay, so, I have to stay in a hotel, and I need to eat. I am not asking to get paid, just asking for help with expenses below:

Hotel for 6 nights: $90-110 a night $660.00 (add tax)

Gas for 625 miles: Estimated at $112.00

Food: 250$ for six days

Rough Estimate Total: $1022.00

If you believe in the power of photography, if you believe in the work I do, or if you simply want to save dogs, I would love your help. Every cent helps. I will update you on our days and the dogs we save. And each cent raised over the original amount, will go to future trips....

Thank you from the bottom of my heart....

K