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Janice with alpacas, Attleboro, Massachusetts, 2016
Sage Sohier photographed at refuges for exotic animals, wildlife rescues that rehabilitate and re-release animals to the wild, dog and cat rescues and farm animal sanctuaries. Peaceable Kingdom: The Special Bond between Animals and Their Humans by Sage Sohier is available through Kehrer Verlag. All photographs by Sage Sohier
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Jaden on trampoline with Chrissy, Animal Tracks, Agua Dulce, California, 2019
Many of the people pictured here have dedicated most of their adult lives to saving animals. The animals’ sweetness, resilience, zest for life and willingness to forgive people – to coexist with them and often to flourish – is remarkable, and may be their only salvation
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Peggy with Poe, a raven at Wildlife Rescue Inc, Placitas, New Mexico, 2013
Peggy is a volunteer for Wildlife Rescue and cares for injured birds in her home while they recuperate. If they’re unable to be released back into the wild, she and other volunteers act as their guardians. Some are taken to public events from time to time to act as ‘ambassador’ animals and educate the public
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Rich with rescued pig, The Pig Preserve, Jamestown, Tennessee, 2018
Sage found The Pig Preserve, an amazing 100-acre refuge for farm, pot-bellied and feral pigs who roam free and choose their own social groups. The rescued pigs have been variously abandoned, abused or neglected, have escaped from factory farms and slaughter or have been used as research subjects
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Family with macaws, flamingos, cats, and dog, Homestead, Florida, 2013
Sage writes: ‘In the 1980s and 90s, when I was shooting in black and white, I photographed many people with their companion animals. Beginning in 2008, I decided to expand my approach. Working in colour, with a digital camera, I started to include not just people with their pets but also other kinds of caring relationships that people have with animals. I photographed at refuges for exotic animals that had been raised in captivity, wildlife rescues, dog and cat rescues, farm animal sanctuaries, and traditional farms’
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Donald and Brenda with skunks and greyhound, Florida Skunk Rescue, Hudson, Florida, 2015
‘I discovered many unusual and wonderful situations: inmates who care for rescued animals at a prison, a couple who rescue and find new homes for skunks that have been raised and then rejected as pets, a man with a prosthetic leg who specialises in creating prostheses for farm animals, women who raise money for shelters and other causes by dressing up their dogs in elaborate costumes, and a couple who sold up and moved into a small travel trailer near the barn that houses their rescued horses and goats’
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Ronnie with Luigi, a mini donkey for whom he made a prosthetic leg, Webster, Florida, 2015
Ronnie Graves is the owner of Veterinary Inclusive Prosthetics and Orthotics in Bushnell, Florida. He makes custom prosthetic limbs for animals suffering from injuries, illnesses or birth defects.
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Nancy on the beach with rescued cockatoos and ‘Baby Blue’, Key West, Florida, 2014
This self-appointed ‘Key West parrot lady’ has been taking in parrots and macaws that are left on her doorstep for many years. Now in her 70s, she is worried about providing for the futures of these long-lived birds, and has been making arrangements with other rescues to care for them when she no longer can. She likes to take them to the beach, where she has a glass of wine at a table outside the front door of her favourite Italian restaurant – the owner provides a bread basket for the birds
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Judy with Charlie Cheetah, Panther Ridge Conservation Center, Loxahatchee, Florida, 2013
‘”It was a mid-life crisis,” said Judy, when I asked how she transitioned from equestrian to big cat rescuer. “And once I got my first cat, Sabrina, that was it – I was hooked.” Her non-profit is now home to more than 20 big cats such as cheetah, jaguar, leopard, clouded leopard, panther, ocelot, serval, and caracal. Visitors are allowed to get up close to some of these endangered cats, who act as “ambassadors” for their species’
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Bob wrestling an alligator, Everglades Outpost Wildlife Refuge, Homestead, Florida, 2014
‘In this book, I have included only people totally dedicated to the wellbeing of the animals in their care, people whose animals appeared to be well cared for both physically and emotionally. Many of the people I photographed have dedicated most of their adult lives to saving animals. Those who run rescues and refuges give selflessly of their time, energy, and money. Their incredible commitment and sacrifices preclude vacations and other aspects of conventional life that most of us take for granted’
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Snake, cat, and squirrel monkey, Boynton Beach, Florida, 2014
Sy Montgomery is the author of acclaimed books, among them The Soul of an Octopus. She writes: ‘Looking at these photographs will make you better. This is not just my opinion as a dedicated animal lover. There is ample scientific proof. Looking at animals is one of the most basic of human impulses. That’s because animals affect our brains like nothing else. In 2011, researchers discovered there’s a part of the human brain – a cluster of neurons on the almond-shaped areas known as the amygdalae – which responds only to animals’
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Lori with horse and baby goat, Redemption Rd Rescue, Jackson, Tennessee, 2018
Montgomery continues: ‘Beatitudo is the word that describes the bliss captured in these photos. Unconditional love – so rare in human-to-human relationships – is what animals offer us in spades. They show us the way. Animals activate our best selves: they feed our desire for companionship and affection. They inspire us to nurture and protect. They remind us that we all thrive on compassion. You will see that on these pages. That is why these photos will not only make us feel better; they can help us to be better’
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Beverly on bed with pig, swine rescue, Sebring, Florida, 2015
Montgomery writes: ‘When we touch gently, when we press our faces together, when we close our eyes in trust and ecstasy, we are saying, “You are secure. You are loved. We are safe. We are in this together”‘These photos show us that the Peaceable Kingdom – the state of harmony among all creatures – dwells within us, and that the face of bliss belongs to us all
