EAST GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- A woman in East Grand Rapids is working to help find permanent homes for dogs in transition.
It all started in November of 2017 when Dina Calcagno decided to take in a foster dog from the Luvnpupz organization. Instead of the one dog she was expecting, Dina ended up taking in six.
Dina happened to be going through some of her daughter's old things one day when she came across some American Girl clothing. Thinking they might just be a perfect fit, Dina began dressing her foster pups up in the tiny fashion items. From there, Dina began making her own clothes from old thrift store finds.
"Just started dressing them up, and they were so fun and funny and we were getting such a kick out of it. I started posting them and people started responding and thinking it was as funny as we did."
After posting some of the initial photoshoot snaps online, the first six pups up for adoption quickly found homes.
"They got a lot of attention. The entire first litter that I had was adopted by friends of mine who happened to be on my Facebook page and saw the puppies and fell in love with them as we have."
Dina says the photo shoots produce more than the glitzy pictures that help these dogs get adopted. The hard work and long hours it takes to capture the canine compositions also helps socialize them with people.
It's a labor of art and love for Dina and her photogenic dogs.
"I'm guessing that some people think i'm really crazy, other people love it as much as we do. Puppies just put you in a good place and good frame of mind. So, I just think that posting or people being able to come see them has just been a very positive thing for lots and lots of people."
You can see all of Dina's photos on her instagram.
Mike
Yeah, you are crazy to dress up dogs..they look miserable.