During the month of December I’m going to try and do a rather large online fundraiser for this cause, for giving these shelter animals a more constant presence, for expanding what I’m personally capable of, for providing better everything. I need help, and after 2 years I’m going to be asking for it… Not for a dog, not for a specific “rescue,” but for me personally. It’s easier for a big rescue to do something like this, or a 501c3, because they are essential organizations that do wonderful things. But I’ve purposefully opted not to become a 501c3 so that my opinion can be totally unchained, not beholden to anyone or anything.

There’s so much that I want SwayLove.org to do, and so much more that I know SwayLove.org can do for Pit Bulls, for shelter dogs. I’ve thought a lot about it. While recognizing all of this in my own head, I’m finding it hard to go to the next level because I just lack both time and money. Everything I’ve ever given is my own time and my own money, much of which has been debt.

I want to do this MORE. I want to do this BETTER. SwayLove.org can be way better, more hardcore, more expansive in media and more consistently on the ground at more shelters. I want this, want it bad. If the fundraiser turns out not to work out, it won’t change anything. My heart is in this for a reason, and I will continue giving all that I can, all that I have going forward. But it doesn’t hurt to ask, to map out goals and try to obtain them, to get creative with putting the shelters on blast. This site has thankfully obtained an awesome and engaged and powerful group of people. What I do doesn’t go anywhere without people to hear it, people to see it, people to share it, people to be effected by it. I’ve thankfully got so many wonderful people that support this website. It’s awesome. I’m sorry that I have to lean on you a little bit. Hopefully you’ll agree with me. Here is my hope, followed by my many ideas for 2013…

I’d love to raise $10,000 over the next month. As I type this I have 8,894 people that have “liked” my Facebook page. Just for comparisons sake: That means that if everyone who has liked my page donated $1.12 we’d get to that amount. Now obviously the majority of people that make up the 8,894 will probably never even see this post, so that’s certainly a pie in the sky way of getting to $10,000. But I think it’s attainable with the generosity of so many great people, and I’d hope that after reading my many ideas for the $, that you’d consider it a worthy way of giving a donation.

1) The requesting of very thorough public records requests from every major shelter in southern California… L.A. County (Agoura, Baldwin Park, Carson, Castaic, Downey, Lancaster), L.A. City (North Central, South L.A., East Valley, West Valley, West L.A., Harbor), Santa Monica, Hawthorne, Long Beach, Orange County, Devore, San Bernardino City, Redlands, Pasadena, Rancho Cucamonga, Riverside, Blythe, Coachella Valley, San Jacinto, Animal Friends of the Valleys, Corona. I’d want 5 year results and I’ll be smarter in approach than I was with my first go-around with Carson. This will likely be very costly (although it shouldn’t), as each location request will be a separate attempt. Not to mention the time and tedious effort it will take for me to go through the responses and re-organize them, breaking them down into new documents. I mention it “shouldn’t” be costly, being that it’s certainly within our legal rights to see these documents, but alas, these shelters like to jerk you around and it ended up costing me $48 for 1 lousy sheet of paper regarding the Carson shelter records that I requested from earlier this year.

2) The purchasing of domain names (.com addresses) which will house separate websites: The 1st to specifically target L.A. County directer, Marcia Mayeda’s track record. The 2nd to specifically target the Carson shelter, which will consistently make public their kill numbers and since I have most of my experiences at this facility. And the 3rd to be a multimedia publishing-hub that’s used to show the kill numbers (as well as all other performance categories) for every southern California shelter, based from the public records requests that I am aiming to obtain from each shelter. Why websites? The internet is by far and away the best tool that exists. These will be simple and to the point websites that will have a cleanly designed layout that is heavy on informational access. The website names will be catchy and blunt, easily picked up by Google and all other search engines, and a way to forever attach the amount of death with the people and places who are presiding over it.

3) The looking into doing 1 major newspaper advertisement centered around the bringing of awareness to the routine shelter killings that are happening in Los Angeles, or multiple advertisements with the same goal put out in smaller publications. The major newspapers can be extremely expensive when trying to place a decent-sized ad within, but there also may be a hookup out there to be found. I don’t know.

4) The creation of a Pit Bull-specific informational multi-page zine that will include facts, stats, myths, questions and resources within. It will be designed by me, purposely printed in black and white and able to be copied on any copy machine with little loss of quality. I’d shoot to get at least 1,000 of these physically printed and out into circulation around the area, plus I’d make it downloadable from my website for others to do the same.

5) The creation of a few large SwayLove.org vinyl banners for booth publicity if I’m ever to branch out and start attending a few community events, which I’d actually like to…

6) The purchasing of much needed equipment:
Panasonic HC-V100 HD handheld camera, $300.
GoPro Hero2, $300.
Zoom H2 table microphone, $280.
Azden WMS-Pro wireless microphone system, $200.
Possibly a new lens for my SLR camera.
This will help me tremendously in being able to continue striving to create interesting, high quality pieces of media (photographs, video) for both the networking of shelter dogs and for Pit Bull education and commentary.

7) The focusing on creating numerous high quality educational videos, online short-docs centered on discrimination, media sensationalism, use of force by police, true kill shelter realities, true bite statistics, odds of dying, mentality of fear in society, exposés of hatemongers, examination of Breed-discriminatory legislation, as well as showing the true nature of the Pit Bull, promoting common sense, individual basis reaction vs. group punishment reaction, a shelter photography how-to, promotional videos with audience (and dog) participation, those kinds of things… Not to mention that I want to meet and interview many awesome people for these pieces and for others.

8) The ordering of some wholesale bumper stickers, business cards, the designing of further shirts, the creating of a selling mechanism that allows some of my shelter prints to be ordered online.

9) Help with covering any potential travel I may consider doing to do aforementioned interviews, possibly attend another big conference, maybe visit an out of state shelter or two (I’d love to visit Austin, TX or one of the high-kill shelters in New York City).

These are just some of the ideas that I have right now for the upcoming year. I’m also planning on revamping and very much expanding my website, writing more, as well as possibly creating a video podcasting channel where people could Skype in and communicate about whatever they choose to. But the main and overriding plus for me is that this would give me more time and financial flexibility to do what I genuinely love to do. It would be a drastic help, which would in turn be (I’d hope) a drastic help to some dogs as well. I honestly can’t overstate how helpful it would be for me. I’m just a regular person who pays everything from a $5 dog collar to a $500 camera lens out of my own pocket. When I visit a shelter and shoot photographs of their Pit Bulls, well, I’m usually then up for the next 12 hours or so editing the pictures. I honestly don’t want to be pulled away from this kind of stuff for another job. Instead, I’d ideally want to make this more and more of my “job” going forward. I really want more time to dedicate to making these things a genuine reality. With appropriated money not only comes more options, but more time. Some slight flexibility goes a long way. Thank you so much for reading, and for potentially helping.

Josh

You can see some of my photography here, and here, and here, and here, and here. You can see some of my videos here.