For Mandy and Tanesha-Another happy ending!

Rescuer Sandi Esposito showed me this shelter photo of Slim, a very thin and neglected pit bull, and I agreed to take him as Sandi said that she would help me by walking him on days that I couldn't as I would be working..(Sandi is amazing-She cares for and loves shelter pets like non other.) I went to the shelter at 110th street and 2nd avenue and Slim was so unresponsive to any kind of petting and affection that on the taxi ride home he stood on all four legs on the seat, stiff as could be. No emotion at all. We thought that he was an old guy because of this. Boy was I wrong! He just needed some proper love and affection and he snapped out of his extreme depression and became the most energetic and silly/loving dog. I fostered him for five months and Sandi was a blessing to help take care of him when I was working-I have the best photo of them together, if only I could find it!!!

Slim on my bed, on his favorite blankey.

Slim in his winter-wear.

In perhaps my favorite photo of him. He loved his stuffed armadillo. He tore up every other toy that I bought for him but not his armadillo!

During the time that I had him with me I styled a shoot for PIG magazine, the sort of Nylonish magazine of Italy. We worked out of my apartment and each time we would come back and forth to change Brissi our model, Slim would get so excited that he eventually started to chew on his tail and make it bleed, poor guy... So at that point I brought him outside with us and he ended up in the magazine!

This is the shot that ran, but it was in color.

An outtake.
Brissi Braces!!! (I have to throw this shot in...)


During his stay with me he was advertised on www.petfinder.com, the amazing shelter pet site. Sandi was contacted and found a fantastic home for Slim with a lady who lives in the country. The above photo Sandi took of Slim as Slim excitedly showed her around his new home with his new doggy brother and sister. You can see it in his face. Sandi had driven far to the new home and then came back a little while later to check up on him and take photos.
I never knew what his life was like before staying with me. All I knew is that he was a neglected dog who needed a home. Many times people will take their family pets to the shelter but claim that they found the dog as a "stray" to avoid the $25 owner surrender fee....The shelter had named him Slim too because he was so skinny. I have no idea about his life previous...But we know that he has a good one now, majorly in thanks to Sandi.
This is also how I met my friend Diana too. (She and I have photos of eachother posted below of us at the Museum of Natural History.) Diana saw Slim's photo online and met with us but her dog Toby wasn't having it, and she couldn't adopt Slim. But Diana and I became friends and she has since adopted a pit from the Brooklyn shelter, a little girl named Emma!

My friend Diana and Toby, who met Slim and said "Oh, HELL NO!!!"

Emma, who Toby loves..