"Four years ago I had a million reasons why I shouldn’t have a dog; career change, apartment living, travel, etc. I started volunteering at a local dog shelter, why I’m not sure, but I had always volunteered and thought it might suppress my longing to have a dog and spare me the responsibility.

This is where I met Ollie. At the time he was less than a year old (we think), grossly underweight, stressed out, a little mangy, and not in great shape. At the shelter they told me that he was having a hard time living mostly in the crate. So I decided to foster him until an appropriate owner could be found.

About a week or so went by, Ollie was certainly unsure and very nervous. It was a slow adjustment. He wasn’t used to human contact or affection of any kind. One afternoon after an especially rigorous shoot I pretty much passed out on the couch. The phone rang, I reached over and it was the shelter saying a family wanted to come by and take a look. I held the phone and I looked at Ollie sleeping comfortably on the cedar filled Orvis dog bed I spent too much on, paused and said “I don’t think so". With that this little dog who had little interest in me so far, got up walked across the room, licked my face then went back to bed.
I am a food photographer, and Ollie is great to have around the set. The clients love him and he is a great distraction when the day is getting too long and nobody is speaking to one another.

We still have no information as to his origin, his pedigree, or age. He did come with some impeccable manners. He never went in the house, chewed furniture, or got into any trouble. He was happy to be here and that is obvious.
All in all, I can’t say enough about shelter adoption. In a great many ways this dog rescued me."