ABANDONED: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs
By Katherine Carver
Striking, emotionally charged, fine art photographs chronicle the lives of approximately 60 once-abandoned dogs, illuminating each one’s journey from a shelter or rescue organization to a loving, permanent home are featured in a new book. ABANDONED: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs is a decade-long project inspired by Carver’s own adopted Shetland Sheepdog, Biscuit. He had been abandoned, which set Carver on a quest to examine the lives of other dogs who found themselves in similar situations.
Carver initially met and photographed each dog shortly after they entered a shelter or rescue organization, and then again approximately a year after being adopted. The juxtaposition of the “before and after” photographs illustrate the profound benefits of animal adoption for both dogs and humans alike. Carver hopes this work compels viewers to consider dog rescue and adoption.
Carver is donating a portion of her royalties, earned from the sale of this book, to the SPCA International, helping dogs in need around the globe.
This book has been endorsed by 31 people, including New York Times bestselling authors, photographers and artists, and leaders of major dog rescue and animal welfare organizations. You can purchase the book here.
“In Abandoned, Carver describes, with words and beautiful photographs, the plight of abandoned dogs and how a caring home can transform a frightened cowering being into a confident and happy companion who will give unconditional love. For me, a life without a dog is a life only half lived. A must read.”—Jane Goodall, Ph.D., DBE; Founder of The Jane Goodall Institute and United Nations Messenger of Peace
“Abandoned is a testament to the nobility of dogs, their willingness to forgive, and the great love they offer their humans. Carver has caught all this and more in her moving portraits of these long-suffering animals whose faces will remain in your mind long after you finish this book. The stories are heartbreaking as well as affirming—and a tribute to the hard-working and dedicated people who protect and care for our best friends.”—Sally Mann, photographer and New York Times bestselling author of Sally Mann: A Thousand Crossings and Hold Sill: A Memoir with Photographs
“This is a gorgeous, emotional tribute to the resilience of dogs and our special connection and responsibility to them. By telling the stories of these abandoned dogs and photographing them so exquisitely, Carver ennobles them and rescues them for all of us.”—Susan Orlean, New York Times bestselling author of On Animals and The Library Book
“The luminous photographs, and the stories behind them, will break your heart but also fill it with wonderment and joy. This extraordinary book reminds us that for every forsaken creature, for every cruelty and abandoned promise, a happy forever can await, if only we humans step up and say, ‘Come home with me, won’t you?’”—John Grogan, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog
Katherine Carver was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1978. She was introduced to photography during high school. In 2011, she found herself behind a camera lens creating photographs of her first dog, a rescue Shetland Sheepdog named Biscuit, who inspired Carver’s great passion, interest, curiosity, and the study of dogs in her work.
Abandoned: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs is Carver’s debut book, though her photographs have been published in international publications such as, L’Oeil de la Photographie, Four&Sons, and My Modern Met. Carver holds a Juris Doctor, with Honor, from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. She currently lives in the Washington, DC area with her husband, daughter, and rescue Shetland Sheepdog, Victory.
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