Today's photo involved more drama than anticipated when I arrived at Roger Williams Park in Providence hoping to do a bit of street photography. While driving along the section of the park that borders Cranston, I spotted this young man playing fetch with a very energetic pit bull. I stopped and asked if he'd mind some photos while he played with his dog. He readily agreed to photos - he's a photographer as well, it turns out - but he said the dog wasn't his. While he was walking through the park with his wife, a black SUV pulled up, tossed this pit bull out, and drove away. The poor dog had just been abandoned by his owner. This gentleman kept the dog busy, playing fetch with a large stick for about an hour before Animal Control arrived.
The dog was clearly frightened, having just witnessed his owner drive off without him, and the pup was very wary of people. He would play fetch, but would not allow anyone to pet him, and his ears were typically pinned back in obvious fear. Animal Control, the woman in the top two photos, first attempted to casually slip a rope leash on him. The dog would have no part of that. She tried to entice him with biscuits as in the top right photo, but again, he was too wary. Even tossing a biscuit, he'd sniff it and walk away. There was little doubt that he'd seen this routine before. finally, a Cranston police officer that had also responded to the call walked over to his car and opened the back door. The pup spotted the open door and immediately hopped into the car. The Animal Control officer was then able to slip the pole loop around his neck and lead him to the van. Getting him into the van was a bit of a challenge, but secured by the pole loop, there wasn't that much he could do about it.
We asked about the dog's fate from there, and that, at least, sounded positive. Animal Control is required to hold the dog for observation for 5 business days. After that, since this pup was clearly not vicious, only frightened, he would be put up for adoption. Given his youth and playfulness, she had little doubt that he would quickly find a new home. As to the scum that abandoned him, it's my fervent hope that he eventually finds a home involving an orange jump suit, bars, and communal showers.
Post processing was consistent for all three images. I started in with a classic filter in Topaz B&W FX. I then adjusted color sensitivity sliders, adaptive exposure, boost black, boost white, and contrast. A slight levels adjustment and a sepia photo filter were added in PSE. The collage was manually created in PSE.
Here's the high res version in Smugmug:
http://kannafoot.smugmug.com/Photo-Challenges/PAD2013/i-HhphWSX/0/XL/2013%2003%2016_0074%20C%20copy-XL.jpg
