0218: HeARTs Speak with Lisa Prince Fishler

Founder and Executive Director Lisa Prince Fishler tells us how HeARTs Speak helps shelter and rescue animals find their forever home.

Support homeless animals by using the stock photography from their Images with Heart.

Their EDU Digital Learning Library offers tools and resources as well as links to other helpful sites.

HeARTs Speaks’ social media:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
YouTube

Remember to watch America’s Got Talent June 8 on NBC and vote for The Canine Stars!

Celebrate 5 years of Rosie Fund by supporting our campaign to sponsor 50 dogs. You can donate on our website or Facebook page. You can also contribute by making a purchase from the store on our website or buying a t-shirt at Bonfire.com.

Music for this episode is provided by alternative string duo, The Wires. Visit them at TheWires.info. Learn fiddle and cello-fiddle online — even if you've never played before — from Laurel Morgan Parks and Sascha Groshang at FiddleLife.com.

The transcript for this episode is available on the Dog Words Buzzsprout page: Buzzsprout.com/840565.

Make a donation at RosieFund.org or through our Facebook page. You can contribute by making a purchase from the store on our website or buying a t-shirt at Bonfire.com. Also check out our page on BarkYours, the online mall with gifts for people who love their dogs.

Rosie Fund online:
RosieFund.org
Facebook.com/rosiefund
Instagram.com/rosiefund
YouTube.com/rosiefund

Transcript

LISA  0:03 
As the years went on and we were going around to shelters and teaching the volunteers and staff at the shelters themselves how to take better photos, it seemed counterintuitive to turn anyone who wanted to join to help away.

PHIL   0:21 
I'm Phil Hatterman and this is Dog Words presented by Rosie Fund.

Today, Lisa Prince Fishler tells us how HeARTs Speak helps shelter and rescue animals find their forever home.

If you're new to this podcast, in each episode, we explore the world of dog care and companionship. "We save each other," is the motto of Rosie Fund. Which simply means the more we do for dogs, the more they do for us. And they already do a lot.

If you love dogs, you'll love Dog Words. We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Go to the podcast page at RosieFund.org to share your thoughts. Please download, follow, rate, and, most importantly, share the Dog Words podcast.

Celebrate five years of Rosie Fund by supporting our campaign to sponsor 50 dogs. You can donate on our website or Facebook page. You can also contribute by making a purchase from the store on our website or buying a t-shirt at Bonfire.com. Links are in the description. Your donations help fund the Rosie Life Starter Kits that make sure these senior and harder to adopt dogs have some of the items they'll need in their forever home. If you follow Rosie Fund on social media, you'll see the latest pictures and videos of the featured shelter dogs. Subscribe to the free Rosie Fund YouTube channel and you will also get Rosie, Peaches, and our entire archive of shelter dog videos.

Next time on Dog Words, American Ninja Warrior and dog advocate Roo Yori shares his story.

The mission of Rosie Fund is to provide humans with the resources and education they need to give senior and harder-to-adopt dogs a better life. We thank you for joining our mission.

Today's guest on Dog Words is founder and executive director of a wonderful organization HeARTs Speak Lisa Prince Fishler. Welcome to the show, Lisa.

LISA  2:04 
Hello, Phil. Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate this.

PHIL   2:09 
I know lots of people who informally do what HeARTs Speak does. But I think this is just a great idea to formalize it, to make it easier for the people who offer the service to be found. And the people, the shelters, the rescue groups that can utilize the service to find those providers. So that's the tease for people that, "Well, what is this HeARTs Speak?" It's up to you to explain what it is and maybe how you came up with the idea and started HeARTs Speak.

