OAKLAND PARK, Fla. — Shelter dogs get overlooked every day for more reasons than you can count, but there is one man donating two of his very useful skills to make these pups more adoptable.

Brian Sugerman, who is a dog trainer and pet photographer, has photographed 10,000 dogs over the past 25 years.

He makes animal noises to get the dogs’ attention, and has all the bells and whistles to get the best pictures.

“I have been doing these shelter dogs probably on the average of 10 a week for the last 15 years,” Sugerman said.

He volunteers his time and donates his professional skills to the Animal Aid rescue for one reason.

“I try to get all my photos to have the dog looking at me, and that really makes a connection with people that are looking at the dogs,” he said.

He understands that a photo features the dogs’ personalities and gives them a greater chance at attracting a new owner.

“Most of it is chaos, but we only need one thousandth of a second of sheer bliss. And when we get that, it just pays off for them,” Sugerman said.

Sugerman must be patient while using his puppy props to get the reaction he wants, making animal noises while snapping pics.

“These dogs are always going to be stressed when they come in here and it’s just giving them time and giving them something of high value,” Sugerman said.

That high value item would be sliced turkey, of course!

“It’s really with treats -- they’re interested in treats. If they’re not, it makes it very difficult,” Sugerman said.

But it’s not just these precise pics that will help get the pups out of the shelter, Sugerman also helps trains the dogs.

“The problem with dogs that end up in shelters is usually that they are not trained and they are usually a problem for the family in one way or another,” Sugerman explained. “They have choices to make and we just reinforce the choices we want.”

Positive support provides happy dogs, and it shows!

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