Animal Attraction
I grew up with pets... lots of them. I had a yellow lab named Wilbur who taunted our tabby cat Annabelle – a worthy adversary. Then my brother came home with an iguana that he bought on the Boardwalk at Virginia Beach, which grew to be about three feet long. Reggie (the big bad green machine) would ALWAYS scare the bejeezus out of visitors.
Oh, and we also had two Chesapeake Bay Retrievers named Boulder and Bear, and a white-pawed hunting cat named Lemieux. Finally my dad said, “If you bring home any more pets, I'm flushing them down the toilet.” True story. The animal lover in me will NEVER fade, so I traveled from the Outerlands to Potrero to Hayes Valley to capture people with their pets.
Every person I photographed had notable tales to tell, and their eyes lit up with every click of the camera. These still moments were fleeting though; the sugar gliders jumped brazenly across the room, the mouse wriggled incessantly, and the cats ran amuck. You know, typical animal behavior. Still, the love for their pets was inimitable and unabashed. SF is for pet lovers.
Inspired to get a pet? San Francisco has many options for pet adoption and rescue. The SPCA, Pets Unlimited, and Rocket Dog Rescue are a good places to start your search. With so many animals in need of good homes, you are bound to find the perfect companion.
