What We're Loving: Carli Davidson's Differently Abled Pets

03/01/2012

A Beautiful Depiction of the Resilience of Animals

Internationally recognized pet photographer Carli Davidson is known for her often humorous animal portraits, and her unique portfolio of work ranges from heart-warming People and Pets to her amazing portfolio "Shake",   a hilarious series of dogs photgraphed shaking it out with flappy cheeks and airborne wads of drool.

Davidson's newest aww-inspiring Pets with Disabilities Project, proves that "...your pet is beautiful no matter how many limbs it has." Recently, we were lucky enough to sit down with Carli to discuss her inspiration for this wonderful project - here are a few notes from our interview. 

The Daily Treat: Why did you start this series?

Davidson: My idea for the series stared about two years ago when I was walking along Canon Beach here in Oregon with some friends. There was this totally beautiful German shepherd in a wheelchair playing fetch with its owner. It was so happy, a dog doing what dogs do, totally undeterred by its disability. I felt inspired by the whole scenario. The owner made this choice out of love, to do a little extra work every day to make sure his friend was happy and comfortable.

I thought a lot about this pair in the following weeks, and decided I wanted to create project showcasing differently abled pets and telling their stories in order to show the world that they are happy, thriving companions. They are not sad, they are not in pain, and the owners and animals continue to be a great value to one another.

[Click here to see our slideshow of Carli's entire portfolio of Differently Abled Pets]

The Daily Treat: Where do these darling dogs come from?

Davidson: All of these dogs are from Portland Oregon. It’s pretty amazing how many are living here! I just started asking around on Facebook for models, and now I have people approaching me pretty regularly. Word of mouth is a powerful tool.

The Daily Treat: Can you share their stories (one or more)? 

Davidson: Every one of their stories is totally amazing, but I can’t really share their stories in detail since this is a work in progress.

The Daily Treat: What do you hope others will get out of this collection?

Davidson: I really hope what people take away from these stories is information to make decisions for their own pets, an appreciation for the resilience of all animals, and ultimately a sense of normalcy from the photos and stories. Technology continues to advance at a rapid rate, and our relationship and compassion towards animals continues to evolve. I think this book is simply following a natural path towards a greater acceptance of these pets.

Click here to see our slideshow of Carli's portfolio of Differently Abled Pets and to learn more about these determined dogs. Visit Carli's Facebook Page to learn more about her admirable work.

[Pictured Above: Ramen Noodle (Poodle) lost both of his arms in separate accidents before he was two years old. Only three weeks after losing the second arm he was up and running on his hind legs. He also has a front wheelchair to get around outdoors, but prefers to walk on his own.]

Little man Rue (French bulldog) is paralyzed from the waist down due to a spinal disorder. He is a very active and happy dog nonetheless. Little Man lives with his owner and another French bulldog, Sweet Pea.

Diego, the blind Chihuahua and Buddy Nixon. Diego uses Buddy as a seeing eye dog by following the tapping of his nails as he walks around new environments.

[Click here to see our slideshow of Carli's current portfolio of Differently Abled Pets]

Comments

[macia]

awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

[macia]

thies dos are so cute**

[macia]

i love dogs

[Megan]

These are amazing pictures and stories. Dogs are so resilient. They adjust so quickly to any disability they have. Nothing keeps them from being a dog, even if they are blind or only have two legs. Remarkable!

[micike]

Óhhh istenem de édiiiik nekem mind kéne !!!!!!!!! I <3 dogs !!!
szegénykék

[naveen]

The Most faithful animal in this world i have ever seen.

[harrison]

muy bien recordemos somos seres humanos y sentimos compasion por los de mas y razonamos estonos hace seres humanos y sino tienes nada de esto no eres ni un animal

[Pramila]

Dog is most faithful animal. I lost my dog a year before. I miss him so much.

[Nelly J. van den Hazel Barlow]

wHY CANT YOU DO THE SAME AS YOU WOULD YOUR CHILD, I CERTAINLY WOOD, some animals like people can live a fine life, with some kind of ailment or disability, it seperates the weak from the strong, just like in humans, no difference, we can learn from them being disabled or not.

[A.F. for Animal Planet]

God bless them, every one!

[mariel]

I LOVE DOGS

[juan alvarado]

wonderful life, only for life...

[linda]

Our animals don't seem to limit themselves, the way we do.God bless them all.

[Mike]

awwww...how sweet!!! Love dogs and cats! :)

[Lia De Winter]

Don't like dog to suffer, this is too much for my LOVE all the animal.

[Nike TN]

Little man Rue (French bulldog) is paralyzed from the waist down due to a spinal disorder. He is a very active and happy dog nonetheless. Little Man lives with his owner and another French bulldog, Sweet Pea.

[Dori]

My best friend is a 3-y/o Maltese, he was given to me because the only size dog i could handle is a small one. I'm handicapped. I've tried training my little one to help me pick up items from floor, and things like that, I need to be able to get him to a store with me, but i don't know the procedure. On SSD I'm unable to afford to have Shane trained to become a helper for me and become legalized to help me in stores such as malls, grocery, etc. I can't go out much and I do have an electric wheel chair.If there is help out there for someone in position I'm in,it would be great. I need my best friend, I have a feeling that I may have saved Shane from being put to sleep and if this is the case, then I would be so happy if he could help me and strengthen our bond of friendshipl

[Wanita]

Carli to discuss her inspiration for this wonderful project - here are a few notes from our interview.

[Nilsard]

we were lucky enough to sit down with Carli to discuss her inspiration for this wonderful project - here are a few notes from our interview.