Photographer Snaps Dogs Trying to Catch Cheese Cubes for a Good Cause: 'It's a Laugh a Minute'
Carrie Southerton Photography / SWNS
A dog photographer has turned hilarious pictures of pooches trying to catch cheese cubes into an event.
Carolyne Cowan, 56, regularly spends at least 15 minutes snapping photos of dogs trying to snag cheese thrown by her husband Alasdair, 63. The photo sessions — which have attracted pugs, bulldogs, dachshunds, and more — cost a small fee which the Cowans donate.
The pup-filled photography events are known as the Catchathons. Carolyne started the event in 2018 to raise money for dog charities.
Between 2018 and 2020, the Cowans' Catchathon photo sessions raised over $20,000 for animal charities. The couple stopped the events when the pandemic started, but after seeing the plight of dog owners forced to use food banks on the news decided to restart the events.
Carolyne, from Falkirk, Scotland, said snapping the pictures is often "bedlam" but is worth it for the dogs' hilarious expressions.
Carrie Southerton Photography / SWNS
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"It's fast and furious and total bedlam at times, but it's so funny," Carolyne, who owns Carrie Southerton Photography, told SWNS.
"Alasdair cuts up around 10kg (over 22 pounds) worth of cheese into cubes, but he has to do different sizes for small dogs and big dogs, she added. "He throws the cheese to the dog, and then I click away — I tend to get about 50 pictures of each dog."
After Carolyne completes a Catchathon photo session, she narrows the photos down to the best ten for each dog.
"It's a laugh a minute," she said of the selection process.
Carrie Southerton Photography / SWNS
Carrie Southerton Photography / SWNS
Every dog that sits and catches cheese for Carolyne is different.
"Not all dogs settle right away, so we make sure we take the time to get them comfortable, but most are fine after five minutes," the photographer said. "Some dogs will just look at you when you throw the cheese at them but the fails sometimes make better pictures than the catch."
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"I have seen thousands of these pictures, but I still find myself laughing out loud when I look through them afterward," she added. "Sometimes I am crying with laughter they are so funny."
The couple hopes to picture 70 dogs at the next Catchathon on February 26 and 27 and has teamed up with Burns Pet Food for the event.
Carrie Southerton Photography / SWNS
Carolyne and Alasdair want to raise over $2,500 with this upcoming Catchathon and will donate $10,000 worth of pet food from Burns as part of the event.
"It's amazing the support they have given us," Carolyne said of Burns.
To learn more about the Catchathon on Feb 26 and 27, visit Carrie Southerton Photography's Facebook page.
