is it stopping you?
Have a heart that never hardens, and a temper that never tires, and a touch that never hurts.
Charles Dickens
I wanted to share this moment with you. It was taken this week at the shelter that I do volunteer photography for and for me it captures why I’m there.
I’ve lived in this community for twelve years now and until December had never ventured into the shelter. Why? Fear and my expectations about what it would be like to look into those eyes and then walk out the door leaving them behind.
The only way to conquer your fears though is to move through them. Like so many other things that I’ve done from falling in love with night photography when I’m afraid of the dark, to taking scuba diving lessons when I was younger to get myself back in the water after watching Jaws, fear was holding me back from doing something that I felt I could contribute to in a meaningful way.
We’ve gotten into a routine now that’s really nice and I look forward to my time at the shelter. It’s a special group of people and their love of animals is evident.
This image you might think, not so remarkable, lots of dogs know how to “shake”.
But…
he only has three paws, he’s missing a back leg!
So much heart.
There are many ways to make a difference, don’t let fear keep you from doing something. Work through it and you might be surprised at what you discover.
Come on…what are you afraid of?
it's (almost always) about the water... 
I could do with that nudge! And… I love what you’re doing.
I’ve been taking photos of shelter dogs who are being considered for Paws on Parole, the adoption group I volunteer with. I was also asked to help select some the dogs for our next Academy. This is something I’d done before and swore I’d never do again. I find it very stressful to have to choose one dog over another. I had the same problem, in another life, when I was coaching middle school kids. I wanted all of them to be on my team! In the 5 or so years I have been working to help get dogs adopted, I’ve only taken one home. My sweet girl Tara. So I did help choose a couple of the dogs, and discovered that it wasn’t as painful an experience as I had remembered it to be. Face your fears… 🙂
“Take pictures of what you fear.”
Diane Arbus, Photographer
You have taken a wonderful picture of a courageous dog. Knowing that he has only three legs makes one look again at his trusting face. We could all probably learn something from his tenacity. Giving up or making excuses is so much easier then working through our fears. I’ll think about your challenge.