[Gaborn]

In this photo taken on Monday, April 9, 2012, in a makeshift studio, Taiwanese photographer Tou Chih-kang tries to make a portrait of a dog in the final moments of its life before being put down by lethal injection at a shelter in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan. Tou has been visiting dog shelters for two years now, making human-like portraits that give a sense of dignity and esteem to some 400 canines, in hopes of educating the public on the proper care of pets. This year Taiwanese authorities will kill an estimated 80,000 stray dogs at 38 pounds scattered throughout the island. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

The six-month-old’s big brown eyes, trusting and calm, pierce right through your computer screen. The shy puppy, perhaps a chocolate lab, sits ever so patiently on a pedestal as he’s photographed. He could be getting his picture taken for a dog food commercial, a Fido ad or an adorable owner-and-pooch glamour shot. Then you read the caption: He’s on death row, and will be killed after this photo shoot. The realization hits you – he’s already gone – and it stings. That’s the point, says photographer Tou Chih-kang, who will launch his first photo exhibit of the dogs next month. Mr. Tou has been photographing canines at the Taoyuan Animal Shelter in Taiwan, capturing the last moments of life for some 400 dogs – most of which have been abandoned by their owners. “I believe something should not be told but should be felt,” he told the Associated Press, adding that he hopes the painful images help viewers to “understand the inhumanity” these dogs face. In Taiwan, 80,000 stray dogs will be euthanized – 70 per cent of them killed after 12 days in the shelter, according to the Washington Post. Mr. Tou has taken more than 400 death-row dogs' photographs in an effort to get pet owners to consider their roles more seriously. There are, of course, other viral pooch picture collections: Who can forget dogs underwater, or dogs in cars? But this particular gallery has stirred quite a reaction, way beyond the typical ‘aww’, in its adueince. Some question his motives. “There are other ways to show the cause and to fight it. I say find another way to gain fame!” writes one commenter. “One of the saddest slideshows I've ever seen on here! I feel sick. May they rest in peace and find joy in their next lives,” writes another. For me – a certified crazy dog lady – these images are unbearable. They make me angry and sad, but more so, disturbed. I made it four seconds into this video before losing it. Photographing these adorable beings in their last minutes would be an impossible job for me, but I’m glad he was able to do it.

Story Here

A slideshow with some more images here

[strafer]

Thank you for this very uplifting story.

:(

[blame space]

i knew you didn't change.

[criesofthepast]

I hate you Gaborn.

[Speevy]

I wonder what percentage of the total dog population is euthanized every year.

[DonMigs85]

Well... At the very least they're not being beaten to a bloody pulp on the street or sold to dog meat traffickers like on the mainland.

Heck, they even skin Golden Retrievers in public

[LM4sure]

Maybe we should start eating dogs. Then all the dead carcasses wouldn't go to waste.

I would eat a dog

[Nappuccino]

I feel horrible that my sorta first thought was "man these photos are horribly cropped"

[GraveRobberX]

I wonder what percentage of the total dog population is euthanized every year.

From the looks of it too much, yet every year the % we get from media is always going up

Also isn't PETA the one who does the most killings, go figure...

[SalsaShark]

it is exactly what it seems



also this one looks like clint eastwood

[Derrick01]

So incredibly sad.

[Lionel Mandrake]

[Karsticles]

From the looks of it too much, yet every year the % we get from media is always going up Also isn't PETA the one who does the most killings, go figure...

PETA has a really high percentile, not a high numerical.

[Chromax]

Now my day is ruined...

[Mordeccai]

Bummer, man.

[LuchaShaq]

Well... At the very least they're not being beaten to a bloody pulp on the street or sold to dog meat traffickers like on the mainland. Heck, they even skin Golden Retrievers in public

Just seeing the pause frame in the video that is the most disgusting and upsetting thing I've seen in my entire life. I hope it was at least dead before this was started FUCK. Should have known that link was more than a text story.

[GraveRobberX]

Well... At the very least they're not being beaten to a bloody pulp on the street or sold to dog meat traffickers like on the mainland. Heck, they even skin Golden Retrievers in public

WAT?!?

