Found Dogs: Tales of Strays Who Landed on Their Feet

Every year, millions of dogs are abandoned—at animal shelters, racetracks, or on the side of the road. Many of these animals end their days without ever knowing a caring human hand, but some are fortunate enough to be found and given a second chance. And these dogs, often rescued from death’s door, seem to have even more than the usual canine capacity for love and loyalty. Found Dogs is full of wonderful photos and words by people who have adopted dogs in myriad ways. Celebrities from Peter Mayle, Jamie Lee Curtis, Al Gore, and Bobby Short to everyday heroes who have found dogs--from purebreds to scruffy mix-breeds--that have become service dogs, protectors, and friends, offering solace, aid, companionship, and inspiration.

Found Dogs is a moving tribute to the power of love between people and dogs--how that love has transformed dogs who were lost, and the people who were lucky enough to find them.

Elise Lufkin has been involved with dogs all her life. For many years she worked with various animal shelters, socializing dogs to make them better candidates for adoption. She has been active in promoting humane education projects. Lufkin was one of the founders of New York City’s Great American Mutt Show, a hilarious annual event promoting public awareness of the value of adopting mixed breed, unwanted, and abandoned animals. She and her dog, Posy, are active in a Pet Partners program and regularly visit residents at a nearby nursing
home. They live in the mountains of central Idaho.

Diana Walker is a contract photographer for Time magazine. Her images have won prizes and have appeared in many major publications, including People, Life, The New York Times Magazine, and Paris Match. She is the author of Public & Private: Twenty Years Photographing the Presidency. Her work can be found in the collections of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the Chicago Art Institute, the Minneapolis Museum of Art, and the Center for American History at the University of Texas. She photographed people and their dogs for Second Chances and Found Dogs. She lives in Washington, D.C.