LISA  2:43 
The reason why I started HeARTs Speak I think is the reason why a lot of us get into this field is because I was inspired by my dog. I adopted a dog Iggy in 2005 and just adopting him I learned a lot about the plight of animals in shelters. He was a pit bull type dog so he also had a bad image at that time. So I started volunteering my photography services at the local shelters and rescues. Then the more I learned about how large the problem was just for animals in general and shelters. And so I started reaching out to people trying to work together to collaborate because I'm only one person. I created a Facebook page. And, you know, I just thought if I create this space, maybe people will come together, you know, other photographers like myself. And within a month we had hundreds of people joining. So clearly there was a need and there was a desire to work together. So that is how our first program Artists Helping Animals was born. And that's what a lot of people know us as. But HeARTs Speak has multiple programs now. And within a year of starting the Facebook page, we became a nonprofit, an official 501(c)(3). And our mission is to unite art and advocacy to increase the visibility of shelter animals. So there's Artists Helping Animals was our first program. And we've got over 500 members across the country, actually, around the world. And we have members in over a third of the 13,000 shelters in the country. But, sadly, that's not enough. And so then we created this program called the Perfect Exposure Project, PEP, where we would go into shelters and donate equipment and teach photography and marketing. So we started doing that and taking this program around and empowering shelters themselves to do the work that some of our photographers do. In addition to that, we also have EDU which is online. And it's just educational resources to help do the same. So ultimately, all of our programs aim to get animals in shelters seen and ultimately saved, while hopefully changing the overall image of animal adoption and getting more people into shelters adopting.

PHIL   5:29 
A couple years ago, my wife and I, Dawn, bought a house, the one we're living in now. And when we were house shopping, you can go on Zillow and see the pictures of all the properties that are available. There were houses we were excited about when we saw like the price, the location, the square footage, the features, and then you click on the pictures, and boom, you're off the list. Because the photo is taken by someone, regardless of their equipment, it's poorly framed, poorly lit, just no eye at all for composition. And posting too many of a similar thing. Like, here's 12 shots of the master closet and no shot of the living room.

LISA  6:21 
Yeah.

PHIL   6:23 
And then, for selling our house, our realtor brought in a commercial photographer who took pictures that we looked at and thought, "Why are we moving? If this house is gorgeous!" It makes a world of difference when it's properly lit, properly framed, someone just who knows what they're doing. And with so many shelters, you have staff who either don't have the training, don't have a quality camera, by which I mean, they don't have a decent phone.

LISA  6:59 
That's what it is now.

PHIL   7:01 
And a lot of times just don't have the time to do anything other than snap a shot of this dog in its kennel.Which is kind of like putting mug shots on a dating site.

LISA  7:13 
Yeah.

PHIL   7:14 
And just having the experience and expertise that you and the other photographers have. What are some of the tips that you do give to the people out in the rescue groups in the shelters taking pictures? What do they get wrong?

LISA  7:32 
I don't know if I would say what they get wrong. But really, it's important to meet the animals where they are, you know. Consider the fact that they're probably a little bit stressed out and not making them do something they might not be comfortable doing. If they're most comfortable to be photographed with somebody, you know, near them, holding them, then that's what we do. If they want to stand and not sit, that's fine. But really just respecting them and giving them the space to be themselves.

PHIL   8:11 
You see that with the professional looking photographs of the shelter pets. You can see their personality, that they have a personality, that they're not looking frightened, overwhelmed. And what helps with adoption, I feel, is if that potential forever home can visualize that pet as part of their family.

LISA  8:36 
Exactly.

PHIL   8:37 
And if you can see that dog, or cat, and variety of other animals, happy, calm content, confident, you can picture it on your couch, in your yard, on a walk, with your kids.

LISA  8:54 
Exactly. Yeah. And that's why we always encourage photos showing them interacting with people. And there's multiple benefits to that. Because, like you said, you can see more of the personality of the dog or cat. But also we are also advocating for the shelters themselves. And so peeling back the curtain and giving people a window into shelters, staff, and volunteers is very positive, as well. We don't want to paint a scary picture or sad picture. It's amazing the shelters I've been to across the country every single one everybody is amazing in there. The animals are all amazing. I feel so ignorant. Every time I go I'm like, "But you're perfect!" You know, "What am I doing here?" And I think the top nine or 10 reasons an animal's in the shelter at all is human related. You know, somebody had to move or...

PHIL   9:54 
Yeah, it's rarely the animal's fault. And you talked about showing the shelter in a good light. I don't think there's any shelter or rescue group that's turning away volunteers. "We have enough. Go volunteer elsewhere." If you can show that shelter in a good light and even if someone's not looking to adopt a dog what they see, the way that dog's being treated, "I want to be a part of that."

