Izzy

Izzy is our new foster. She came to us in quite a mess. I have had her in my home for about a week and over the past few days she has really started to relax. She was very very unsure and had a very sore body. Most of her fur is missing off the top of her back, she has some sores and a bit stiff when she walks .. and the poor thing smells. Very yeasty. 

We have given her a medicated bath, Sit With Me brought her to a vet and it appears as though she had an under developing thyroid. She is currently on medication and getting lots of love and TLC. 

We believe she is about 4-5 years old and possible an Akita/Husky/Samoyed cross. She's quite solid, knows basic commands and loves to go for walks on leash. 

At this time we are getting know to her and what her long term needs are before being available for adoption. If you are looking for a new dog in your life, please consider adopting!

Friendly faces of 2014

Volunteering with a dog rescue group, like Sit With Me, is rewarding in many ways. You constantly learn about dog behaviour, you learn to work with local shelters, you sometimes foster, you sometimes laugh and you sometimes cry. It can be very emotional but incredibly rewarding. I wanted to sign off this year with a collage of many of the dogs that I photographed. Some indoor studio type shots, some outdoors and others are intake photos. Intake photos are so hard because you have little time, small assessment room, no flash (so you're cranking your ISO) and sometimes an opportunity to shoot just outside the building which is never very pretty and always in full noon sun. These photos matter though. They matter because sometimes, without a decent photo, dogs get passed up. 

To me, this is what matters. Helping the dogs that have done nothing wrong but often had irresponsible owners. Much of the public doesn't realize that not having your pet spayed or neutered, having it roam, unwanted litters, or throwing up $400 puppies on Kijiji contributes to the reason why many dogs and many cats don't make it out of municipal shelters ALIVE. 

Please look at the faces you see. They were all helped in one way or another and everyone of them were given a chance. 

Please consider adopting for your next pet. There are amazing mixes out there or if you want a specific breed, there are breed rescues as well, just look around or ask me. I would be more than happy to point you in direction. 

Shelter pets or rescue pets aren't broken. Some may have some challenges but many have just had unfortunate timing and circumstances. 

All the best in the new year

Hudson

Had to opportunity to photograph the lovely Hudson last weekend. It was a chilly enough morning in Brewer Park but nothing a well seasoned Canadians can't handle.

Hudson, GCh Rowansgaard Paint it Black, was showing at the Ottawa Kennel Clubs' yearly event at Lansdown. It was a great opportunity for him to get some images after being groomed and pampered before heading back to Gravenhurst. 

YOW Gallery

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From today until mid January, I have some photographic collages on display at the YOW Gallery at the McDonald Cartier International Airport. They are located at Gate 14 in the Departures lounge.

I decided to showcase some of my favourite travel images. Destinations were for Dublin, Amsterdam, Prague, Budapest, Romania and Turkey. There is also a panoramic image from Mer Bleue. 

These canvases are 24" X 36" (1.5" depth) and are available for purchase for $350 each. 

If you're flying out of Ottawa in the near future, check them out. :)

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Tanner in the woods

For personal reasons, which I will post about at some point in the future, my boyfriend and I had a very emotional week. Physically, emotionally and psychologically draining. I can say that when you look at this face, the face of my foster dog Tanner ... no matter what your mood, you can't help but just smile. He's been an amazing companion and I will miss him so much when he gets adopted through Sit With Me rescue. 

It's always a bit more challenging for a Pit Bull type dog to get placed. Not because of his temperament, simply because there are just less people looking. So in that time he will stay with us and be loved. It was a challenge to get these shots because I was alone, and I wasn't willing to risk having Tanner get loose and potentially take off. He is very committed and sticks with his people but .. I just didn't want to be that person that loses a foster dog in a random border town. I had to have him on my long stretch leash and even with that. I would tie him to a stump up ahead and move back, as I prefer to shoot at the 100-300mm range and every time I slowly moved back .. he got all anxious and bouncy and wanted to come with me. In the house and on walks he does know his 'stay' command but I'm guessing this environment was just too stimulating for him to focus. 

Ryan had to ship some motorcycle parts to the US on Saturday so Tanner and I hitched along for the ride. He dropped us off at Angelo's, which is this diner near the Ontario/NY border at Ogdensburg, and from there we went on some walking trails behind the truck stop. My life has been so busy since I got back from my trip to Europe and Egypt that, other than sessions for other people, I didn't take any time for myself to enjoy the beautiful fall colours. 

