While it is easy to do a google search for “puppy mill’ and read and see all the horrors that dogs are put though just for commercial gains, nothing hits harder then when you actually see it for yourself.

I will be dedicating a separate blog post on my experiences there but for now I will share one image that I think summarizes it quite well.

Meet Opera, just one of the 75 dogs who lived though the hell of a puppy mill. In her eyes, you can see sadness and pain of the years she endured in there and at the same time a glimmer of hopeful optimism. Hope that she will not have to endure being a living breeding machine. Hope that maybe someday she can finally live her life as a dog should.

Heres a pic form an upcoming blog post to get things rolling again.

I was approached by HRSS to help in their 2009 calendar. At this point in time I had jsut finished with the Noah’s Ark one and had no experience taking any pictures of rabbits and was a little afraid of taking up the assignment. In the end I decided it would be a great way to try something new and help out a good cause

In short I’m happy to present to you the HRSS 2009 Calendar portraits!

This post is image intensive.  Click to Show

Nozie the cover boy!

WangWang

Willie and Gracie (January)

Bubbles (February)

Bumber (March)

ZhaiZhai(April)

Hope(May)

Felicia (June)

Cutie(July)

Dalene and Daliah (August)

Teri (September)

Leap (October)

Maple + Kits (November)

Duke and Dutchess (December)

Phew thats all! Do remember to check out HRSS and thanks for viewing. Hope you enjoyed them as much as I have learning to photograph rabbits hehe..

Click for larger view.

88 – named as such because that was the amount they paid for him to be rescued. He was a pedigree that no one wanted and grew up in a cage so tiny that he learned to sleep standing up as he could not lie down. He now lives in a loving home with 2 other dogs whom he bosses around!

Waffles – She was found hiding under a lorry and had a bad limp. She was brought into the vet by a caregiver who was in the area to do another dog rescue. She has to have a pin inserted to help support her bones but she recovered nicely and is now bounding along with 88 Picture was taken when the pin was removed only a few days prior

Bear aka Eby – He was found in a factory where he was tied to a tree 24h a day. They rescued him when he was 2 months old and in a very bad shape. Despite the rough start he took to toilet training very fast and quickly learned to be spoilt

Bella – given up at age 3 due to her incessant barking form separation anxiety, she spent 2 years in the shelter before finding a permanent home. She is now a grand old 13 but still able to keep up with the many other dogs she lives with.

Lucky – Rescued form a cage exposed to the elements, he was skin and bones and suffered form a bad case of mange when rescued. He also had a parvo infection but his adopters visited him daily at the hospital. Right now he is enjoying his life as a very bouncy fox terrier!

TIlly – Initially kept for commercial breeding in less than ideal conditions she was one of the few rescued by the authorities from the illegal  breeding farm. Noah’s Ark then helped find her a new home. Having a missing eye didn’t seem to deter her adoption chances though as she now lives happliy with a 9 year old as her best friend

Lighting – This boy was found tied to a pillar at the foot of some apartment blocks. Luckily some kind students noticed him and brought him food and water and called up Noah’s Ark for help. He now lives in a sprawling 2 story house with a nice big yard and a pool! Thats a real premium in Singapore where 80% of us live in apartments.

Lady and Prince – Found with a SEVERE maggot wound on her ear she was brought to the vet where it was feared that her ear would have to be removed. Form lots of love and care she made an incredible recovery to the girl she is now. The pictures are form when she had fully recovered and with her pup again. She is now the poster girl for their industrial dog projects. Andreana is a little girl with a big heart who donated all of her $8.20 savings after hearing about Lady’s plight. She really loves prince and has the privilege of being the only human on the calendar!

If you want to see more you can check out the previous post on the pictures taken during my visit to the shelter or my flickr sets on Noah’s Ark. If you would like to learn more about Noah’s Ark CARES and what they do you can view thier blog

I’m pretty glad with the outcome this year and its also the first year that the photos are all my own. I’ve been unable to post any of the pics (taken since may!) cause they wanted to keep it a secret. Well now that its finally out I’ll start posting some pictures from the 200+ odd library I accumulated for them. Without futher ado here are some quck snaps of the calendar itself.

Front cover

Inside

Cut-out gift tags

Thanks again for reading!. Please do check out thier blog to see how you can buy one.

If you are not in Singapore and would still like to buy one I can accept paypal. Drop me an email I’ll work something out. Do note that I WILL NOT be making any money from this as all will go to Noah’s Ark CARES. It costs SGD$10 per calendar exclusive of shipping.

1. Their September 13th tour is a SOLD OUT (thanks for all your support!)

2. The 2009 Calendars are out now too. Go order them quick!

Will be updating with more pictures of the calendar when I get my copy in. I’ll be posting those images that didn’t make it in as well

On a quick note if you really love dogs/cats and live in singapore then dont mis out on the Noah’s Ark trip happening on the 13th of September! More details at their blog post.

In the mean time, visit the Flickr gallery or e-mail Nicholas.