Murray - Peanut Butter Dogs

Peanut Butter Dogs

Greg Murray

Greg Murray

Peanut Butter Dogs

Digital Edition 1.0

Text 2017 Greg Murray

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except brief portions quoted for purpose of review.

Gibbs Smith

P.O. Box 667

Layton, Utah 84041

Orders: 1.800.835.4993

www.gibbs-smith.com

ISBN: 9781423646662

Dedicated to Bailey, and to all animals currently waiting to find their forever homes.

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my gratitude to the many people that made this book possible and for those that have supported me over the past few years.

Thank you Kristen, Mom, Dad, Brian, Scott, Dr. Katie, and all my clients, friends, and family.

Thank you to the staff and volunteers at the Cleveland APL, Muttley Crue, Friends of the Cleveland Kennel and all the wonderful rescue organizations Ive had the opportunity to work with. You are amazing people that do great work.

My number one job as a photographer is to make people smileits the best part of what I do. However, I havent always been in this profession, and it took me a long time to have the courage to pursue it.

I spent ten years working in corporate America, firing or laying people off from their jobs, putting out office fires, and rummaging through large amounts of paperwork. Spending much of my time in a windowless office five days a week, my mental and physical health began to suffer. I needed a change, and so did Kristen (my girlfriend at the time, now my wife). If I hadnt made a change, Im not sure Kristen and I would be married today.

I left that job in early 2014, and a few months later, I was a full-time pet photographer. Combining my love for photography and dogs was only natural for me. Two short years later, I began working on this book. Life is full of unexpected turns.

On the surface, this book appears to be about dogs and peanut butter. However, my true intention is to promote joy. Dogs and peanut butter are simply the subjects for doing so. Isnt it amazing how dogs can make us happy? If you have a dog, you know the feeling of coming home after a long day to find your furry one excited to see you, cuddle with you, and love you without hesitation. Anything negative about your day will be quickly in the past. Dogs have the ability to change our moods in an instant, and we are lucky to have them as our constant companions.

In September 2013, my wife, Kristen, and I adopted our first dog, Leo, from the Cleveland Animal Protective League. In May of 2014, we rescued our second dog: Bailey the Mastiff. Bailey was about a year old when we adopted her, and while we dont know all the details, the first year of her life was far from easy. She came to us in pretty bad shape having been rescued out of a backyard breeding situation. She was very underweight and scared, and it was our job to give her the best life possible. Although she only lived to the age of two and a half, we were able to give her more than a year of joy and adventure. She loved wrestling with Leo, drooling all over our home, and hiking in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. In return, Bailey was able to give you this book. She was its inspiration, and my very first peanut butter photo.

Greg, 1982

I didnt know it at the time, but Bailey would be the first of more than one hundred fifty dogs that I would photograph eating peanut butter. More than 80 percent of the dogs photographed for this book are rescues, just like Bailey, or in foster homes waiting to be adopted into their forever home. If you werent thinking about it already, I will ask you to consider adopting a dog (or two!) in need of a forever home. As you read this, thousands of dogs are in shelters and foster homes, waiting to give you their gift of love. Sadly, every day many of these noble animals are put down due to overcrowding. You can make a difference by adopting, volunteering, and/or donating to benefit your local animal shelter.

Baileys original peanut butter photo, the genesis for this project, still brings smiles to peoples faces today. When you walk into our house, a large canvas print of her greets you. Bailey, and her photo, will forever be a part of our lives.

As you move through the pages of this book, I hope that you find the dogs joy to be contagious. I hope you smile, laugh, and share it with someone you love. Bailey, for whom this project is dedicated, lives on in this book every time it makes you smile. So, please: Sit. Stay. Fall in love with this book.

Greg Murray