They are mostly gone now but there are still a few parts that are holding out. It was nice to just be out in nature, no noise except for the wind and the chirping of birds and the scurrying of squirrels, frantically gathering their stash for the winter. It's amazing what time along, disconnected time along, can give you to just stop and breathe. 

Bennett

Met up with beautiful Bennett last weekend with his dads, Vincent & Matt. This dog was so well behaved .. I was very impressed. A photographers dream, would do almost anything on demand .. very compliant little man.

We had a nice stroll through Hillsdale Park and thoroughly enjoyed Eastern Ontario's beautiful fall weather and colours!

Our family

I had the absolute pleasure of photographing another local pet photographer last weekend. Lynda is the owner of LGraveline Photography and she contacted me because, as a photographer, it's hard to get photos of yourself when YOU are the one who is always shooting.

I met up with Lynda in the west end of Kanata, near Dunrobin, with her boyfriend Nick and her three dogs; Bentley the Australian Cattle Dog, Oz the Australian Shepherd and Doc the American Pit Bull Terrier. Doc is their current foster dog with Sit With Me rescue and unfortunately he has cancer and had a limited but unknown amount of time left. I was so happy to be able to give this family some wonderful photographic memories.

Tanner - my new foster

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Late last week my boyfriend and I heard about a dog at a local shelter that needed help. NOW. He was difficult to assess, as often they can be at loud & busy shelters, but he passed and needed an immediate foster home. Ryan and I just saw our previous foster, Robyn, get adopted and move into her new home the weekend before, so we were planning to take a break.

It was incredibly clear that sometimes, with life, you can't take a break. A break would have possibly meant that Tanner wouldn't be here today.

So he arrived last Thursday and I cannot stop gushing about what a great dog he is. He's slowly integrating with my other dogs. Shamar has been loose with him in the house for the past few days in little spurts. Jorja and Pete may meet him next week. Tanner is good with dogs, my dogs can be a bit jerky with strange dogs so we take it slow.

We are still trying to figure out a proper character profile for him, only because he's been a little uncomfortable with some allergies which are being treated so .. compound that with a new environment, we need to get an accurate picture but so far ...

Tanner is a 4 year old American Pit Bull Terrier. Single bred and stunning. He is neutered and very friendly. He is good with dogs, good with strangers, good with kids and seems ok with cats. On our walks in the neighbourhood he shows little interest in any squirrels or cats in driveways. He knows basic commands, walks great on leash and doesn't protest wearing a muzzle out in public (due to law, not personality). He is a great companion for car rides and makes great company. He was listed on his intake papers that he has separation anxiety. We haven't noticed anything of concern with him. He goes in and out of his crate, eats in his crate and will go in on command. He does whine once he's in his crate, this usually lasts only a few minutes. He does protest more when I can hear him in the morning when I'm leaving for work so this is something we are working on. We genuinely feel this issue is really not much of an issue and he just needs some rehabilitation with crate training, with positive experiences and consistency.

Yesterday we decided last minute to go to the Beaconsfield Pet Fair on the west island of Montreal with Sit With Me Shelter Dog Rescue. He did very well meeting many people and dogs .. even in the pouring rain.

Tanner will be available for adoption through Sit With Me. I'm confident this great dog won't last long and because he's such a great dog, deserves a great home outside of Ontario.

Krishna & Emmy

Krishna contacted me regarding booking
a session for her dog Emmy. Emmy
was a rescue with Sit With Me and a compassionate adoption. A photo session was on Krishna's bucket list for her and I was more than happen to assist. Emmy has been diagnosed with cancer and her lifespan has been shortened.

We met up at their home and went to their local park and seeing the bond these two have with each other was nothing short of beautiful.

Emmy has integrated into their loving family and it was an absolutely pleasure meeting them. Thank you Krishna for caring and opening your heart and home.

Rescatame

I was able to connect with an animal rescue group while on holidays in Punta Cana this past spring. Their name is Rescatame and through generous donations and great working relationships with the public and vets - they are able to vaccinate, spay & neuter, feed and facilitate adoptions both local and overseas. Sylvia and Viviana were kind enough to bring me out to show me what a typical morning can consist of. This particular morning involved helping some community dogs with food and treating a new arrival with a dewormer. Often the locals vets can manage with treatments but sometimes they need to travel to Santo Domingo for more complicated procedures.

