For rescue pups, a glamorous photo can help save a life

He is one of her supermodels. He sits still, with his paws together. He preens his black snout into the air. His deep brown eyes stare into her camera.

But Choco Taco, a black Collie mix, will stay at the Bond Between, a Minnetonka animal rescue, for longer than his spotted siblings, Executive Director Rachel Mairose suspects. Black dogs like Choco Taco are the trickiest to photograph, and because of it, among the trickiest to get adopted, she said.

Mairose shakes her head, and spins the screen of her camera around. “It looks like a black blob.” Later, she’ll fix it in editing.

Finding people who can work a camera has become vital to animal shelters, as some try to accommodate a recent surge of pet surrenders in the Twin Cities. The Bond Between has recruited about 15 volunteers to take photos. The Animal Humane Society has several, too. Shelters need dogs to get adopted, and often, that starts with a good photo.

“There’s a direct correlation between how good the photos are and how quickly they’re adopted,” Mairose said.

Some 400 rescues remain at the Bond Between at any given time, and each one gets a glamour shot. Mairose even has a whole room for them, where a photography light swings from above. There’s a warm tan backdrop. And of course, there are plenty of treats.

Some sit like a “model,” as Mairose calls them. Others need a bit more coaxing. A two-year-old pit bull named Freckles pressed herself against the wall. She pulled against her leash. She splattered the set with pee and did everything she could not to look at Mairose’s camera.

“At the end of the day, you’re marketing these animals,” Mairose said. “Part of marketing is showing these animals in the best light.”

More and more animals need a good photo and a new home now. Mairose said the Bond Between has seen a rise in surrenders since the pandemic ended, mirroring other smaller Twin Cities rescues. And per data from nonprofit Shelter Animals Count, the number of animals entering shelters — and failing to leave alive — has crept back toward pre-pandemic levels, both in Minnesota and nationwide.

The Animal Humane Society hasn’t experienced increasing surrenders, said Brittany Baumann, a spokesperson. But, in August 2022, adult dogs used to leave its facilities after an average of 10 days. Now, it’s close to 20, and Baumann said the organization is trying to refocus more on adoptions than it did in the past.

Five years ago, every pet got a photo on the same blue background, snapped by a veterinary tech as they went through intake. But the Humane Society began seeking photographer volunteers two years ago, and for one, it selected Sarah Foss.

The adult dogs don’t get adopted as quickly, Baumann said, so they get field trips with Foss. Even just a few minutes outside of the shelter, where dogs are always growling across their kennels, can relax them, Foss said.

“Sometimes, we’ll use the chaos,” Foss said.

But on a balmy November Friday, Johnny B. Goode was ready to go. The 2-year-old lab mix pranced around the grass and posed for Foss. Like Mairose, she called him a “supermodel.” Panting, he jumped on Foss, his paws smearing a mess on her pants. That’s a hazard of the job, joked Foss, who works in financial planning.

“Well, I guess I’m going to work with poop on me,” Foss said, laughing.

Still, for one reason or another, some dogs just don’t find homes. And if a dog stays at the Bond Between for longer than six months, Mairose calls the professional.

That’s Thomas Strand, a Bond Between volunteer who’s spent a 35-year career photographing advertisements for brands like 3M or Target.

Strand’s secret, he said, is patience. That and a high-powered camera that automatically tracks the dog’s pupils. But mostly, it’s patience.

Strand takes his subjects away from the Bond Between, sometimes for an afternoon. Sometimes for days on end. He said it can take 45 minutes for a dog to get comfortable before he can take out his camera.

For Moses, Strand’s second subject, it took days. He was petrified of the camera and of the lights, Strand said.

“He’s such a great dog,” Strand said. “But they just couldn’t get good photos of him to get him adopted.”

For a week, Strand took Moses on hikes. They hung out together, and, for days, Strand kept the camera hidden. But eventually, he got one striking shot of Moses sitting in the forest, the giant dog dwarfed by trees. And Moses got adopted.

“Just honoring each animal as worthy of being photographed in their own way is something that we try to build in,” Mairose said.