Stunning photography has come to the Ellis County SPCA.

Since September 2009, professional photographer Roz Todaro has been contributing her talents, photographing available pets to promote them on the ECSPCA Web site and through local newspapers.

Roz Todaro, professional photographer

Her beautiful portraits of chihuahuas, poodles, boxers, tuxedo cats and more reveal the personality of each animal, helping prospective pet parents make a deeper connection with the available dogs and cats, which ultimately boosts adoption rates.

“Roz’s efforts have been a huge contribution,” says ECSPCA Director Dana White. “Her work requires talent and patience, and we’re fortunate to have her as a volunteer.”

Todaro has been involved with photography since her childhood and graduated in 2006 from Louisiana Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in fine art photography. Having recently moved to Ennis with her husband, Nick, she sought out the ECSPCA as a way to contribute to her newly adopted community.

“I worked at a cat shelter in Louisiana while I was finishing my photography degree. I learned that it takes a lot of volunteer help and donations to keep an organization like the ECSPCA afloat. When my husband and I moved to Ennis, I had to start over with my photography business. It takes time to build up clients, so I had some free time on my hands.,” says Todaro. “Having worked as a photojournalist before, I knew papers would take pet-of-the-week image submissions. The Ennis Daily News wasn’t getting any submissions so I looked for an area shelter online that I could help. I Googled it and found the ECSPCA. When I went the first time, I found out that the ECSPCA submitted images to the Waxahachie Daily Light already. Then I talked them into letting me take over and I’ve been going almost every week since.

“The photos let people know that they do not need to buy an expensive pet when there are many wonderful animals available at the shelter. My goal is to boost adoption from the shelter by showing the community that shelter animals are healthy and well-mannered animals.”

Todaro’s work has received attention far and wide and recently caught the attention of the stock photography company Getty Images, which subsequently signed her up as a contributor for their massive online collection of images for sale.

Todaro has been steadily building up her wedding photography clientele; nonetheless, she makes herself available to the ECSPCA in documenting shelter events such as the Howl-O-Ween Hustle. Her commitment is motivated by a strong affection for animals that she has felt since childhood, growing up on her parents’ farm.

“We had every kind of pet you can imagine. We lived pretty far out side of the city limits: the kind of place where people dump animals. We would wake up sometimes and find six dogs in our yard. Some of them would be in bad condition,” says Todaro. “It’s terrible what some people do to animals, and it’s especially upsetting for me because of all of the great pets I’ve had in my life.

“I appreciate programs like the SPCA. I’m building a business from scratch right now, so I’m not in the position to donate money. Instead I donate my time and talent.”

For more information, visit her website at www.rozphoto.com.

Darlene, Hailey and Firecracker

Darlene Stewart and her daughter Hailey are two of the best friends a cat could have.

As volunteers at the Ellis County SPCA, the mother-daughter team see to it that every week, all the cats and kittens get a little special attention.

“We’ve been volunteers at the shelter since January 2009 and we really love working with the cats,” said Darlene. “We spend time with the cats, love on them, play with them, clean their room and groom them.”

With more than a dozen cats up for adoption at any given time, the need for volunteers like Darlene and Hailey is huge, said Dana White, shelter director for the ECSPCA.

“We’re lucky to have Darlene and Hailey,” White said. “They help us with the very important job of keeping the cats socialized. Cats can become depressed, withdrawn and even afraid of people if they’re not given attention, and Darlene and Hailey give our cats the love they need to stay happy and in good spirits.”

Darlene says that Hailey enjoys the volunteer work so much that if something prevents them from keeping their usual weekly appointment, they make sure that they reschedule their time right away.

“We have four cats of our own, and so we thought that we could spend time with the cats at the shelter because we know about cats,” Hailey said. “Most people go to dogs more so cats don’t get as much attention, so we like to clean their cages, give them treats and brush their coats. It makes them happier and friendlier, and they’re able to get out of their cages for a little while.”

Darlene said the time spent volunteering also teaches Hailey about the importance of community involvement. Hailey is an 11 year-old student for whom community service is already a major part of her life. Nevertheless, says Darlene, it’s not the community service lessons that motivated them to help out at the shelter.

“We really love the cats and feel drawn to them,” said Darlene. “There is nothing like bonding with a cat who is shy and withdrawn. Many times after just a few visits, that same cat will jump in your arms, insist on being petted, and then begin to purr. It makes a person feel good to know that a little time can really make a difference for the cats. The interaction is always fulfilling. We really enjoy our time at the shelter, and we enjoy knowing that we’re helping the Ellis County SPCA.”