MARCH 2006

Pet Portrait Fundraiser

By Tamara Sevigny

Studio 970 Photography and Our Companions Animal Sanctuary have a portrait charity fundraiser going on called Love Your Pet. Portions of all proceeds from regular portrait sessions done at Studio 970 in West Hartford with your pet or pets will be donated to Our Companions.

Studio owners Paulette Mertes and Lisa Asp are avid animal lovers and have held other fundraisers for rescue organizations in the past. Paulette and Lisa have both adopted animals from rescue organizations and feel strongly about the importance of helping homeless pets. They realize that many people are not aware of how many homeless pets there are out there. Paulette says that "we’re hoping for a successful fundraiser and part of that is getting the word out there."

Paulette and Lisa have been working together for several years and opened Studio 970 together 3 years ago. Together they have a combined 25 years experience in photography. They have been doing portrait work since the early 90’s and particularly enjoy photographing people’s pets. A regular portrait session, which the fundraiser is for, includes one hour of studio time plus a consultation. Customers can choose to have more then one pet or even themselves included in the session.

Last year their fundraisers supported WAG (We Adopt Greyhounds) and The Humane Society. They will continue to support these organizations in the future but this year they heard about Our Companions’ goal to end euthanization and wanted to help.

Our Companions is a nonprofit organization founded in May 2002. They hope to make Connecticut a state where healthy pets are no longer destroyed. In order to do this they are working on developing an animal sanctuary for injured and abused pets that require special care. Our Companions was lucky enough to have 43 acres generously donated for the cause, located in Ashford, Connecticut.

The sanctuary will be complete with a spay/neuter clinic, low cost training center, community center, therapy programs, dog park, hiking trails and reflection gardens. Our Companions says that "at the sanctuary every animal will be saved from destruction and receive special care."

The total cost of the project is 15 million dollars, to be completed in three phases, the first of which is to be completed this year. The phases are as follows:

1. Creating a Sanctuary that will care for domestic animals facing the prospect of euthanasia.

2. Offer low-cost pet behavioral services that are needed for the community.

3. Initiating service-based partnerships with other animal welfare organizations to create programs that address the root causes of pet homelessness.

The Love Your Pet fundraiser with Studio 970 has been ongoing through February and may be extended into March if there is enough interest. For more information call the studio at 860-521-9701 or visit www.studio970.com. The studio is located at 970 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford.

For more information about Our Companions or to donate directly call 860-242-9999 or visit www.ourcompanions.org.