Rescued! The Furever Families Project
They needed to be rescued but in the end rescued their families. These are their stories.
Buy the Book and more goodies!
Simplified buying process to get a book and more!
Showcasing these amazing rescued animals from GEARS and the outstanding families that adopted them. The book will include over 172 pages of beautiful photography of the animals and their families plus heartwarming stories of their journeys.
Purchase right through my website for ease! There are local pick-up and reasonable shipping options. Doing a local pick-up? Easily choose a pick-up time starting December 6, 2021 during your purchase
Please help support this book and GEARS by purchasing a book or two today!
I love being a photographer and I love animals. I have had animals as part of my family for most of my life. For many years I have been volunteering for a local animal rescue (GEARS) photographing their animals to showcase them on their website and social media.
When I adopted my own puppy, after I met her during one of my photography sessions, I was curious as to what had happened to the other animals I had photographed and that had gotten adopted. I reached out to the adoptive families and they responded with their stories of their furever families and homes. This started the project to document those families both in photographic and written form. This book is their stories. I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did putting it together.
About The Project
The Furever Families Project is a project to create a collection of the images and stories of adopted animals with their furever families. I have been photographing animals for the Greater Edmonton Animal Rescue Society (GEARS) since 2014 and thought it would be cool to revisit these furbabies in their furever homes. The adoption process is special and a big moment for both the animals being adopted and the families bringing an animal into their home. As part of the project, I will be photographed the animal and their families, as well as learning the story of their journey to their furever home.
The book is a collection of images/stories of these families. At least 10% of sales from the book will be donated to GEARS. Over the years, I have photographed many animals for GEARS (800+). I have also rescued my own animals as a part of my life. I had my own dogs so I resisted getting an additional animal for our family but this changed in July 2020 when I fell in love with an animal I had photographed. We adopted Mocha and she is definitely in her furever family (she is a total nutbar), so I understand the importance of this moment.
I have received a tremendous response for this project so far. We launched an Indiegogo campaign to presell the book and that went well. We also have a variety of gifts that go well with the book and highlight the project including leashes and collars.
“I have admired Marks’s photography for years now. I always say how blessed GEARS is to have such talent on their side. I truly believe that the photos that Mark takes significantly reduces the wait time for the animals looking for their new family. ”
““I came across the GEARS website and saw the picture of Zoey that Mark took. I was so drawn to her image that I applied to adopt her without telling my husband Mark!””
“Mark had captured something special in the image, something Heather and Cory fell in love with. They arranged a meeting.”
Our Writer - Jane Marshall
We are thrilled to have Jane joining our project to help share the amazing stories of our Furever Families.
Jane Marshall has written extensively for the Edmonton Journal, Travel Alberta, VUE Weekly, Avenue Magazine, and the University of Alberta’s illuminate magazine and was content editor for the Edmonton Journal’s Capital Ideas section. She currently writes an adventure blog for Campers Village to inspire people to connect with nature. She is always curious, seeking out great stories to share with readers. Her first book Back Over the Mountains introduced her to the Himalayas. Jane fell in love with the land and people of Tsum, Nepal and co-founded The Compassion Project, a Canadian registered charity striving to improve healthcare and education.
She volunteered at the Edmonton Humane Society for 4 years in the Parent and Me program. She lives in Canmore with her husband and two children and teaches English to refugees and newcomers. You can find her in the alpine random camping or skiing, or at seejanewrite.ca.
“We saw Mark’s picture of her on the GEARS Facebook page — it captured her personality beautifully — and applied to adopt within hours. It was like we bought the house for her!”
