We love Rescue Warrior Women here at Deaf Dogs Rock and that is why it gives me great pleasure to share Kala with all of our DDR readers and family. Kala Howard is one the many HeARTs speak – Artist, Helping Animals photographers across the country who volunteer their time to take wonderful photos of shelter animals in hopes of helping them find forever homes by showcasing each animal’s inner beauty through beautiful photographs HeARTs speak’s mission is to create a united voice by building a community of artists and photographers to encourage a global collaboration to create a significant impact on the welfare of shelter animals.
We love that she always highlights these beautiful deaf dogs with a beautiful little girl named Avery. What Kala doesn’t realize is she is debunking the myth that deaf dogs are more aggressive by featuring these beautiful moments between Avery and Penelope (and Avery with Hoyt).
Avery and Peneope
I personally know many of our local Hearts Speak photographers here in Roanoke, VA and each one of them has a special gift of catching the animals true inner spirit. It is Rescue Warriors like Kala Howard who save lives by giving of their time and talent to help shelter animals but especially highlight deaf dogs in need of new homes.
I asked Kala to tell us more about herself and how she got started taking pictures of shelter animals. Below is what she shared with us here at Deaf Dogs Rock. Maybe some of you photographers in our DDR community will read about Kala’s service to her local shelters and consider donating some of your spare time to help shelter animals in need of additional exposure. To learn more about how you can join HeARTs speak click here.
Thanks Kala for taking great photos of deaf dogs like sweet Penelope and Hoyt. Thanks to Avery’s mom for letting us share Avery, Penelope and Hoyt with the world of deaf dog families (you rock)!
According to my deaf dogs Nitro, Bud and myself, Kala Howard totally ROCKS! ~ Christina Lee – Deaf Dogs Rock
Photo above: Kala with her foster dog Kashi (who got adopted!) getting ready to take some puppy photos.
Dogtrography – By Kala Howard www.dogtographybykalahoward.com
My husband and I started fostering dogs back in 2009. We loved everything about fostering and helping dogs find their new homes. I would always photograph them, (with my old point ‘n shoot camera), and share their pics to help them get adopted, and so I’d also have pictures of all our fosters. My husband decided it was time to upgrade my camera and bought me my first DSLR. Learning the SLR was trial and error, (error a LOT of the time…lol), but soon I had the hang of it, (for the most part), and practicing with fosters and my own dogs helped. I would post their pictures to social media and not long after their pictures were up, they would get adopted. In fact, they were leaving our house so quickly that sometimes my husband would ask me to wait a day to post their pictures so that he could have one more day with them. Most of our fosters were getting adopted within a few days to a month. We’ve only had two dogs longer than a month; our current foster, a deaf Pit Bull named Hoyt, and a really shy mastiff that we had for 3 months. Pretty soon I had other foster homes asking me to photograph their dogs too.
Avery and Hoyt
I’ve always loved taking pictures of dogs but had never thought of doing it as a career….especially in Nebraska. People just didn’t view “pet photography” as a serious career. I always figured most people wouldn’t spend money like that on their pets, with the exception of dog-crazy people like me! haha….One day, while online, I saw a post with a HeARTs Speak logo on it. I was curious about the organization and looked into it. I thought, well, even if I don’t make a career out of pet photography, it’d be nice to join this non-profit organization and donate my time to photographing more rescue/shelter animals.
I never expected to be accepted into HeARTs Speak the first year I applied, but was over joyed when I was! I absolutely love this organization and everything it stands for. I’ve met so many other photographers, artists and graphic designers with my same passion and goals. At this point in my photography, I was trying to get my pet photography business started too. HeARTs Speak has not only helped me with practicing, but also gave me the confidence to actually branch out and just go for my dreams. (
www.heartsspeak.org)
Avery and Hoyt
I am so grateful to have such a supportive husband who stands behind me and encourages me to not give up. It is now 2015, and in the last six years we have successfully fostered and found homes for over 40 dogs! I’m always looking forward to meeting my next client, whether it’s a paid session or a donated rescue session, doesn’t matter! I love them all! I count my blessings everyday to be able to do something I love. To view more of my work, you can visit my website at
www.dogtographybykalahoward.com .
Kala Howard
PS-Thank you for featuring our silly, goofy foster boy Hoyt! He is my first experience with a deaf dog, and has taught us so much.
