Biscuit was my first rescue dog. I will never forget how he stretches before walking, shakes after waking up from sleep, the way he falls over effortlessly to rub his belly, the way he lifts his paw and presses it on my leg when he wants more treats, and most of all, his smile.
Before he came into my life, he was found on a rural back road in North Carolina, terrified, severely underweight, his fur coat matted and out of place, and his hind legs permanently disfigured from the many hours he had spent on them. small wire cage. Biscuit was taken to a rescue in Maryland where he received care and veterinary care. When my husband and I adopted him, he started coming out of his shell. Over time, dogs that once cowered behind chairs and tables and avoided humans became true friends, best friends.
With Biscuit as my inspiration, I began a decade-long project documenting the fate of nearly 60 abandoned dogs. I took photos before they were adopted and learned their stories, then did it all over again for a year or so.
Sixty dogs are just a sliver of the overpopulation crisis. More than 3 million dogs enter shelters and rescue organizations in 2023; 2.2 million found housing, but 1 million did not. Many of the animals were killed. There are so many unwanted dogs in America that shelters are overwhelmed. As of May, some Los Angeles Animal Services shelters were operating at more than double capacity — about 211% full.
Biscuit died of a rare cancer in 2013. He rekindled my love for photography and changed my life in incredible ways. There are many reasons why dogs are abandoned – some are cruel and trivial, some are unavoidable. Shelters and rescues perform heroic rehabilitation, necessary, provide veterinary care, vaccines, spay and neutering, foster families, adoption services – but as a way station. Happy endings require humans to write.
Jacks / Taco – English bulldog
Jacks was about 5 years old, underweight but sweet and loving when he surrendered to a shelter and went to a rescue organization in 2014. Fostered first, he was adopted by a family that had been looking for an English bulldog rescue and found him online. . His name is Taco. There is nothing mundane for Taco, I was told, years later. They’ll be excited about car rides or frozen yogurt; he is a constant reminder “to enjoy the little things in life.”
Toby – hound/shepherd mix
Toby was a senior dog – 8 years old – when his owner surrendered him to the shelter in 2013. It took three tries before he was adopted. All told, Toby spent 1,216 days in rescue, a record for a dog I followed on this project, likely because, as a rescue vet, he had “separation anxiety.” In the end, Toby’s followers didn’t mind the extra attention they needed: “We just felt pulled.”
Treasure / Chessie – Chihuahua / Chi mix
Treasure, named Chessie when she was adopted, was rescued in 2014 from a puppy mill where she may have been a purebred dog. Estimated to be 4 years old, Chessie is “very untrusting,” according to the veterinary team at the shelter that took her in, “especially the boys.” However, the couple made him their first rescue dog after seeing him on Facebook. A year later Chessie is one of the “gang” of Chihuahuas, “joy” – but still likes men.
Dagwood – Golden retriever/Labrador mix
Found locked in an empty house in Indiana in 2012, Dagwood landed in Maryland for rescue with “basic manners” but also anxiety and fear. After a volunteer brought him to a nursing home, the manager agreed to a trial adoption, and now Dagwood is a professional support dog adopted, unusually, by businesses. He “brightened the citizens’ day just by being himself,” I said. “Everybody loves Dagwood.”
Dreifuss / Dreyfuss – orange Labrador mix
Dreifuss’ name got a new spelling when he was adopted in 2014. Moved to the Maryland rescue from Tennessee, his left front leg had been amputated and he was diagnosed with a condition that caused the limb to deviate outward. But Dreyfuss compensated. A “special needs” animal is not the first to claim, but as adopted, “Dreyfuss is not a dog to be loved.” A missing leg? “He doesn’t seem to miss.”
Katherine Carver is an attorney and photographer living in the Washington, DC area. The photos and text are adapted from the forthcoming book “Abandoned: Telling the Journeys of Abandoned Dogs.
