Local photographer offering pet portraits in fundraiser for service dogs for vets
BARRE – A photographer from Barre is offering to take professional portraits of pets with proceeds to be donated to the WNY Heroes’ Pawsitive for Heroes Program.
Ashley Bringenberg is organizing her second annual Pooch Playoffs Fundraiser. A pet portrait is $125 with 100 percent given to WNY Heroes. The pets will be photographed at Bringenberg’s studio at the Harvester building in Batavia.
Ashley Bringenberg
“The past few years have been especially hard for charities,” Bringenberg said. “So a group of photographers and I got together and decided to host a competition to find Western New York’s Ulti-Mutt Cutie as a way to help out WNY Heroes and have fun in the new year.”
Bringenberg wants to photograph 32 pooches which would raise close to $3,500 for Pawsitive for Heroes. This donation includes a custom portrait session, photo keepsake keychain, and a swag bag of goodies.
WNY Heroes’ Pawsitive for Heroes program provides service dogs for veterans in our area. The cost to train one service dog is $5,000, Bringenberg said. She would like to meet the cost of training a service dog, knowing the dog would change the life of a veteran.
She welcomes sponsors as well as entries in the Pooch Playoffs.
That contest is a bracket-style competition that starts on March 19 with 32 dogs competing for prizes from local businesses and the title of WNY’s Cutest Canine. Each round, dogs are be placed in pairs and will face off in an online vote. The winner moves forward with the goal to be voted the “Ulti-mutt Cutie of Western New York” and go on to compete in the national competition.
“It’s funny. Our pets are such important members of our families yet most of us don’t think to have a professional portrait taken of them,” Bringenberg said. “Pooch Playoffs gives everyone a fun way to get a portrait of their pet made, by a professional who knows how to photograph pets, while also supporting Pawsitive for Heroes.”
Contact Bringenberg by Feb. 29 to sponsor the event or to enter a pet. Competition spots are filled on a first come, first served basis.
For more information, check Ashley Bringenberg Photography’s Facebook page. For more on Pawsitive for Heroes, click here.