Responsibility is Key

After being a pet owner for the past 3 years I think a responsible pet owner is one that can balance caring for their pet with their own life. They cannot be selfish with their time because they realize their pet needs them for things they cannot do themselves like letting them go outside to pee or changing the litter box. Although it can be less maintenance to self feed the animals it is bad for them so a good pet owner should have a schedule with their pet for meal and treat time. Most important of all is that the owner is willing to take the animal to the veterinarian when it develops a new need or is due for their yearly exam. Pets are time and money and a younger volunteer agreed, when I asked her what qualities she thought were found in a good pet owner. She elaborated more on the funding that it takes to care for a pet, especially a dog. She said that a lot of the visitors that end up adopting do not take the time to marinate  on the idea of exactly how much work this living thing is going to take for at least the next 5-10 years. I speak to Angela a lot when I am visiting the cat room and she says it drives her crazy when all of these young girls come in thinking “oh I’m just going to pick out a little kitten or puppy” and they never think (because they have never had to) how much that new pet is going to drain from their lives especially if they plan to go to classes and care for themselves. For my photo of a responsible pet owner I decided to choose the shelter house cat, Zack. Originally I was going to choose my friend’s cats as my subject but when I was on my way out I saw him…he was laying in what seemed to be his own cloud of pillows in the hall cleaning himself. I just couldn’t help it I had to bother him for a snap shot.

Surrenders

Most pet owners surrender their pets because they are moving and cannot bring the animal along or because the owner just did not know how to care for the pet. I feel like pet owners are more willing to surrender cats over a dog. Whether it is a cat or a dog that was previously owned they both get used to and love the owner that fed and cared for them. I imagine they think they did something wrong and are probably so confused and scared being around all of the different personalities in the neighboring cages. A couple of cats that caught my attention this week were Morgan, Smokey, Strawberry, and Nala. This week I brought a little feather cat toy and they ate it up!

Strawberry
2y Female
53385

Strawberry especially, it was very difficult trying to get her to sit down on all fours. You could tell she was a very playful and loving kitty, exposing her belly to me and purring when I picked her up. Strawberry’s  owners brought her to the WCAS because she did not get along with the other pet.  Understanding that she is 2 years old, this is more than likely not her first experience in a shelter.

At the shelter Angela introduced me to Morgan.

Morgan
3y1mo Female
#51108

Morgan was unwillingly surrendered by her owner who could no longer afford her because of emergency health problems with her senior cat (15 years old). Her information sheet says she loves toys, attention, and gets along well with other cats! It was very hard for me to walk away from her once we were acquainted. Not only is she beautiful but I know my Fred-Weezy would love her. Both Nala and Smokey were brought in because their previous owners were moving and could not bring the cats with them.



Nala
1y Female
#32888



Nala rivaled Strawberry in her playfulness but at least sat still long enough for me to photograph her.

Smokey
5y Male
#51933

Smokey had been raised from a kitten for five years with his family and brought to the shelter in late April. He is so soft and mellow I wanted to take him home on the spot.

Animal Turn Over

When collecting a head count for day 2 blogger, I accidentally counted through all four cat rooms and received a number of approximately 40 news cats. More shocking than that this week was the number of empty cages I decided to count. A volunteer informed me that there had been an outbreak of feline leukemia earlier this week and they were forced to euthanize over 30 cats because the disease spread so quickly. Even a set of adopted kittens had to be called back, tested, and euthanized. It really puts a lot into perspective about how important it is to follow all dress guidelines so that we do not assist in these outbreaks. I became nervous after a while when a group of teenagers strolled in and wanted to take the cats out of the cages and play with them. It wasn’t long after I had asked two girls to put on gloves and gown that the cat next door to the kitten they were just handling proceeded to get sick. About an hour later a whole box of kittens (5) were assigned a temporary cage. Then when I was leaving the shelter there were three animals waiting in line to be vaccinated and replaced in their designated rooms. Cats especially are so overpopulated and they all have the potential to be loved. It is hard to grasp that such a sweet girl like Chole here could be the next because of her age and the demand for more cages and fast.

Meet Diana a social photogenic orange tabby that has been at the WCAS since May 9^th. There could be a couple reasons why Diana has not found a home including that she is a orange tabby and most tabbys tend to be looked over for a tuxedo or calico. Another could be because her online photo does not show how much personality she really has. 

Improvements

Theo
1 yr
Male Grey-Tabby
#53053

 Theo is a hefty young man that tends to keep to himself it seems. He was not too interested in me or the opening of his cage door. He just kept dosing off and every once in a while would give me one of these looks that you see above. I'm concerned that I might have dodged his catch lights too much that they might of dulled his soft green eyes. I believe the strength in the portrait is how white his whiskers are and the brightness in the tips of his ears help them perk up a bit. I cannot remember if I took a long time working with this little guy but I do wish I could of caught him in a more regal pose. He also seems to be giving me a little evil eye or maybe it is just lazy because he was so sleepy. The white on his chest I feel like could of been brightened a bit more but I also do not want to make the photo have a fake direction of light. Would anyone have any suggestions on how I might could tackle that issue in the future?

