I Photographed Pedigree Rescue Dogs To Show That It’s Not Just Mutts Who End Up At Shelters (26 Pics)

I'm a passionate proponent of shelter dog adoption. I have several mixed-breed rescue dogs and I honestly don't have a particular dog breed preference. I am, however, aware that some people do, so for this project, I shifted my focus to the realm of purebred dog adoption and what I uncovered in the process was alarming, to say the least.

Whilst mixed-breed dogs often find themselves unwanted and surrendered to shelters thanks to unchecked breeding, they have no intrinsic saleable value, which puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to adoptees wanting a dog of a specific breed and at a clear advantage because, unlike their pedigree counterparts, they can't be traded like commodities.

During the process of creating this series of work, Dogs Unleashed, I discovered that the previously unwanted pedigree dogs I photographed found themselves in need of rehoming for three main reasons: a lack of understanding of breed-specific requirements, no longer being of financial use to a breeder, and puppy mill breeders closing or offloading their pups.

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