Sweet rescue

On this page I would like to share the animals I’ve photographed for rescue organisations and organisations that help animals in their home environment. So far I’ve worked for Mirtos Animal Project and Stichting Dierenopvang Bosnie. If you know an organisation that needs help in any photography way please let me know.

12 november 2015 Evy & Pip van Poor Animals in Prinsenbeek

Evy & Pip zijn rescue honden die Laurette & Joost hebben geadopteerd via Stichting Poor Animal in Prinsenbeek. Evy heeft pas een half jaar haar forever home gevonden, Pip iets korter. Je kunt heel goed aan de twee meisjes zien dat ze helemaal op hun plek zijn bij Laurette & Joost. En ze zijn ook nog eens helemaal dol op elkaar. Wat wil je nog meer.

28 september 2015 Riko of Mirtos

Yesterday I met 1.5-year-old sweet Riko, a Stafford and Pitbull mix. His golden eyes…. were to fall in love with. He never learned how to play, so my squeaky ducky wasn’t very helpful in getting his attention. What I loved about Riko is that he’s such a soft dog. And very sweet and gentle with cats too. Hope he find his forever-home soon.

9 maart 2015 Lotte of Mirtos

Lotte lives at a foster home, with two friends of the family, waiting for her own home. Mirtos told me she would probably look really nice in a photograph. Her foster family wasn’t able to photograph her in a good way. With great expectations I went to meet Lotte.

Lotte was a bit shy at first. She didn’t like the big black camera at all. That’s what made her jumpy and move fast. With a little help from the enthusiastic Raphael she joined the fun. She’s full of energy and a real sweetheart. It was a joy to meet her and work with her. Lotte is free for adoption.

13 February 2015 Olive of Mirtos

Sweet Olive. Mirtos asked me to photograph Olive because it was hard to photograph her since she’s a black dog. She is also a dog that has been waiting for a new home for a while now. I love to photograph black dogs with shiny coats, so I looked forward to meeting her.

Olive surprised me. Not the black coat was something that made a great photo difficult, but her shyness was. It took some effort to win her over. Sweets and my squeaking ducky didn’t help. Her foster friends did however. When she saw the eagerness her three friends posed for me she joined in on the fun. Here is sweet Olive. Olive is available for adoption and she’s adorable!

26 January 2015 Mesho of Mirtos

Two weeks ago Mirtos Animal Project asked me if I had time to photograph a cat who has been waiting for a new home for some time now. The cat lived in a small village in Zeeland, a long way from Rotterdam. Surprisingly this small village wasn’t far away from the place I have lived since Autumn last year. So, yes of course I loved to do a photoshoot.

Last week I took some time to photograph Mesho, a soft red tomcat who loved to pose for me. And who also talked to me during the entire shoot. Playing wasn’t his thing, Naomi told me, he would rather play outside. Keeping me busy with a mouse on a thread was what he loved however.

Until Mesho has found his own home he stays with Naomi. If you are looking for a sweet, talkative and affectionate friend I can assure you Mesho is the one you’re looking for

Find more about him here.

16 july 2013 Tai of Mirtos

As easy it was to shoot Thelma & Louise as hard it was to shoot Tai. Tai has lived in Egypt for four years, together with 75 dogs in a concrete kennel with not enough food in the bowls. You can imagine what his life must have looked like. This has deformed him into a withdrawn and scared dog. After having lived with his foster family for five months he still feels it hard to feel safe. His three friends were jumping up and down to get my attention.

Not Tai. It took some effort to capture his sweet face. Patience, sweet words and half a sausage helped. After the shoot Tai let me tickle his soft cheeks. So I think that when Tai finds his new home he’ll warm up and feel safe again.

15 july 2013 Thelma & Louise of Mirtos

These two girls are as impressive as the ‘real’ Thelma & Louise from the film. Two sisters but so different in character. Thelma, the grey one, is playful, cheerful and loves to cuddle. Louise is much more cautious and soft. When you think about the hard life these girls lived in Greece it is a miracle they are still so loving. That is why I love animals so much: they are so kind hearted. Not much is needed to make these creatures happy. I know animals see the real you. I don’t have another explanation for the way they are able to adapt and start over afresh. These two cuties are awaiting a new home.

20 March 2013 Gilly of Mirtos

This is Gilly. A little lady rescued from Greece. She is waiting some months for adoption now. Asking myself why, because she’s such a sweetheart. A bit shy at first. Even holding back when I presented her my squeaking rubber ducky. With some effort, patience of course, and the help of a few cookies Gilly showed me her real selfie. Again, I’m more of a cat person, but if I wouldn’t have my beloved cats at home I would definitely go for this loving animal!

