Whitney and Rosie

Whitney recently accepted the position of Director of Development and Marketing at the Everycat Foundation. Everycat is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to cat health, research, and education. I’m so glad its there, making strides in cat health. Whitney is an amazing person, with a wonderfully compassionate heart, and I know that she will do great things with Everycat!

When Whitney asked me to take her portraits with Rosie for the Everycat website, I was so excited; this is a dream assignment for me! One of my goals this year has been to photograph more of the human-animal bond, and this was such a perfect occasion for it.

I asked Whitney to tell me a little about Rosie and how she came into her life: “One weekend at my Mom's, we both had fallen asleep for a Saturday afternoon nap. We woke up later than usual and walked up to check the mail. Looking down the road by the mailbox, I asked, "What's that?" Upon walking up, someone had dropped a tiny, black kitten who was sitting in the middle of the ditch. I scooped her up, and she immediately cuddled against me. I wasn't looking for another cat at the time, but from that first moment, she decided I was her person.”

Rosie was so sweet and calmly inquisitive while we photographed, and I think a lot of that had to do with Whitney. She told me that she had trained Rosie to get accustomed to car rides, and had brought her to different places, so being in a new environment wasn’t overly stressful for her. Whitney also has an easy, quiet confidence about her that I loved photographing, and I’m sure that also helps Rosie feel comfortable and at ease.