Literary Animal Stories

Along with the photographs in my books, I include short stories about how the photos came to be, the unexpected things that happened while making them, or simply something interesting about the animal itself. After all, animals have a way of turning an ordinary photo shoot into an adventure. They are curious, unpredictable, funny, and sometimes downright surprising—and when you’re working with animals, you never quite know what is going to happen next.

Here are a few of the stories included in my books:

No More Tears

I walk in a park near my house frequently and one day I saw a couple I know with their two dogs. Both gorgeous dogs, one is a Yellow Labrador. As soon as I saw the Yellow Lab I thought of Old Yeller. I hesitantly asked them if maybe I could photograph their dog one day with a book and they are nice people so they said okay without looking at me like I was crazy.

We set a day and time and I brought my camera, a copy of the book Old Yeller and a box of Kleenex. The Kleenex was imperative because everyone cries when they read Old Yeller. I found myself hurriedly following the Lab around the park. He would lay down for a few seconds, I would get the book and box of Kleenex in place and he would jump up and run off to the next squirrel or whatever he saw. It was the craziest scene…me and dog’s dad rushing around after the dog with book and Kleenex box, setting the props down and then picking them up again repeatedly.

I coaxed the dog to read it by pleading and I thought I might cry but in the end no tissues were needed. A happy ending for this photo.

The Masked Reader

My desk faces the backyard, so I often glance out the window while I work. One afternoon, I spied a raccoon meandering through the yard. It was still daylight, which made the sight unusual. I figured she was either pregnant or had recently given birth, since mother raccoons will sometimes venture out during the day in search of food.

The next day I thought, What if I could get a photo of her reading a book? So I placed a book in the yard where I could photograph it through my window. I had my camera ready, then went back to work at my desk while keeping one eye on the yard.

Later that afternoon, she appeared again, but she stayed in the far back corner, rooting around in the grass. I held my breath and waited... and waited... hoping she would wander toward the book.

After about fifteen minutes, I looked up at the ceiling and said, "Mom, help me out!" (My mom had passed away about nine years earlier.)

The moment I said those words, the raccoon walked over to the book... and started reading.

Cat Who Loved a Martini

My mom lived on the eleventh floor of a senior apartment building that allowed small pets. Her neighbor, Ione, lived across the hall with a cute cat. I asked Ione if I could photograph her cat. I had the idea that The Cat Who Lived High book would be funny.

The Cat Who Lived High is part of a huge series by Lillian Jackson Braun and all the titles in the series begin with “The Cat Who...” 

I found an old Martini glass and brought it over to Ione’s apartment. I thought it would be best to fill it with water just to make it look like a real drink. I also brought olives and stuck a toothpick through three of them for full effect. I filled the glass with water, plopped the olives in and set the glass on the floor next to the book. Ione’s cat came walking over, very curious about this set up. Then suddenly the cat started drinking the water in the glass! I was so shocked because I never thought the cat would want water flavored with olives! But even in my shock and surprise I pressed the shutter and got a great photo. Her tongue is even magnified by the water.

That cat and I were living high!

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