Let's Adopt All the Dogs in the 'Least Likely To Be Adopted' Project

NYC-based photographer LaNola Stone wanted to help her local animal shelter, so she created a photography series of the dogs who had been there the longest. Let’s adopt them all! Look at those faces! How can we resist?!

I know I can’t, and it gets me into trouble sometimes. One of my dogs, Hazel, had been a long term resident at a local shelter before I fostered her. Actually, she loved the shelter. Most dogs can’t wait to get out of that steel-and-concrete, piss-and-bleach hell hole, that they literally drag you out the door. But, for Hazel, the shelter was the first time she’d regularly had meals, walks, and attention. She thought it was the goddamned Four Seasons! Before the shelter, she’d lived tied up in someone’s backyard where rocks were her only friends/toys. Seriously, she’s missing half of her teeth on one side because she chewed rocks like they were, uh, chew toys. When her family moved, they just left her in the backyard and the neighbors called animal control.

When I came it pick her up from the shelter, I had to literally carry her out of there, past a line of volunteers who each gave her a toy or treat. Of course, homing Hazel was super crucial because it meant that other dogs could take her place and hopefully get adopted but damn, that dog was stubborn. Needless to say, she’s a keeper.