TAMPA, Fla. — During the pandemic, people and their pets have become closer than ever before. Many owners credit their furry friends for helping them get through the toughest of times. In fact, there is a pet photography studio in Tampa that’s offering these owners a unique way to say thank you and raise money for a great cause.
On Tuesday, Olive and her owner Dustin Miller were having their photo shoot. They are one of 70 fur families who will appear in a new book.
“She’s super spunky and energetic so there is never a dull moment with her and I think I laughed multiple times a day just watching her be herself,” said Miller.
Miller doesn’t even want to think about living through the pandemic without his two-year-old French Bulldog and best friend.
“It was a lot of working from home and not going anywhere so I think I would have been a lot more lonely if I didn’t have Olive in my life,” said Miller.
Adam and Mary Goldberg, the husband and wife team of AGoldPhoto Pet Photography, have heard countless stories just like this, so last year they created the coffee table book, Tails of Gratitude.
“Taking that time to celebrate their pet and being able to see it in print and be able to share it with friends and family,” said Mary.
The book not only consists of professional photos, but a thank you note from the owner to their pet.
“It just seemed really fitting because our pets do so much for us, they’re our therapists, our heating pads, our co-workers our running buddies,” said Adam.
The best part, all money raised from the book will be donated to the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, a place where Adam actually began his pet photography career.
“We wanted to create a big way to raise a lot of money for the shelter because they had to cancel so many fundraising opportunities especially due to the pandemic,” said Adam.
Last year they raised more than $8,000 but this year the goal is $10,000.
“It would go directly to helping us perform what we need to in order to save lives, every animal that comes to us needs medical care, needs food, needs shelter,” said Elizabeth McCoy, Special Events Manager for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.
AGoldPhoto will be accepting applications to be in the book from now until June. For more information, go to agoldphoto.com/book.
Dustin has already begun working on his thank-you note.
“I think I’m going to tell Olive how much I love her and how thankful I am that she came into my life,” said Miller.
