There’s a group of dog models in Shetland, Scotland that are stopping traffic with their adorable photo shoots. Kaylee Garrick’s photography has gained popularity not only for the creativity behind her work, but how impressive her obedient pup models are!
Kaylee is a 29-year-old paramedic student that has a passion for photography outside of her daily work in medicine. What began as her creative outlet that she would share on her social media channels, turned into a beautiful way to raise thousands of dollars for animal charities in her area.
Kaylee has been taking pictures of dogs since she was a small child. She remembers having to develop each of her photos, and how handsome her childhood dog, Flint, looked against the Shetland background. Flint was her heart and soul, so she was absolutely crushed when she lost him in 2007 to bone cancer.
The loss of Flint was enough to make Kaylee retire her camera, as she just couldn’t see a reason to take photos if Flint was no longer the subject. Her passion for photography began to fade as the years went on, until she found a pup that lit her photography spark once again.
Kaylee had a friend that encouraged her to look at a litter of Shetland Sheepdog puppies that were available in her area. After a bit of convincing, she finally set off to see if she was ready to welcome another furry friend into her life. It was then that she locked eyes with an adorable puppy named Fenton, and knew she was finally ready to make some room in her heart for another companion.
Once Fenton made his way into her life, it’s as if her photography talents never left her side.
“It took off again. The camera just seemed to follow my hand. For the next few years we just kept adding more dogs and photos. With social media, using Facebook and Instagram, it became even more of a thing. The world went nuts for Shetland sheepdogs on Shetland.” – Kaylee
She now has seven regular models – Shetland sheepdogs Fenton, Thiago, Thorin, Gimli, Murphy and Jara, and an Alaskan Klee Kai called Ghost.
Her photos were originally used to promote the city of Shetland, and tourists would even visit the area in Scotland just to see the famous dog models! It wasn’t long before Kaylee realized that she had the perfect platform to make a big change.
It was then that she began to create her charity calendars that would showcase the stunning photos that her talented dog models starred in. By selling these calendars she was able to raise thousands of dollars for The Ambulance Staff Charity and the Bravehound organization, which provide training and dogs to help support veterans in need.
Kaylee, who now works as an ambulance technician, also uses these photos to help calm down her patients when they find themselves in the back of an ambulance.
“I take my phone out and show them my dogs and they forget they are in an ambulance. Their blood pressure goes down and they start smiling.” – Kaylee
It’s clear that these impressive pups are not only stunning, but have the ability to help others in a number of ways. We can’t wait to watch these furry models work it for years to come!
H/T: bbc.com
Image Source: KayleeGarrick/Facebook
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