CHAPTER 92—Rescue Heroes
Abigail watched Dad as he set up the backdrop for a photoshoot. Dad was a photographer and loved to take pictures of his cute little fluff ball. “OK, Abigail, I’m ready whenever you are,” he said.
Abigail was a good model. But she had taught Dad that it takes patience to photograph rabbits if he wanted them to look natural. He placed a few treats on the “set” and settled back to wait for the diva to show up. About twenty minutes later, Abigail’s curiosity got the best of her and she wandered on to the set. Dad knew he had a few seconds to capture the moment. Abigail struck a pose. Click. Click. Click. “OK, look left,” said Dad. Abigail complied. Click. Click. Click. “Got it! Perfect!” said Dad, “You’re such a good model!” Abigail nibbled on the treats and then wandered off the set to look for “the next tasty morsel.”
Auntie Heather from The Rabbit Haven rabbit rescue noticed Dad’s cute rabbit picture posts. One day, she asked, “Could you go to the shelter and take some photos of the bunnies that need adoption for us?” Dad thought, “Why not?” It would give him a chance to help bunnies get rescued and he could photograph some other bunnies besides his own.
But Dad wasn’t just going to snap some photos of bunnies in their cages. Being a photographer, he had something better in mind. Dad likened an adoption photo to having a good photo on a dating site. You have to have a flattering picture that captures the real you to get noticed on a dating site. The same should apply to rabbits wanting to get adopted.
He took his backdrops and camera gear to the shelter and set up a photo booth. Then he took time to introduce himself to each rabbit and pet them so they’d relax. He let them sniff the camera so they wouldn’t fear it. And just like Abigail, their curiosity took over and they began striking natural poses. Then he’d go home and pore through all the photos to find the best ones and edit them.
Before long, Dad was photographing rabbits every weekend at the adoption shows and was a volunteer for The Rabbit Haven. Auntie Heather commented, “It does make a huge difference in adoptions to have amazing photos. Just think of it this way. Your photos create adoptions!”
Abigail thought, “Dad, thank you for using your talents to help other bunnies. I wonder if other people could do something like that.” Dad replied, “I’m sure they could. There are so many ways people could use their talents and be rescue heroes.” And then he laughed, “They just need to be drafted.”
Abigail trains Dad to take glamour photos for adoption bunnies.
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