22 January 2013 Kanellos of Mirtos

Yesterday I had a wonderful time with cute boy Kanellos and his friends Benji, Nino and Tygo. The Mirtos Animal Project rescued Kanellos from Greece. Now he’s waiting at his foster parents home for a sweet family to adopt him. What a soft ‘cinnamon’ he was! With Kanellos I had a sweet connection. Maybe because he hadn’t found a home of his own yet or maybe because rescue dogs might be much more sensitive to love and attention. If I hadn’t had cats at home I would have taken him home with me. Hope my photos from the shoot will melt someone’s’ heart. As he melt mine.

21 August 2012 Sel of Mirtos

Embraced. A few weeks ago I photographed this sweet pup for Mirtos, a dog rescue organization. Although I love all animals I’m a cat person. This dog stole my heart though. I thought about my neighbours. They lost their chocolate labrador two years ago. They still miss him, but are open for a dog that will cross their path. I showed them the photos of the shoot. Bam, it was love at first sight. And a miracle happened at the first introduction, a wonderful click. Meant to be. This lovely dog has found a new loving home. He’s embraced with love.

15 August 2012 Lyn of Mirtos

And here is the result of the ‘bunch of fur’ photo shoot of today. Five of seven animals in the house are rescued animals. Most of them have got a ‘history’. So it was quite a challenge to capture their characters. The dog that was my model of the day, Lyn, is the one on the grass. She was found on Crete with burns on her body. It has taken her foster mom a year to slowly socialize her. At the end of the shoot Lyn warmed up a little. I’m grateful for that because she is a sweetheart that deserves a loving home.

13 August 2012 Nina of Mirtos

Meet Nina! This cutie was my second model in Almere. Nina too is a rescued dog from Crete. In the eight months that she is staying with Barbara she has got more confidence in people. Still she is a very shy girl. With lots of treats of sweet talk she warmed up a little.

All the dogs and cats I have photographed for Mirtos so far can be adopted.

13 August 2012 Henny & Roos of Mirtos

Yesterday I had a long day of shooting in Almere. It was a rewarding day. These two beauties are Henny & Roos, rescued from Crete. They love to play together. Roos, the beauty with the black dot on her nose, was very shy. Her safe zone was underneath the dining room table. I love it how you can see the difference in character in the eyes.

26 July 2012 Lexi of Mirtos

This sweet girl is Lexi of Mirtos. She is my second rescued model from Crete, Greece. Lexi is the opposite of Maisey of Mirtos, spontaneous, full of confidence and playful. She loved the camera and me. Lexi is a mix of Labrador and Greyhound. She is already adopted but she’s such a busy bee that she needs a home with more space. She needs a place where she can roam free, run as fast as she can, but within a closed yard. Unfortunately her adoption family can’t give her the freedom she needs. I feel it is very brave and big hearted of them to find her a new home and say goodbye.

19 July 2012 Maisey of Mirtos

This is Maisey. She is a rescued dog from Crete, Greece. The photo shoot was a real challenge because Maisey was so afraid of the camera, the sounds and the flash. She hid her nose in her foster mothers’ sleeve. I just had a cup of coffee and waited patiently. Then Maisey relaxed. So thankful for that because I didn’t want to miss photographing those gorgeous brown eyes!

Maisey was adopted by her foster family. Sadly she died short after in September 2014.

14 – 21 April 2012 Bihac

In the Spring of 2012 I went on a trip to Bihac, Bosnia with the Animal Foundation Bosnia to shoot a photo documentary of a campaign to spay/neuter 500 stray animals.

In our team were 22 passionate animal lovers. That passion was well needed because it happened to be an impressive campaign, impressive because of the large number of stray dogs that were planned to be spayed/neutered.

Up front I couldn’t have imagined what the trip would be like, except that it would be hectic. My thoughts were that we had to go out and search for stray animals. The opposite was true. Wherever you look there is always a stray dog in sight in Bosnia. As soon as you have seen one dog the dogs won’t let you go.

The campaign was also very emotional. Everybody worked so hard, as a close team. Almost all stray dogs are adorable. It is very emotional to know that these sweet babies go back to the streets again after recovery of the surgery. But that is how it is.

My quote of the week:

“Besides getting to know beautiful people and having met gorgeous dogs I have also got to know myself all over again. It was a unique and priceless experience.”

Oh! Yes! Important to mention. We didn’t make the 500 dogs, but got to 345. That is awesome!

Like to see the photo documentary? Visit Bihac 2012

I’ve also created a series of six postcards, which are for sale at Stichting Dierenopvang Bosnia. All earnings from the sale of the postcards go to Animal Foundation Bosnia.