Fine art animal photographer Traer Scott sure knows how to pull on our heartstrings. If you'll recall, she's the one behind the heart-wrenching series Shelter Dogs as well as the heartwarming series Newborn Puppies. Scott's also the one who created Street Dogs, a book that features over 90 of Scott's unforgettable images of dogs living on the streets.
Traveling with animal rescuers throughout Puerto Rico and Mexico, Scott give us a unique look into dogs living alone or in packs outside the confines of a safe home. By documenting their plight, she not only wanted to show each dog's unique character, more importantly, she wanted to the raise awareness of animal welfare issues. The photos show the many facets of animal abandonment and abuse along with the efforts to bring about change. Though, at first, the black and white photos may seem depressing, they're accompanied by uplifting stories, usually with endings filled with hope.
For instance, in the most startling image above, Traer states, “We found this young, scrawny, lactating female dog in a parking lot where she was trying to steal scraps of food but was being chased away by a pack whose territory she was invading. We followed her down the road and up into the hills where she lead us to her litter of pups. We brought out food and lured her and the puppies out of their den. The man who owned the property said we could take the puppies to a rescue and over the next few weeks, they were taken in pairs by local rescuers. Eventually only the mother remained. Rescuers convinced the landowner to turn her over. She was spayed and now lives in a lovely home in Canada!”
“Native Puerto Rican, Felix Schmidt sadly prepares the last of four rescued puppies for travel to the US. This pup along with his mother and three brothers were abandoned in San Juan where Mr. Schmidt and his wife found them and took them in. After three months, the puppies were ready to be sent to new adoptive homes in the US.”
The book is currently out of print but is still available, for a limited time, on Amazon.
