Remember the saga of Draven Rodriguez and his gloriously tongue-in-cheek "laser cat" yearbook photo? There's a new twist, and it's going to make you smile.
(Quick recap: Rodriguez, a Schenectady, NY high school senior, submitted a goofy picture of himself holding his beloved cat Mr. Bigglesworth with lasers in the background, to be used as his official photo in his high school yearbook. He even created an online petition for it, but the school district insisted on a "normal" pic.)
It turns out, Rodriguez has one cool high school principal. Sensing an opportunity to not only do something fun, but also turn the silliness into something meaningful, principal Diane Wilkinson hatched a plan. She would overrule the district's judgment and allow Rodriguez to have his goofy laser cat photo in the yearbook, if he would join up with her to promote awareness of rescue pets.
As it happens, both Rodriguez and Principal Wilkinson own rescue pets — the teen's aforementioned cat was a rescue, while Wilkinson owns a rescue dog named Vivian. It was a win-win that Rodriguez couldn't refuse, and a genius bit of positive community building on the principal's part.
The best part was how she proposed that the two of them help out the rescue pet cause. Wilkinson hired the very same photographer Rodriguez had used — Vincent Giordano of Trinacria Photography — to take another photo like Rodriguez' originals. But this time, Wilkinson posed in the photo as well, along with her dog, Vivian, according to Today. The new picture, on Wilkinson's instructions, will appear on her page in the yearbook.
Side note: Is it just us, or does Vivian seem to be whispering "Help me"?
Coincidentally (or not), photographer Giordano is also a rescue pet owner. He was so enamored of Wilkinson's idea that he's reportedly considering doing a raffle with the ASPCA for the chance to have them shoot a "laser cat" photo with the winner. Giordano also plans to gift large prints of the two photos to the school.
