Michelle, Ditch and Chestnut {Nashville Dog Photographer}

Michelle won this photo session after bidding on my auction item at a fundraiser held by Metro Animal Care and Control earlier this year. Thank you! Michelle is a big champion for dog rescue. She picks up strays and fosters regularly. In fact, these two sweet pups were strays she came across in pretty memorable ways.

Ditch was found (you guessed it!) in a ditch on July 25, 2013. A day that Michelle fondly calls Ditchmas in July. He was with his two sisters, and sadly, they were all dying from Parvo. Ditch was the only one who made it. “When he became mine, he ditched his worst days behind him” Michelle stated. He is now seven years old. He loves humans, tolerates most female dogs, and would really like to be the only male dog on the planet. Michelle refers to him as her Shepshire Chowback because his DNA test showed him as part Chow, Swiss Shepherd, American Staffordshire Terrier, and Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Chestnut seemingly chose Michelle when she ran in front of her car on Chestnut street in Nashville. She nearly caused a collision with another car! Both drivers stopped and got out, and Chestnut went straight to Michelle and started licking her face. Despite multiple efforts to find Chestnut’s owners, no one claimed her, and Chestnut got to keep Michelle.

At first Ditch wasn’t so sure about Chestnut, but now they are two peas in a pod. These two couldn’t be more different, though. Ditch is serious, smart and very responsible (minus his love for dumping garbage cans), while Chestnut is super silly, not terribly bright, loves all dogs, and loves to counter surf. “I would never have picked either dog out of a lineup, but they are actually the perfect dogs for me!”

We did this session at Ellington Agriculture Center this summer. Check out some of my favorites!

~Mandy

Contact a Pet Photographer in Tennessee

Mandy Whitley Photography is Nashville's premiere pet photographer. Mandy Whitley creates fun and playful photographs with pets and their people. She photographs portrait sessions, family sessions, couple portraits, and weddings - as well as just pets! To inquire about booking a photo session, contact Mandy!

Fostering Cats & Kittens {Nashville Cat Photographer}

Over the years, we've fostered dozens of puppies, dogs, kittens and cats -- and I believe it's one of the best ways we can help animals find forever homes! Fostering is such a needed service and it provides so much for the animals (and us!), including a warm and inviting home, food, and tons of love. 

That's why I wanted to highlight some information on fostering cats and kittens today on the blog, especially since it's kitten season here in Nashville! Read on for more information (and adorable kittens!)

Although it may seem like a big undertaking, fostering pets is really easy. Some people choose to integrate the kittens right into their entire home, but since we have three dogs and a grown cat, we choose to keep them separate from our animals. 

Here's how we do it!

My husband and I both work from home, so we set up a large dog crate in my office complete with a litter box, food, water and a small box for them to chill out in until they get used to being here (kittens love to hide).

Then, while I'm working during the day, we let them run around and play in my office. We don't like to leave them unsupervised because kittens are notorious for chewing cords so when I leave the office for the day they go back in the crate. They have just as much room in that big crate as they would in a cage at the shelter, and tons of extra play time. 

And we, in return, get adorable kitten snuggles and laughs from all their antics - what is better than that!?

When you foster through an animal shelter, you will normally only have them until they weigh enough to be adopted. If you foster with a group, you might have them until they are adopted by a family, so that time frame is sometimes much longer. This is certainly something to consider when deciding who to foster with.

As a foster pet parent, you are also responsible for transportation to the vet or shelter for their medical appointments. The group you foster with will normally provide everything else: food, litter and medications if they need them. And of course if you are willing to provide some or all of these supplies yourself, it's a huge help for the shelters! 

There are several groups in the Nashville area who need foster families for cats and kittens. If you aren't local to Nashville, just reach out to your local animal shelter and they can point you in the right direction!

Here are several shelters and organizations in the Nashville area you may be able to foster cats and kittens through:

Metro Animal Care & Control 

Williamson County Animal Center 
(this is who we currently foster with)

Nashville Cat Rescue 

Rural Animal Rescue Effort 

... and that's just scratching the service! :) 

All of the images in this post are of kittens we've fostered along the way. If you have questions about what it's like to foster these adorable kittens, comment below! I promise it's an amazing experience -- we're hooked!

And if you are looking to adopt a cat, you might be interested to read our previous post about the Mewsic Kitty Cafe in Nashville!

~ Mandy