LISA  10:18 
Right.

PHIL   10:19 
"I want to help those dogs. I can see myself there." And so many shelters need support that they have ballot issues for funding or expansion. If all people can picture is this dingy, dark place where there's frightened animals, they're probably less likely to get involved with those either propositions or as a volunteer or to apply to work there. So this is beneficial on so many levels beyond just helping one pet get adopted.

LISA  10:51 
Absolutely. Absolutely. It's really about changing the overall image. Improving or showing the truth, what a lot of us already know, but to the people outside of our choir. Yeah.

PHIL   11:07 
Your business model for this not for profit really fits with what some people consider an ideal profit business. You are facing multiple directions. You're not just selling a product or a service. Or you're not just a organization for a particular kind of service provider. You are finding the service providers, giving them an outlet, being a resource for shelters and organizations, then you have your EDU, you have the flow of service going through you in multiple directions. It's mind boggling that you've got this all put together. So I want to make sure that everyone who should be accessing HeARTs Speak knows what's available to them. So first of all, let's talk about what you provide for the professionals, the photographers, the artists. What kind of professionals are you looking for? And how do they become involved with HeARTs Speak?

LISA  12:11 
Well, first of all, they don't need to be professionals. Initially, it was artists but I would say that primarily photographers were the people who joined. 10 years ago, they were professional photographers and there was an application process. So you needed to take stellar photos and have experience working with animals to be accepted. And that was because we were trying to put ourselves on the map. And in order to do that we needed a certain type of imagery. But then as the years went on and we were going around to shelters and teaching the volunteers and staff at the shelters themselves how to take better photos it seemed counterintuitive to turn anyone who wanted to join to help away. You know, like, "You're not good enough." So, so we changed our criteria. And now you're really just registering to get your information on the map. And then we have, you know, different levels of photographers. And everybody teaches one another. You know, it's all about just sharing all of your information, all of your tips and tricks. When I first started out, I was reaching out to people that I found online. It was amazing how people, they were reluctant to share despite what my ultimate goal was. You know, like, "Can we just put egos aside for a second? And can we help the animals because they need it." But it wasn't happening. And I think that if you look at our code of ethics, because it's important that you agree to them before you become a member. I think we attract a certain type of person. And so you get community of people who are willing to share. You get resources, whether it's educational videos, webinars, you know, to help you to improve, you get this...

PHIL   14:15 
I think that's a great point. Let's not just blow by that. You're talking about you want people who are interested in helping. They don't have to be professionals. If they just take that step to get started, to get connected, to get registered with HeARTs Speak, they may not be Ansel Adams right now. But they're gonna get better. You're gonna give them the tools to improve. And as I mentioned a moment ago, a lot of the time the shelter staff would love to take all day for a photo shoot with a dog to get the best photos. They don't have that time because they also have to clean kennels. They have to go collect animals. They have to handle adoptions. Just being able to offer your time to take the photographs is gonna get a better photo.

LISA  15:02 
Yes.

PHIL   15:03 
Plus, on top of that, the tools, the training they're gonna get from being involved with HeARTs Speak, they're just going to get better and better.

LISA  15:10 
Right? Yeah, I love watching people improve. Also, though, you don't need to have the professional equipment, like you pointed out before, you know, cell phones. They're amazing now. Some people think that you need all of this stuff, and, you know, a certain, like, equipment and studio equipment and the perfect location. But it's really not about that. It's just about framing the shot. That one little spot. And now with portrait mode on the cell phone, and...

PHIL   15:43 
Yeah, it does a lot of the decision making for you. And most people now don't even remember, when we were younger and you had to make a choice. Is this worth using up one of the 12 exposures on this roll of film or not?

LISA  16:00 
I know! Yes.

PHIL   16:06 
Just keep snapping. Put it in burst mode.

LISA  16:09 
Burst mode.

PHIL   16:10 
Get a hundred pictures of the dog and choose the best two or three.

LISA  16:15 
Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. And I think another thing that the members get is, I don't know if you saw, but we have a stock photo library we've been building.

