Portraits of the adoptable dogs at CLAW (Community Led Animal Welfare)
It’s been almost 12 years since I first walked through the doors of CLAW (Community Led Animal Welfare) a veterinary clinic and makeshift animal shelter located on the old Durban Deep mine site in Roodepoort, Johannesburg. I’ve been photographing the dogs at CLAW since March 2011 and whilst I’m pleased to report that many dogs have been adopted as a result of the photographs I’ve taken, the place itself and the volume of unwanted dogs flowing through their doors hasn’t changed.
CLAW exists to provide veterinary support for the local vicinity which is made up of folks on very low incomes. The animal care they provide is done on next to no budget, sometimes pet owners can make a small donation towards their pet’s care, sometimes not, but animals in need aren’t turned away. The clinic runs on a shoe string and the influx of pets and people in need never stops. Providing shelter is par for the course when people drop off animals they no longer want or can care for, but CLAW isn’t primarily a rescue centre.
As often as I can I go through to the clinic to shoot portraits of the dogs to help them find their forever homes. The CLAW clinic is a bit tucked away and not in the best area so shareable images are essential to get these dogs networked online. You’ll find a full collection of photos on the CLAW facebook page here.
As the years have passed, I’ve found it harder and harder emotionally to shoot shelter dog portraits. I often see the same dogs still at CLAW each time I go (some of the dogs in this collection have been photographed three times already) and the number of dogs never changes (at any given time they have 40 odd dogs on site). Neither does the fact that most of the dogs are nondescript brown hounds making them really hard to find homes for. I often hear people asking, ‘what breed is this dog?’ a question to which there’s no specific answer.
Brown Township dogs as featured here are my personal favourite. I have four CLAWbies who are the light of my life (you can see them here) so I can personally vouch for how brilliant they are, even if they have no specific breeding or pedigree. Honestly, I don’t think looks or lineage matter when it comes to how great a dog is. My wish is that people would see past looks and choose a dog because he or she is has a great personality (all CLAWbies have character, it’s how they make up for their lack of pedigree). Because they’re housed together in big runs rather than kennels, CLAWbies are 99% of the time really well socialised and great with other dogs.
Without further ado, here’s a selection of the 32 dogs I photographed. If someone catches your eye, please get in touch with Michelle the CLAW adoption manager on 083 395 3011 to find out more. It’ll be super helpful if you send her a screenshot of the dog you like. If you’re not in the market for a four legged friend, please share this post and/or the album on CLAW’s Facebook page.
It’s thanks to my regular client commissions that I’m able to donate my time to help CLAW with their adoption photography. If you’d like to find out about commissioning me to photograph your dogs please get in touch with me here.