Deire Franklin saw pitbulls left for dead in post-Katrina New Orleans and knew she had to do something.
So Franklin, a pinup model and pitbull owner at the time, began asking people for money so she could make the trip to save the dogs. She raised the cash and went.
“A lot of them got left behind, and it was sort of the last straw for me,” said Franklin, who said she hit the streets to save the stranded pups.
“Something had to be done to educate people about the true nature of these dogs,” she said.
Franklin created an official organization, Pinups for Pitbulls (pinupsforpitbulls.org), for that purpose after her New Orleans excursion. She teamed up with a photographer friend two years later and created the first Pinups for Pitbulls calendar. It was a hit. Franklin, who goes by the pinup nickname “Little Darling,” had 1,000 copies printed up, and its grown steadily since then.
Franklin and her fiance, Jeff Loncosky, plan to move from Philadelphia to Asheville later this year. The two are planning a June wedding. Franklin who works with homeowners on foreclosure mitigation, is finishing up graduate school and Longcosky works as a bank auditor when he’s not helping with Pinups for Pitbulls.
Photo courtesy of Celeste Giuliano Photography