PHIL   16:28 
Yes. Okay. So regular listeners know, I'm also a media consultant. And when I saw the stock images that you have available, "Why don't more people know about this? Why hasn't this been coming up when I'm doing a search for stock images that I can give exposure to HeARTs Speak by using their stock images?" Anybody out there who is a website designer or does any commercial graphics, use the stock images from HeARTs Speak and give them attribution so that there's more exposure for what this wonderful organization is doing. And those photos are amazing.

LISA  17:10 
Aren't they?

PHIL   17:11 
They're as good as any you're going to pay for on all of the stock photography services.

LISA  17:18 
I think so. I think they're actually better. They have more of like a fun feel.

PHIL   17:26 
That's the other thing. I want more people to use HeARTs Speak. But I'm realistic. I know that there's not going to be as many people using you as people who are paying Getty Images. And when you get a flyer in the mail, or pop-up ad on the side of your email, and you go, "That elderly couple that's getting financial advice? They look familiar." Like, yeah, 'cause they're the same elderly couple that is buying the timeshare in that mailer you got. Here's your opportunity to get some unique images that not everyone is using.

LISA  18:07 
Exactly. Exactly. And then when you purchase these images, we give our artists members 50% of the sale. Which is significantly more than a stock agency.

PHIL   18:20 
Yeah. So check out the stock images. And they're just fun to browse. Even if you don't need an image, browse the stock images that are available at HeARTs Speak. And I'll mention now HeARTsSpeak.org is linked in the description for this episode so it's easy to find. And I'll make it even easier that I'll put in addition to a link to that I'll put direct links to the stock images and the EDU and all the different programs you offer.

LISA  18:48 
Thank you.

PHIL   18:48 
Make it easy for people to find. So you have this service where people can register to let everyone out there know, "Here I am."  Then how do people find those photographers?

LISA  19:02 
That's a good question. We have a map, the artists map on the website. And so if you searched by your state using the two letter abbreviation, artists in your area will come up.

PHIL   19:16 
You only have — I say, "only" — a third of the 13,000 shelters covered. So if you are someone who's willing to take the time to shoot some photos of pets who need their forever home, there's plenty of opportunities. You've not saturated the entire United States with photographers. There's probably a need for you out there. And then any organization that wants to get some great photos. And if you're a rescue group listening or a shelter listening, assume I'm talking about you when I say I've seen your website, you could have better photos than you do. Bluntly speaking, you could update a lot of the photos you have of those dogs. And because of the turnover, animals getting adopted, you always need more people taking photographs of the dogs. And not everybody is available every day. So multiple photographers can be helping one organization. So organizations reach out to HeARTs Speak. You also mentioned the different training that you have available, the EDU. Talk a little bit more about what that offers groups out there and photographers.

LISA  20:33 
Well say you have an iPhone, we have information on how to get your best photos.

PHIL   20:42 
Anybody who's on social media has probably seen an ad for "Take my photography tutorial." Well, here's a photography tutorial that's going to help you with something you actually want to do.

LISA  20:53 
Say you have someone taking photos, you already have good photographs, we have some fun overlays. We have a link to an editorial calendar of all the holidays, every day of the year, almost is some day, you know, National Spaghetti Day or Guinea Pig Day or, and we've got a lot of fun overlays that you can dress up your photos to get more attention via social media and whatnot.

PHIL   21:22 
And if you're posting on social media, that's gonna get more clicks because that's one more thing you can tag it with. It's not just the breed and age and the shelter, but you're also tagging it with "spaghetti" or whatever national day that someone has contrived.

LISA  21:43 
Exactly. Exactly.

PHIL   21:44 
That's gonna get more exposure on social media.

LISA  21:46 
And then we, we also have tips on just marketing, you know. How better to market the animals. How to write better bios, name inspiration. A whole bunch of things to just take, I guess, infuse a little bit of fun and take away the daily drudgery of it all, you know.

PHIL   22:09 
And again, show that pet's personality.

LISA  22:12 
Yes. Yes.

