Caption
Border Collies. Jack and Colin at Coventry RSPCA.
The idea was to give a little publicity to the Coventry Branch of the RSPCA. Their Animal Centre is 25 years(ish) old and the kennels have seen better days, so a rebuild is necessary and money has to be raised.
The intention was to photograph a Border Collie in a pen, show the old crumbly buildings and encourage support, but during the week of this shoot there was no Border Collie in the kennels - good news for collies, a problem for me.
I recruited our 13 year old Border, Jack, who came to us as a small pup, via the RSPCA, after being found in a skip; Jack thought I was leaving him and despite bribes of favourite treats he wrapped his paws around my leg and refused to let go; the only view containing a dog was the straight down shot - complete with my limb.
So, we took some portraits of Jack and his "brother" Colin, a 6 year old Border whose early life story seems to have featured some awful events and blended them into something I hope you find interesting.
Coventry RSPCA is a small local branch of the world famous Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This independent local charity has to raise all its own running costs to survive and receives no funding from National Lottery, Local or National Government. Its Animal Centre has cared for and found loving homes for more than 25000 cats, dogs and small furries, which arrive because they can no longer be cared for by their owners, or perhaps they are just unwanted and sadly, some have been victims of cruelty. It seems bizarre that each year, not 10 miles away, Crufts Dog Show demonstrates "man's" love for the dog (we'll not dwell on the docking of tails for "decorative" purposes), yet the kennels of Coventry RSPCA house animals that illustrate how unkind some humans can be.
If you feel Coventry RSPCA is a deserving cause, worthy of your support, there are contact details on their website and even a secure online donation facility, through which you can help make a difference to these innocent animals. www.rspca-coventry.org.uk
Should you find yourself in Coventry, please do visit, you will be made very welcome by the staff and the animals. Maybe you can help and perhaps even offer a loving home to a dog, cat, rabbit, mouse, gerbil, hamster, ....?
www.rspca-coventry.org.uk
www.iankerr.com