There are many stories of dogs showing up at businesses. Some are lucky and taken care of, some are chased away ... some are poisoned. It's a tough life for any roaming dog. Rescatame see the local problem and work to try to improve their lives. Education, spay & neutering, vaccinations and encourage adoptions. Please check out their Facebook page for more up to date news.

Customer Canvas arrival

There is a pet store in Riverside South called Chew-That, whom just celebrated their 1 year anniversary. I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing the owner's furkids in early summer. There's 4 of them, a Pomeranian, a Siberian Husky, a Bernese and a Malamute Shepherd X - they are full of personality. 

Today in the mail, her 20 X 20 inch canvas came in and I'm so pleased how it turned out. No doubt it will go somewhere special in their home.

Sit With Me Spring Auction

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I have been honoured to partner with a local Ottawa dog rescue called Sit With Me. Their mandate is to pull dogs from shelters who would otherwise be killed due to various reasons as a simple case of kennel cough, a bit too old (4 years??), a bit too rambunctious, a bit too shy, a broken limb .. you get it .. the list goes on.
They are equipped with experienced dog experts whom I trust completely to assess dogs who would be successful in re adoption into a loving home with a little TLC.
I started photographing them last year in hopes a better photograph might get them noticed and moved more quickly through this hard system.
This is a snapshot collage of some of the dogs I photographed in 2013 - 2014. Most have been adopted out into happy loving homes.
Sit With Me is having a spring auction, where generous supporters donate items to be bid on. The funds raised from these auctions go towards vetting for sick and injured dogs, spay & neuters, food, crates, transportation, merchandise to sell at events and many other reasons. Without these resources ... sadly, many of the dogs in the photo I've linked wouldn't be here today.
I'm attaching a link to their Facebook account, peruse the photo album of items and see if there is anything you like and would like to help support a very worth cause. There is everything to 2 & 4 people movie passes to gift cards to restaurants, dog collars, paintings and donated photo sessions.
Thank you for reading, caring and helping.

Spring Online Auction link!

Helping Indian Street dogs

As many readers may know, about 5 years ago I adopted a once homeless dog from India. It wasn't planned, expected or truly thought out. I already had 1 dog, Jorja. She was my first dog as an 'adult' and she was already a handful.

I frequent a blog called Are you a Pariah Dog Fan? which talks about indigenous breeds in India, worldwide pariah breeds, canine evolution, pictures of dogs with their family from all over the world and the odd adoption plea. Well .. as it turned out that fateful day .. a fellow Canadian woman had found a puppy on the side of the road - bad shape - and brought him home to nurse him back to health. Her hope was to find someone to adopt him. Sadly, in India and in many developing countries .. for those that are fortunate enough to feed themselves .. let alone a dog, they often dismiss the dog they see scavenging for food on the side of the road. They want dogs that are often are far removed physically from anything that resembles a local canine. Siberian Huskies in India? You bet. Bulldog? You name them. India's class/caste system extends beyond human tribes.

I saw a video Lisa posted on YouTube and I immediately fell in love and wanted to help. With some local help finding a transportation crate, some expedited paper work and some $ .. this little dog found his way flying from Ahmedabad to Mumbai, onwards to Frankfurt and then a final trip to Toronto. We drove roundtrip from Ottawa to pick him up that day at Pearson Airport.

When I hear stories of people adopting dogs from foreign countries .. it's usually a pup they found while traveling. I had never met this dog, now called Pete, but I felt this overwhelming sense of helplessness and knew I could give him a loving home. This is actually a big concern for me as I truly want to travel to India one day .. I feel I will get too emotional when seeing all the street dogs.

Pete arrived in Canada with all his vaccinations and paperwork and he's been here for almost 5 years.