PHIL   22:14 
I can't overstate this. It needs to be a match when someone is giving an animal it's forever home. And not just an impulse buy. So beyond showing the personality of the dog — and I keep talking about dogs 'cause we're Dog Words, but this applies to the cats and the other animals in the shelter's — beyond the appeal of a photo or a bio showing a personality and attracting an adopter, it also gives a potential adopter a realistic understanding what that dog's needs might be and how they might fit into their family. So that they're adopting the right dog and not bringing it back. That it's not falling back into the shelter system. Or worse, adopting an animal and then neglecting it because it's not meeting that human's expectations. So the right photograph and the right bio can help give us the right match.

LISA  23:18 
Yeah. Yeah.

PHIL   23:19 
The value of HeARTs Speak is just tremendous. And I'm so excited that we're able to share this with listeners to Dog Words. If you are a photographer, professional or otherwise, but just someone who wants to give of their time, someone wants to be of service, register with HeARTs Speak. If you're a shelter or rescue group that wants to take advantage of the wonderful services that are offered by these photographers, HeARTs Speak. And then shelters, volunteers, everyone can use the tutorials and help get these animals the right kind of exposure. One more lesson from HeARTs Speak is one that we keep returning to on this show. Whether you use HeARTs Speak or not, let them be an inspiration to you. Lisa and her friends and colleagues saw a need. And not only did you meet that need, you adjusted as you went along and realized, "The way we're approaching this is not the best way. We could be of greater service by adapting and evolving." And so just let that be a lesson to everyone. Take that first step. If you think there might be a way that you can be of service — whether it has anything to do with rescue animals or whatever is important to you — take that first step and then adapt and evolve. And if you don't want to run an organization, there's lots of great organizations out there and like HeARTs Speak that you can be a part of. Someone has already done the heavy lifting and now you can jump in and be part of the team and they'd love to have you.

LISA  24:50 
Oh, thank you.

PHIL   24:51 
Again, links to everything we've talked about are going to be in the description for this episode. Lisa, if there's any updates on new programs or services that HeARTs Speak offers, let me know and we'll circle back and do a follow-up interview and let people know. And, again, thank you so much for the great work that you're doing and for taking time out of your day to talk to Dog Words.

LISA  25:16 
Thank you so much for having me, Phil. It was really fun.

PHIL   25:20 
You are welcome.

I'm Phil Hatterman and you've been listening to Dog Words presented by Rosie Fund.

Thank you to Lisa Prince Fishler, founder and executive director of HeARTs Speak for joining us today. The description has links to HeARTsSpeak.org as well as direct links to the EDU resource library and the Images with Heart stock image collection.

Remember to watch our recent guests The Canine Stars on America's Got Talent, June 8 on NBC. Download the America's Got Talent app now so you're ready to vote. Download in the App Store or Google Play.

Next time on Dog Words, we visit with American Ninja Warrior and dog advocate Roo Yori.

Thank you to alternative string duo The Wires featuring cellist Sascha Groshang and violinist Laurel Morgan Parks for playing the wonderful music you've heard on today's and previous episodes of Dog Words. Supporting The Wires supports our mission. Learn more about The Wires at TheWires.info and download their music on iTunes. Check out FiddleLife.com and learn to play fiddle and cello-fiddle online from Laurel and Sasha even if you've never played before.

Celebrate five years of Rosie Fund by supporting our campaign to sponsor 50 dogs. Donate on our website, Facebook page, or making a purchase@bonfire.com. Links are in the description. Your donations help fund the Rosie Life Starter Kits for senior and harder-to-adopt dogs.

As always, please download, follow, rate, and share Dog Words. This helps us with sponsorships. Then Rosie Fund can help more dogs. Support Rosie Fund by following us on social media and please subscribe to the free Rosie Fund YouTube channel.

Send us your comments, questions, and suggestions at RosieFund.org. And let us know if you would like to be a sponsor of Dog Words or a guest.

Thank you for listening and remember, we save each other.

DISCLAIMER: This document is a transcription obtained through a third party. There is no claim to accuracy on the content provided in this document and divergence from the audio file is to be expected. Some content may be omitted, particularly when there is crosstalk.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai