Being a pet photographer is the best job in the world! Our shoots revolve around capturing moments that people share with their pets; in fact, they mainly revolve around the pet itself! We plan the shoots according to their sleep schedules, their moods, and even their favorite locations!
But I’ve always felt that just loving your pet isn’t enough, and that caring for other animals, who are in need is just as important. Ever since we started Pawparazzi, we’ve always kept in mind that we should help all animals who are in need. So, in our first year of business, we made a calendar & sold each one for Rs 500, out of which 50% of the money went into buying reflective collars for streeties.
Why reflective collars?
I was living in Hyderabad & still studying in college at the time when I realized that there were so many accidents where streeties were being run over or hit by cars & bikes because people could not see them crossing the road. It was heart wrenching to see them with broken limbs & some even lying in pain.
So, we bought 5 reflective collars per each calendar sold and were able to put those collars on over 50 dogs! It does seem like a small number, but for us, for a business that was started in college, we felt that we made a difference to the lives of those 50 dogs.
In 2019, I saw a trend rising; a lot of people started adopting Indies. That gave me an idea; I decided that I would travel around India and photograph Indies that have been adopted, and would help tell the stories of how they’ve changed their hoomans lives. I felt that this would help create awareness and convince more people to adopt these beautiful Indies!
We named it, the INDIE CALENDAR of 2020. It featured cute, funky photographs of Indies with their rescue stories & how they’ve made a difference in people’s lives. I knew from the start that I wanted all of the money to go to a charity that helps animals, but I just wasn’t sure which one. I researched & finally, I found the perfect fit.
We started selling the Indie Calendar 2020 in January and within a month, we were able to raise over Rs 25,000/- for charity! It was such a huge leap from the last time we sold calendars and with excitement in our hearts, we set out to give the charity of our choice, the money…
You must be wondering who we donated the money to….
On February 9th 2020, we turned up at the gates of RESQ Charitable Trust, Pune. From the moment I saw RESQ’s work on Instagram and their website, I was blown away. I knew I wanted to donate money to an organization that gave its all tothe welfare of animals, and RESQ did that &much, much more. They exceeded our expectation in every way. They were caring for cats, dogs, cows, horses, donkeys, bulls, monkeys, and even a camel that had been mistreated & abandoned!
The Rs 25,000/- sum that we raised and donated went towards buying new medicines for all of the in-house animals that were going through treatment. We left RESQ’s campus with nothing but smiles on our faces, knowing that, we had just contributed to helping those animals in need.
So I plead you, if you can’t go out and do something for animals on your own, please try and donate money to those who do step out every day and put themselves at risk to help those in need. A small donation of even Rs 100, which doesn’t seem so significant to us, could make a world of a difference to them!
* Author is the owner and photographer at Pawparazzi. She has a bachelor’s degree in filmmaking with a specialization in Photography. She started Pawparazzi in 2017 and in July 2020, she was voted as one of the TOP 25 PET PHOTOGRAPHERS IN THE WORLD!
Website – www.pawparazzi.in
Instagram – www.instagram.com/pawparazzi.petphotography/