Sophie Gamand didn’t know what was in store for her after she moved to New York last 2010. An award-winning photographer and a well-known animal advocate, Sophie took photos of shelter pit bulls to help them get adopted by sharing their stories.
The pictures were not just random photos of pit bulls, but Sophie and her team uniquely came up with an idea of putting flower crowns on these gentle pups.
Sophie realized that one main factor as to why pit bulls have a bad reputation is because of the scary and terrible photos of these dogs shown through media. She made sure to turn this around, which birthed her photo book called Pit Bull Flower Power.
A lot of these dogs have survived through a lot of difficult times, which made Sophie proud of what she was doing. The photo collection of these adorable pitties became an overnight sensation, and for sure, it changed a lot of twisted perspectives toward these pups.
The shelter where the pitties were kept had a lot of calls and messages from people wanting to adopt these dogs. By this time, the photos were already viewed by 9 million people online. That’s how many people were moved by these dogs, through Sophie’s art.
True to her advocacy, most of Sophie’s doggie models have found their loving homes. Thanks to these lovely photos, all the people see now are the friendly and sweet nature of these pups, symbolized by their flower crowns.
Sophie also got calls from other shelters wanting to have her do the same photoshoot with their dogs. “It was insane and overwhelming at the same time. I knew I was doing the right thing, and I am happy about it,” she said.
The video below shows the launch of Sophie’s photobook. Watch below and learn more about the story behind it!
Video credit: Youtube Sophie Gamand
Special thanks to our friends for sharing this heartwarming story.
