Flower Power

Here at Modern Dog, we’re BIG fans of the bully breeds. Unfortunately, these dogs still suffer a major public image problem, the sad result being they are the most frequently euthanized dogs in American shelters—between 800,000 and 1 million Pit Bulls are euthanized every year in the U.S.

New York City-residing French artist Sophie Gamand decided to call attention to the terrible gap between our professed love for pets and the shocking number that are euthanized in shelters annually. The result was her acclaimed photographic series Flower Power, Pit Bulls of the Revolution. Adorned with custom-made flower crowns, her Pit Bull subjects politely ask viewers to question their assumptions about the breed.

Sophie’s newest effort is her just released 2017 Flower Power calendar that supports animal rescue and solely features Pit Bulls from shelters and rescues across the states still awaiting their forever homes. Collectively, they’ve been waiting over 15 years for an adoptive family to choose them. The calendar is already a success, with opinions changed and forever homes found for some (but not yet all) of the long timers featured in its pages. You can check out these up-for-adoption cuties—Aden, for example, was abandoned outside the Calhoun County Humane Society shelter and has been waiting two years for a family to call his own—at sophiegamand.com, where you can also purchase a calendar ($30). It’s a super gift idea for a bully-breed-loving friend. And let’s find these dogs a home already! Perhaps your new best friend is featured on the pages of this calendar.