Some dogs arrive by Santa. Bambi's family tells it best:
Bambi was delivered by Santa one December after being listed number 1 on the wish list. However Bambi was lonely, so human brother Indy offered to give up video games and his savings for a Pug!
The pug is Fred. The two share a page in Volume Two, running on a beach.
Every page is like that: a real dog, photographed by Living Image Photography, beside a few lines from the family who knows them best. Over 250 dogs, all sorts of breeds and crosses. Joey, a Kelpie cross Border Collie, was surrendered young to Homeless Hounds, and these days "She doesn't care what she's doing as long as she is with someone." Kooper, a Black and Tan German Shepherd on page 135, once treated a brand-new fence as a suggestion and went through the neighbour's yard to watch the street. Evie and Minimus, two dachshunds, have a party trick: "BANG! And Minimus is down on the ground acting out the role perfectly." Angus, a brindle Staffy, is caught among soap bubbles.
It is a big square hardcover, 320 mm a side, in full colour, with an orange spine and an orange ribbon. Inside the back cover, an orange heart sits over one line: "Dogs leave pawprints forever on your heart".
Shoot the Dog began in 2013 to celebrate the joyful lives of dogs and the part they play in our families. Each family photographed paid a $100 participation fee that went directly to an animal rescue group, and a share of the profit from the books goes to the rescues too.
Looking for a gift for a family who talks about their dog like one of the kids? This is the one.
