Rachel Hendrie and her family adopted TJ, a greyhound cross, from a PDSA shelter in Glasgow in 2001 when she was 13 years old.
The 36-year-old explained that in a way TJ rescued her more than she rescued him.
TJ sadly died in 2011 and more than 10 years on Rachel felt so inspired by the impact that he had on her life that she wanted to capture that for others.
She said: “The reason I went into pet photography is something extremely personal. It’s all because of my first dog TJ.
“He was a rescue dog but in a way, he probably rescued me more than I rescued him. I was really young at the time we got him and I was going through a really dark time in my life.
“He was there for me in a way that most humans couldn’t possibly be. I was right at the very beginning of my photography journey when we lost him.
“I don’t really have anything that tells our story or who he was for me and that’s what eventually led me to become a pet specialist.
“I thought if I can give my clients a piece of that then that just makes my day. The amount of amazing people I have met and hearing their stories about what their animals have done for them is incredible.
“It’s a privilege to do the job.”
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Rachel explained that she grew up around photography as her father and late grandfather were keen snappers.
She went on to study digital design at the Glasgow Metropolitan College – now City of Glasgow College – which had a photography element to it.
The Baillieston resident said this is where her passion for photography really started, much to her father’s delight, and he bought her, her first VSLR camera.
However, for a number of years after college Rachel put down her camera only picking it back up in 2017 after the birth of her first child.
Rachel added: “I think it [photography] might just be in my blood. After college, I didn’t have any confidence in myself to do anything with it so I just sat on it and went about my day job.
“I worked in the Argyll Arcade and met my partner Martin there. When our first child was born I picked my camera back up again and Martin said ‘Why are you not doing this? You clearly love it’.
“My business started in 2017 as me taking pictures of families and pets. After going to an amazing course and doing a bit of soul searching I realised why I kept going back to pets and animals, all because of TJ.
“It was December 2021 that my home studio officially opened and most of my clients came through the door in January 2022.
“I’ve only really been a pet photographer since last summer and I made the move to follow my heart.”
Less than a year after becoming a pet photographer Rachel submitted her work to the British Photography Awards.
In November she was crowned Pet Photographer of the Year.
Rachel explained that she was in “total shock” when the announcement was made at the awards ceremony in London.
She added: “It’s blown my mind, I still can’t believe it. It means everything to me. The support I had was phenomenal not just from my family and friends but the whole community in Baillieston and the surrounding areas.
“I have so much love for them.”