I'm out, in Daylight Public area... WAT?!?

[blame space]

gaborn's brain is currently releasing dopamine at a rate previously thought "meth-only".

[Count Dookkake]

Food for thought.

[DonMigs85]

Just seeing the pause frame in the video that is the most disgusting and upsetting thing I've seen in my entire life. I hope it was at least dead before this was started FUCK. Should have known that link was more than a text story.

A lot of people over there treat animals no differently than cutting up fruits and vegetables. It's mainly the growing middle class with pets that are starting to protest the cruelty.

[Attackthebase]

I felt nothing during the reading nor post-reading. All that popped up in my head was, "This makes sense."

[Chumly]

Saw this earlier.......... yea :(

[Gaborn]

<3

gaborn's brain is currently releasing dopamine at a rate previously thought "meth-only".

lol, oh c'mon man. I do like posting stories and I DO like the variety of reactions I get but no, I don't enjoy sad or depressing or upsetting stories more than positive stories. although I think there is something bittersweet about this one. a sort of nobility in death to it.

[TOM f'N CRUISE]

you guys are fools... i came in here knowing it was going to be fucked up so i didn't read!!

I DIDN'T READ!!!

[shadyspace]

Christ those pictures. It's like they know.

[GabDX]

Can't they just neuture them instead?

[Riggs]

Didn't read. Still love Gaborn. Can't handle any depressing animal stories right now.

[WoodenLung]

Some of these photos are amazing

[Byakuya769]

Are there gaf-man comics!?!

[Wilsongt]

Goddamn, Gaborn. Stop taking Sarah McLachlan's job.

[GotEmRunnin]

I've been here long enough to know you only enter a Gaborn thread simply for the comments.

[Drago]

Thanks for ruining my otherwise great day.

:(

[Atenhaus]

Goddamn, Gaborn. Stop taking Sarah McLachlan's job.

Jesus fuck, this.

[Enron]

I am not clicking that link. Fuck.

[The Albatross]

I'm a dog owner and dog lover, but the fact is, that's it. There are worse stories in the world. Domesticated animal populations are a serious problem for many countries.

[MightyKAC]

And this is why I don't fucking come to the OT anymore.

Jeeez.....

[Megasoum]

Nobody tells Matt Rorie please!

[alphaNoid]

Brb hugging my dog

[Freakinchair]

goddamnit gaborn stop doing this :(

[True Underdog]

God dammit, Gaborn.

[krameriffic]

Very sad.

[Gaborn]

goddamnit gaborn stop doing this :(

God dammit, Gaborn.

You guys realize I'm not the one posting about skinning a fucking Golden Retriever, right?

[Facism]

I don't have a dog (used to) but this is pretty depressing. Going to give the cat a cuddle. Will inevitably have to be put down when her lymphoma comes back kill her.

[Doctor West]

Well, now I feel beyond awful. Thanks, Gaborn.

[Sanky Panky]

You guys realize I'm not the one posting about skinning a fucking Golden Retriever, right?

Still, goddammit Gaborn. I think I could live my life without having to discuss this news.

[True Underdog]

You guys realize I'm not the one posting about skinning a fucking Golden Retriever, right?

I don't want to believe.

[Gaborn]

Still, goddammit Gaborn. I think I could live my life without having to discuss this news.

I actually think that was rather the photographer's point.

[Nightshade1765]

I hate you Gaborn.

Yep.

[zomaha]

You guys realize I'm not the one posting about skinning a fucking Golden Retriever, right?

Dude, I didn't even know about that until you just told me. That's two things to ruin my day, both in the same thread, from the same person. I feel miserable.

[Ryaaan14]

Amazing work by this man. The fact that this doesn't even need to be happening is the real tragedy here. Fucking irresonsible pet owners don't realize the ramifications of something as simple as neutering/spaying your pet. I know I may be a little animal crazy, but I simply cannot begin to empathize with people who have no emotional attachment to their pets. I really wish the law would come down harder on people who neglect their animals, but it will NEVER happen, and if people don't give a shit about the dog out in their own yard how can we expect them to care about PSAs?

Ugh.