ELMSFORD -- Break out the pet brush and teeth-cleaning biscuits. Fluffy and Duke must be ready for their close-ups.
The Elmsford Animal Shelter is holding a fundraiser on Saturday, providing animal lovers with pet portraits. For $25, participants will get a professional photograph with their pets while helping the shelter, which is facing financial trouble, stay open.
"This is such a huge benefit to our animals I can't even describe it," said Nancy Hill, a board member and the shelter's executive director.
The event is part of the public fundraising appeal for the no-kill shelter, which relies solely on donations.
This year, the shelter reported a steep drop in contributions. But after stories appeared in The Journal News, Hill said the charity saw a bump in donations and requests to partner with other organizations.
Shelter-Me Photography, a Colorado-based charity that offers free photo services to shelters to facilitate adoptions, is one of the groups that reached out.
Nanette Martin, Shelter-Me's director, has spent the past few days photographing the shelter's nearly 1,000 dogs, cats and other orphaned or abandoned animals.
In a bid to spur adoptions, those pictures and animal bios will appear on the shelter's Web site and PetFinder.com, Hill said.
Martin will also take the photos on Saturday.
"She works very hard to capture the personality of that animal," Hill said. "The photographs are very artistic. Everywhere she's been the adoption rate has increased."
The event will run from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The shelter is at 100 Warehouse Lane South. Participants will receive a digital photo by e-mail and can order prints for an extra charge, Hill said.
To donate
For more information on the Elmsford Animal Shelter or to make an appointment for the pet portrait event on Saturday, call 914-592-7334 or visit http://www.elmsfordanimalshelter.com.
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