Oh Mr. Zachary Binx

This is my online album link:

https://picasaweb.google.com/115349954098816350467/WCAS_5_22_11#



I have enjoyed visiting the animals so far and hope to increase my hours next week. After volunteering a couple times this week t is still hard to tell where these babies might have come from. Most I would assume to be strays, un fixed and ran wild, but a majority of these animals always seem to be surrendered. A lot of owners have the pet and then have to move somewhere that does not allow the pet or they get a job that does not give them the time they need to devote to caring for these animals. It is so sad and breaks my heart that these guys were once cuddling on a couch or foot of a bed and are now confined to a somewhat small crate prison.

Zachary Binx is a smooth operator with a lot of love. When I first went to capture him he was a bit busy but once I came back I was so glad I gave him another chance. He was laying in the back of his cage up on his shelf like a little gentleman. And with just a little change in exposure and added catch lights the result was fantastic. I hope it finds him a home very soon.

Metadata

Metadata is essentially information about your photos such as tags, namespace, fields, etc. It can be very helpful to anyone searching to add order to their photo albums. It is a partner for making the most of your images and helps you sort and find, control authorized uses, and pinpoints them on a map to make them look their best. Metadata is to provide information about your photographs ranging from the date the picture was made and what camera was used, to what kinds of concepts the photo helps illustrate. It also helps to record image adjustments in the dark room. Tags refer to some specific property of an image file and can be attached with key words to later identify them easier. This can make it easier for me by putting everything into a sorted category which can be key in large libraries. A namespace describes the field and may limit the type of entry that can be entered. For example we are instructed to label our albums “WCAS_mo_day_yr,” a namespace can make certain field only allow this format. A collection of namespaces is called a schema which can be published by anyone. I feel like the most useful part of metadata for me in this course is knowing how to properly tag in a field as well as knowing what EXIF, XMP, and IPTC means will also help me log my photos properly.

This is Minnie, a hefty gal with lots of energy. I used the motion/sport adjustment on my DSLR to capture her quickly. She kept wanting to play and jump out of her top story cage so this was almost my only way of capturing her pretty little face. I think this photo captures her beauty and especially those big bright eyes of hers. Her body is not in the composition with respects to her figure (haha).

Before and After Chicago

I introduce to you Chicago:

She was such a wonderful subject. I assume this was taken when she was first brought in almost over a month ago! She is very friendly and such a cutie. Unfortunately her previous photo does not show how curious and precious this little beauty is. The blue hand is more in focus it seems than the face of Chicago. There is a glare from the flash in the far back right that is distracting my eyes. Chicago's eyes are milky looking from being drowned out by the flash and it therefore does not show her bright green eyes. The blanket and cat toy are a bit distracting to the background along side such a little kitten.

Chicago

Spayed Female

Domestic Short Hair Orange Tabby

Age: 8mo Wt: 5.25lbs

Shelter Since 4/26/11

#51712

In this photo I have brightened the exposure of the entire composition and added dodge layers to the ears eyes and tip of the nose. The catch lights are a little whiter but over all the raw photo was already pretty good. But it helps having such a good model. I hope this will improve her adoptability from her original online and kennel photo. It makes her seem more open and willingness to be held and cuddled. She seems to be saying "that's right I am the one you want."

The Power of a Good Portrait

When spending another few hours with the felines the other day I was drawn ultimately to the fat cats that had obviously once had owners. I hate to see animals that were once house pets go into a shelter. I feel like all they think about is "what did I do momma?" Other than that I feel obligated to try accomplishing the impossible in getting good portraits of the shyest little cats and kittens. many wont come from the backs of their cages and one shy girl kept playing games with me when I would open her cage door, she went into her cabinet and when I would open her cabinet she would then return to her cage and this continued for a good 5-10 minutes and I just had to give up, I was working up too much of a sweat and getting a little impatient.
This is Moxy

Moxy

ID 52252
4yrs 10.9lbs
Domestic Short Hair mix, Tortoiseshell 

Moxy has been in the shelter since the beginning of March due to abandonment followed by a surrender to the shelter. He is shy and not fond of dogs but loves to be rubbed on. He is so handsome and elegant. Although this photo has a good depth of field I still wanted to portray him as the little prince he really is. The exposure of the photo is OK but seems to have hit a bright spot on the left side of the cage that kind of drowns out his pretty coloring. The catch likes are predominant making him look less cuddly and more mischievous, he can also seem a little frightened even though he is not curled back into a corner.

In this photo I have brightened Moxy's eyes and edges of his ears. The fronts of his paws are lightened as well as the highlights on the bridge and tip of his nose. I lightened the background to try and bring him forward a little in the composition. His eyes glow with subtle catch lights and his pose makes him look proud. He is a very independent kitty with a touch of mischief. I feel like the photo brings out his personality to make him more adoptable to his perfect owner.

