Photographer April Turner has spent the last couple years helping the homeless animals of Springfield and the surrounding area.
She created the Model Pet Project to help the animals find their forever homes.
With her studio in Marshfield, Missouri, Turner travels to the Humane Society of Southwest Missouri once a month to help bring the shelter’s many animals into the spotlight.
To learn more about The Model Pet Project or to see the animals that need a forever home please visit its Facebook page. Volunteers are always needed. If you would like to help, please contact April Turner at (417) 844-6620 or april@uturnstudios.com.
Q: How did The Model Pet Project get started? Did someone approach you, or was it a thought that just occurred to you one day?
A: I had actually done photos at the Humane Society before but wanted to get back into volunteering with them. I was in a meeting with another volunteer named Robin Bulster [who works for MO Marketing], and she was just as excited as I was about photographing the animals. But she didn’t know anyone who could do the photography.
Q: So are these projects just about photographing the animals?
A: The sessions are more involved than just the photos. We have a group of volunteers who walk the animals beforehand and give them some much-needed one-on-one time, especially with the ones that have a little spark just to get them comfortable. There’s also some grooming that gets done; we don’t do full haircuts or anything, but we clean them up and get them looking their best before we start taking the photos. Volunteers [including certified professional dog trainer Misti Fry from Springfield Sidekick Dog Training] do some training with the animals before and during the photo shoots, too.
Q: Was it easy to get back into the work?
A: Yeah, because I had so much help. Before, it was difficult because I had to do all the walking, grooming, interaction, and photography. When I was doing it myself, I was only able to get between 10 and 15 animals photographed, but now with so many volunteers, we get to about 50 animals each session or even more especially during kitten season. Also when volunteers come, they tell me they didn’t know how bad they needed the animal therapy, so we kind of help ourselves as much as we help the animals.
Q: What really got you started back into volunteering with these animals?
A: I was fostering [shelter animals] before, and that’s how I realized the pictures were needed. I had just started to set up my studio and was taking pictures of these cute and playful puppies, and we started including the photos in the adoption packets and people were so excited to see the professional photos. The reaction to the photos even led to opening U Turn Studios because people were asking about more professional photos once they adopted their pets. Which came full circle because then I wanted to give back even more.
Q: Tell me about your favorite story in regards to The Model Pet Project.
A: There was a lady who contacted us and thanked me for the photo of the doxen she had just adopted. She told me how her pet had recently passed away, but then she saw the photo of this timid little dog with expressive eyes and had to have her. The lady then came back during one of my “photos with Santa” sessions with the new dog, and it’s huge for me to be able to see them [the animals] in their new homes being pampered and loved.
