April 7, 2008

CHICAGO -- A Windy City photographer is doing her part to get local animals out of shelters and into forever homes -- one snapshot at a time.

Simon is on Sheri Berliner’s list of homeless pets to help; all he needs is a chance to touch someone’s heart at just the right moment.

“He's a puppy with a very loving disposition,” said Patty Cerny of Chicago Animal Care and Control. “You can tell he wants to play, he's smart and he's trying to learn ‘sit,’ so he'd catch on fast if he had someone to work with him, but he is all hugs and kisses.”

Simon is currently between homes, but Berliner is working to change that.

“The animals keep pouring in, so this is where my heart is,” said the photographer. “I really want to find these guys homes.”

A photographer by trade, Berliner uses her penchant for pictures to do some good for wayward animals. Her work is all volunteered, and to do it, she takes the necessary photos of animals in shelters and then posts them online.

“People are searching the Web for specific breeds of animals and they see that they're here and they're $65 which is really inexpensive for a neutered or spayed (animal) or, you know, (one that's) fully vaccinated,” she said. “They come with their city license, they're heart worm tested; it's the whole package.”

Adoption prices vary from shelter to shelter, but even at the higher end, a rescued animal costs much less than those sold by breeders and even pet stores.

In addition to the images, Berliner writes a short biography for each animal. And when a point and a click are all you need to check out the options, the process couldn’t be much easier.

She calls them ‘Petraits’ -- like portraits, but with fuzzy friends as the subject.

And after 13 years in the business, Berliner has the process down cold. She’s developed strategies that have helped many animals find new homes.

“I'm not much of a mathematician so I don't know statistics-wise, but I know when I photograph the animals, put them up on the site, they go quickly,” she said.

That adds up to success that both photographer and homeless animal can appreciate.

“One of the reasons why I do this because I can't take any more home,” she said, laughing. “There's always one, each time, anywhere I go that I'm like, 'oh my god, if I could just take one, that would be the one.' So I could take one home every single day."

Over the years, Berliner has built a following of animal lovers she feels can be trusted to provide good homes for the animals.

“I think people feel good about it,” she said. “They know the animal they see is here and they're excited to actually come rescue one rather than go to a breeder or pet shop."

“It's almost a status symbol now to say 'I rescued a dog' as opposed to 'I got mine from a breeder'. I think it's more impressive when someone says 'I got mine from animal care and control.”

And thanks to Petraits, dogs like Simon have a much better chance of finding a forever home.

For more on Berliner’s photography, visit her Web site at petraits.com.

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Matt Van Hoven, Pet Pulse, contributed to this story.