Rita Earl Blackwell is a compassionate woman whose ingenious idea is making a profound impact on the lives of senior shelter dogs.
Rita, a talented photographer, has harnessed the power of her lens to create captivating photos and videos of elderly dogs in shelters, and in doing so, she has become their voice and savior.
Through her incredible work, many deserving dogs have found the hope and the opportunity for a second lease on life.
This is the story of a life-saving photographer.
How It All Started
They say a picture speaks a thousand words… well, in this case, a picture saves lives.
Rita, a renowned photographer, uses her talent to save the lives of countless rescue animals and she does it all pro-bono.
“I visit several different shelters every week and I video and photograph dogs and I hope they are able to be seen and saved,” Rita told GeoBeats Animals.
She is originally from Staten Island, New York, but she has been living in California for over 25 years now.
Her passion for photography goes back as long as she can remember, but it wasn’t until she adopted her first rescue dog that she fell in love with rescue animals and became their avid advocate.
As she was leaving the animal shelter with her new dog, she couldn’t stop thinking about the many other dogs that were left behind.
She couldn’t donate financially, but she had a camera, so she thought, “what if I could go back and help these dogs with beautiful photos, and just have people see them in a different light?”
And, that is how everything started almost ten years ago.
Rita now works continuously with over ten rescue shelters and organizations in Los Angeles, California, along with visiting local city and county shelters.
Saving Life Through Photography
“Initially, I was afraid to go to the shelter. I was worried that my heart would be shattered daily, and I realized that it’s their hearts that break every day. These animals are waiting for somebody to just take them out for a walk or just give them a bit of love or a treat or make them feel better about missing their family or being alone at the shelter,” Rita said.
Through her photography, Rita is trying to showcase as many adoptable pets as possible and make sure that they get a chance at finding their forever home.
The biggest problem that she and the shelters deal with on a daily basis is overcrowding. The more animals that come into the shelter, the more that have to go out.
And, if not, then they have to start making choices.
Sadly, a lot of dogs still get euthanized due to lack of space, and Rita is trying everything in her power to capture the real soul of the animal, which will hopefully give it a greater chance of being adopted.
She hangs out with dogs in their kennels, talks with them, gives them some love, and tries to help them relax and capture the best in them.
A couple of years after she had adopted her first rescue dog, she couldn’t help but bring home a pair of two large, senior female dogs.
When nobody came for them after the photos, she came back to the shelter and took them home.
Hundreds of shelter dogs have found their home, all thanks to her and her amazing work.
Giving Back
Camp Cocker Rescue said, “She has single-handedly facilitated the rescue of many many dogs just by highlighting their stories, personalities, their traits, their gorgeous faces all within one single photograph. She pays attention to the dogs that get overlooked by the public like seniors and those that are stuck in medical.”
It breaks your heart to see all those shelter dogs, but their hearts are already broken. A small act of kindness can help mend their hearts and Rita is true proof of that.
“She magically captures each dogs personality in every photograph. Recently, one of our dogs was adopted because someone saw a photo she took of him. Her pictures capture the dogs’ spirit and tell a story,” Little Diva Rescue said.
To see more of her amazing work, visit her website: Rita Earl Photography, and her Instagram page.
