My Book: ABANDONED is Available for Pre-Order!

I can hardly believe I am typing this blog post after so many years of working on this project! My book, Abandoned: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs, is finally finished, and it is now available for pre-order, and it will be released on October 1, 2024, to kick off ‘Adopt-A-Dog Month!’ This project has been a labor of love, and I hope you will consider pre-ordering Abandoned now, as it is vital to the book’s success. My sincere hope is that Abandoned helps many dogs in need find permanent, loving homes, especially with our current dog overpopulation crisis in this country.

Abandoned is a result of a ten-year project following nearly sixty dogs from rescue to adoption, showcasing “before” and “after” photographs, which are accompanied by each dog’s personal story.  No other book has captured dogs in this manner.  It is a unique project that encompasses more than just photographs—as the dogs’ stories are integral, providing context and augmenting the photographs.  In addition to the dogs, I hope that people see that the human companions’ lives are changed in such positive, immeasurable ways. 

The idea for Abandoned, literally came to me on a summer day during 2012, roughly a year-and-a-half after we had adopted our first rescue dog named Biscuit, a Shetland Sheepdog, for whom this blog is named after.  He forever changed my life in so many ways—he opened my heart in a way like no other; and he brought me back to my love of photography. My curiosity and experience with Biscuit made me aware of the dog overpopulation crisis in our country, and this set me on a path to learn more about what happens to these abandoned dogs.  I began documenting the fate of roughly 60 dogs of various breeds, who found themselves in shelters or rescue organizations in the Mid-Atlantic region.  I first photographed each dog prior to adoption, and I then photographed these same dogs, again, roughly a year later.  Written narratives accompany the dogs’ photographs providing, to the extent possible, how, and why each dog was abandoned.  I also explore the significant positive impact these dogs have had on their human companions’ lives, and vice versa. It is my great hope that Abandoned will help raise awareness of this overpopulation crisis and encourage people to adopt a shelter or rescue dog.

It is an understatement that the publication of this body of work required contributions from a large number of people whom I owe such a great debt.

Here is a look inside Abandoned, shown below, and you can learn more about Abandoned and read editorial reviews, here.

I am donating a portion of my royalties, earned from the sales of this book, to the SPCA International, helping dogs in need around the globe. You can read more here and here.