The Cost of Cuteness

There are several shelters in North Carolina and at least one in every county. Each have their own set costs for adopting your pet and for very good reason. According to a WCAS worker "there must be a fee to adopt or even reclaim a cat dog or small animal, because if we just let the animal go for free we have no clue whether or not that new pet owner is going to have the funds to take care of the animal, including taking the animal for all of its vaccinations." This volunteer chooses to remain anonymous but I completely agree. The fee at the Wake County Shelter is $95 to adopt a dog and $45 to adopt a cat. This fee includes FIV testing for cats as well as de-worming and all vaccinations/shots. The animal is not allowed to leave the shelter without being neutered/spayed due to over breeding and owners letting their pets run wild. If the animal did not have to be spayed/neutered by the shelter the fee drops to $15 for cat and $45 for a dog. Even if the animal entered the shelter as an un fixed stray and its rightful owner comes to pick it up even that same day, the owner pays a fee which includes the animal being spayed/neutered. Prices my vary due to the animals specific needs while in the shelter. In the past some dogs and cats were over $100 to adopt but according to WCAS lower prices intise the public to come in and at least look around. If an individual would like to foster to adopt the fee is $200 which is then refunded when the pet is formerly fixed and adopted.

This is my little guy that I adopted from the Durham shelter. Although the shelter accidentally gave him to me still un-fixed I have recently called them to schedule an appointment, and with no questions asked the front desk set me up to bring him in with in the next week. It is so important to have these animals fixed not only because of over breeding but because it can cause many health problems in the future. Oz is a surrender with high separation anxiety. He was so miserable when I saw him in his cage shaking. As soon as I took him out he was so playful with his tail waiving straight up like a "happy flag." He was also un-groomed in both his online photo and when I went to visit him. I had no idea he was such a cutie pie. Regardless of having my cat, Fred-Weezy, for two years prior to adopting Oz, it became very relevant that raising a dog is a lot more difficult than taking care of a cat. After adopting Oz in February I knew what it was like to go from simple carefree cat owner to some what of a stressed single mother over night. Having a dog is a completely different experience than owning a cat. I am happy about my adoption but it was a very difficult transition especially in the middle of the semester. I am relieved that Ozzy and I are now in a routine but I do regret making such a quick decision just to get him out of a cage.
Fred-Weezy (pictured below)

Critter Introductions

In the Shelter on Wednesday I entered what felt like a hectic office setting with small offices and a welcoming committee named Zack. It was very bright from the fluorescent lighting and a little over whelming with all of the guidelines and room changes due to disease outbreaks. The cat room was not so bad you could not hear the barking dogs too bad. The dogs rooms on the other hand were very noisy with nervous and frightened dogs of all breeds and sizes. I'm sure they all have different personalities which they can sense from each other much like humans so I can imagine how anxious they all must be. I smelt cleaning products in some kennels which wasn't too strong for me but might be over powering to some of our canine friends. kneeling own to the animals level seems to make them feel a little more comfortable some you could tell had been abused in one way or the other. But imagine being shuffled around room to room with giants walking and pulling you around. Couldn't be a comfortable situation for anyone.

Although I was able to capture several pictures of the kitties after orientation I still thought I would choose this photo as my best because I feel like it represents what Dr. Johnstone had mentioned about the sad commercials using frail puppies, dogs behind bars, and one eyed cats to try and quilt people into adopting/fostering homeless animal. It was very unfortunate that we couldn't stick our hands in and pet them all. I could imagine that being very sad and traumatising for the animals as well. I look forward to giving them some love.

Day 2 with Jeffry

I have a Nikon D3100 DSLR camera. The pros of my camera tend to out weigh the cons, it has a better high ISO quality and can automatically control the depth of field. It tends to take sharper photos because the lens is highly sensitive. It can be difficult to operate and very bulky compared to the compact point and shoot. Most of the time a DSLR will run the consumer anywhere from 100 to thousands of dollars. The file size also tends to be a lot larger and needs resizing when transfered to a computer. When using the DSLR flash is better left off because it will capture the brightest elements of the composition and make them brighter drowing out the subject matter.

Jeffry - This is photo of Jeffry the three legger. It is very difficult capturing the character of a black dog because light is absorbed in their coat. With the DSLR I was able to capture his big brown eyes with catch lights. He is smiling with great depth of field with the subject in focus and its surrounding are blurred.

Tails Wagging for a New Experience

Holly Susan Demyan
Graphic Design and Studio Art (Minor)
This will be my second year attending Meredith and my forth year of college courses. Hope that taking this course will contribute to my major by expanding my knowledge of the web and it's graphics. I look forward to spendig time at the shelter and assisting in finding cuddly babies (the animals) a forever home. I like to think of myslef as a young activist when it comes to helping animals that had gone astray or dropped off because of over breeding or their owner just couldnt handle taking care of another being. I hope to learn more about the shelters themselves as well as how to choose my composition when photographing animals as well as knowing the guidlines for images on the web. This course will overlap my CS course Web Design which I am also currently taking. I have taken one online course prior to this semester and it proved to be difficult. I hope to stay ahead in my volunteer hours. I would like to collect my photots in the begginig of the week so that i can work on photoshopping the other half. Really excitied for some criter interaction!