My Second Home Pet Resort {Nashville Pet Photographer}

This week I'm featuring an amazing local company, My Second Home Pet Resort! This is one of the premier pet boarding facility based in Franklin, TN, and is the top go-to for many pet owners in the Nashville area to take their furry family members for boarding, grooming and daycare.

They have been established in the community for over 14 years and work very closely with several animal rescue organizations every year by raising donations, sponsoring charity events and fostering cats and dogs looking for forever homes. They are always looking for new ways to offer great services to the community and their pets! I've done a few mini session events for charities there in the past year.

The resort facility is fantastic, with several types of boarding rooms for dogs, an outdoor play area, a cat boarding room, grooming, day care and dog training! And as of August 1, they will also offer in-home pet care services to the local area with walks and home visits Monday - Friday!

One of the best features about My Second Home is that there is no breed discrimination at the facility. They welcome everyone and can build a custom package for any pet -- even dogs that don't like being around other dogs. 

Also, every employee is a pet parent. The manager said, "If we simply employed people who “love animals”, everyone would qualify. Instead, we look for individuals who not only love animals, but practice compassion and take pride in their quality of work. We have over 20 staff members that have been with MSH for years, and some have made a career out of helping My Second Home continue to succeed in the community." I love this company philosophy and can see first-hand how it makes a difference in the quality of service they provide.

I highly recommend visiting the facility with your own furry family members, and if you mention Mandy Whitley Photography sent you, there's a discount waiting for you!

~ Mandy

Contact a Pet Photographer in Tennessee

Mandy Whitley Photography is Nashville's premiere pet photographer. Mandy Whitley creates fun and playful photographs with pets and their people. She photographs portrait sessions, family sessions, couple portraits, and weddings - as well as just pets! To inquire about booking a photo session, contact Mandy!

Fostering Cats & Kittens {Nashville Cat Photographer}

Over the years, we've fostered dozens of puppies, dogs, kittens and cats -- and I believe it's one of the best ways we can help animals find forever homes! Fostering is such a needed service and it provides so much for the animals (and us!), including a warm and inviting home, food, and tons of love. 

That's why I wanted to highlight some information on fostering cats and kittens today on the blog, especially since it's kitten season here in Nashville! Read on for more information (and adorable kittens!)

Although it may seem like a big undertaking, fostering pets is really easy. Some people choose to integrate the kittens right into their entire home, but since we have three dogs and a grown cat, we choose to keep them separate from our animals. 

Here's how we do it!

My husband and I both work from home, so we set up a large dog crate in my office complete with a litter box, food, water and a small box for them to chill out in until they get used to being here (kittens love to hide).

Then, while I'm working during the day, we let them run around and play in my office. We don't like to leave them unsupervised because kittens are notorious for chewing cords so when I leave the office for the day they go back in the crate. They have just as much room in that big crate as they would in a cage at the shelter, and tons of extra play time. 

And we, in return, get adorable kitten snuggles and laughs from all their antics - what is better than that!?

When you foster through an animal shelter, you will normally only have them until they weigh enough to be adopted. If you foster with a group, you might have them until they are adopted by a family, so that time frame is sometimes much longer. This is certainly something to consider when deciding who to foster with.

As a foster pet parent, you are also responsible for transportation to the vet or shelter for their medical appointments. The group you foster with will normally provide everything else: food, litter and medications if they need them. And of course if you are willing to provide some or all of these supplies yourself, it's a huge help for the shelters! 

There are several groups in the Nashville area who need foster families for cats and kittens. If you aren't local to Nashville, just reach out to your local animal shelter and they can point you in the right direction!

Here are several shelters and organizations in the Nashville area you may be able to foster cats and kittens through:

Metro Animal Care & Control 

Williamson County Animal Center 
(this is who we currently foster with)

Nashville Cat Rescue 

Rural Animal Rescue Effort 

... and that's just scratching the service! :) 

All of the images in this post are of kittens we've fostered along the way. If you have questions about what it's like to foster these adorable kittens, comment below! I promise it's an amazing experience -- we're hooked!

And if you are looking to adopt a cat, you might be interested to read our previous post about the Mewsic Kitty Cafe in Nashville!

~ Mandy

Mewsic Kitty Cafe Open House {Nashville Cat Photographer}

If you loved the Mewsic Kitty Cafe Pop Up from last year, then you'll be excited to hear that they are officially open for business! I had an amazing time taking photos of their pop up cat cafe last summer, and I am SO excited they are now here year-round! 

Mewsic Kitty Cafe is Tennessee's very first cat cafe! They provide "a vibrant, comfy, cage-free place for adoptable headliners (that's the cats!) to meet their furever families." So, not only do you have the chance to hang out with some of the cutest cats in Nashville, but you can adopt them from Nashville Cat Rescue while you're there! They've already had a dozen successful adoptions, the last of which was Keith Furban. :) 

Take a look at some of my favorites from the Mewsic Kitty Cafe's open house below!

~ Mandy

Adopting a pet cat? Capture the moment on camera!

Mandy Whitley Photography is Nashville's premiere pet photographer. Mandy Whitley creates fun and playful photographs with pets and their people. She photographs portrait sessions, family sessions, couple portraits, and weddings - as well as just pets! To inquire about booking a photo session, contact Mandy!