Artists Helping Animals

Artists Helping Animals is HeARTs Speak’s seminal program that currently includes a network of nearly 500 professional artists working in a variety of mediums, who provide their services pro bono or donate their work to animal shelters, rescues, and advocacy groups.

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In the United States, only 25-30% of pets living in homes were adopted from a shelter or rescue, and globally this number can be even lower

Motivated by these sobering statistics, the goal of the Artists Helping Animals program is to improve the image of animal shelters and animals in need. Artist members contribute their services through beautiful, professional-quality imagery and promotional pieces, including photographs, graphic design, writing, paintings, sculpture, jewelry, drawings, and videos, to support and empower animal welfare organizations. Each year, this program impacts over 200,000 animals who are awaiting homes across the globe. Monthly, HeARTs Speak artist members are giving more than 12,500 hours of time and working in 1/3 of the animal shelters in the U.S. alone.

Leah Backo

Leah Backo is a photographer, graphic designer, and Public Information Coordinator at Dallas Animal Services and Adoption Center. It wasn’t until 2016, when she started working for a small animal shelter in Northeast Ohio as the Marketing & PR Coordinator, that she fell in love with photographing homeless animals. Capturing a goofy grin on a blocky-headed pittie is now one of her favorite things to do! Leah has her own deaf rescue pup and foster failure named Lace.

Jen Parjol

Jen volunteers at the Arizona Animal Welfare League & SPCA. A feline enthusiast turned shelter paparazzo, she love-love-loves connecting with cats. Jen is passionate about learning their personalities, sharing their stories, and reimagining what is possible from in-cage cell phone photography. The camera in your back pocket really can save a life!

Glenn Elvy

Glenn’s association with animals goes way back to he was a small child and surrounded by all manner of animals on their family farm let in New Zealand
Since then animals have been a constant in his life. Over the years there has been a Dachshund, Dobermans, Shepard’s, Bull Terriers, Miniature Schnauzer, street cats and some fish….
Currently based in Singapore this has taught him how to engage with, and relate to, the hundreds of animals he has enjoyed photographing for rescue organisations

Central to the Artists Helping Animals program is a deep and abiding respect for animals and humans, and the acknowledgment that it is only through collaboration that we will reach our goal