One Green Planet posted a story authored by Erika Abrams that I wanted to share. Erika's family runs Animal Aid Unlimited in Udaipur. They have a sanctuary where they treat everything from dogs to cows to donkeys, all animals. I was told that Erika actually met Pete when he was with Lisa at the airport in Mumbai (on his way to Toronto). Sometimes it really is a small world. :)

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A very skinny Pete .. on his way to recovery - August 2009

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This is a healthy Pete in late 2013

Project 52 - Repetition

Repetition is the weekly theme. I initially had the idea to photograph one of my dogs peeping out between a row of symmetrical hedges. Problem was .. I couldn't find any in time. In the end I decided to use my neighbours much loathed chain link fence.

When Ryan and I first bought our house 3 years ago we had spoken to the neighbour (where the fence technically resides on his side) about taking it down. It's a simple 10 foot piece that runs down the left side of our house and his driveway. He said he was already thinking about and even went to the trouble of taking out the mesh, leaving only the posts one weekend. It was to our surprise that the next day ... not only was he leaving the posts up .. he was putting in the new mesh!?

When we jokingly asked why he had changed his mind, he said he decided to leave it because he felt it was a good 'visual' for him to see where his property line was. uh ok. weiiiiiirrrrdddd.

Anyways .. it's still up and I used it for this week's Beautiful Beasties Project 52 Theme - so it  had some use. I placed Shamar 5ft from the fence, I shot on the other side, zoomed at almost 200mm, 2.8 .. focused on the eyes so I would get a nice bokehness of the mesh.

Check out Mary Siani Photography in Laguna Niguel, California for her post. Click through to all the other pet photographers until you get back to here. :)

Project 52 - Rural

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This weeks challenge is last weeks opposite - rural. I needed a new leash because my last foster dog, Nico, chewed my lovely, strong leather one. I was looking for one that clips around the waist as I have a repetitive strain injury on my right wrist/arm and for walking the dogs - I thought it would help. I decided to drive past the airport to Riverside South and check out a great pet supply store called Chew That. They are wonderful with helping out rescues and they have a full stock of toys, kibble, leashes, beds, raw food (picked up some yummy chicken necks for the pack) and tons more. I was really happy to help support a local business (they just celebrated their 1 year anniversary) and if I was going to buy a new leash from anyone, I would rather give them the money than a chain store.

I found the leash I needed and decided to take a back road home, south of the airport. The road was full of washboards so I took it slow and down the road on my left there as this old abandoned barn. I decided this was where I was going to come back and do this weeks theme. After having purchased Zack Arias' new One Light video, feeling inspired, I set out with one of my dogs to get the shot.

Although it didn't turn out exactly the way I had hoped, I was alone and found it very challenging to get Pete in place, not moving, yet shifting back into spot, re-adjusting, shooting, adjusting and trying again. There was a slight breeze and with a 60" umbrella .. it was tipping. I have yet to buy some sort of sandbag system so I quickly dragged an old tire in the field and propped it up against my light stand. It did the job but boy .. was this a cumbersome shoot. At least with one other human I would have a set of hands and someone who speaks english. :)

Click over to Blue Amrich Studio in Boston, MA to see her 'rural' post.

Project 52 - Urban

This weekly challenge was 'Urban'. I decided to bring Jorja down into Ottawa's Byward Market and get her to pose. She was excellent, even with all the city distractions. My boyfriend assisted me as official dog wrangler - always with safety in mind (especially with a busy Sussex Street behind her)
I had him help place her leash for the least photoshopping as possible in post.

I used a Westcott softbox on the left, 580ex flash and fired with my Pocket Wizards. It's a combination of shots: long exposure for the light trails and one for Jorja, layered & masked in Photoshop.

Thanks for visiting, please click along and visit greater Cincinnati's Carol Locey Photography to see her Urban submission.

Project 52 - Dramatic Light

Beautiful Beasties Network is a network of professional Pet Photographers from around the globe. The 52 Week Project is a weekly photo themed challenge. This weeks challenge is Dramatic Light.

This is Pete, my mixed breed sighthound/pariahdog from India. He is a heat-seeker, naturally, and loves being in front of my bay window.

Please click through to Barbara's site of Share the Joy Photography to see her challenge. Thanks for visiting. :)

Project 52 - Yellow - Week 8

Returning to the cold northeast from a week long vacation in the Dominican Republic - I long for the Caribbean sun. Myself and the dogs will have to just be patient and wait, spring is around the corner.

The 52 Week Project is a weekly photo themed challenge put on by members of Beautiful Beasties which is a network of professional Pet Photographers from around the globe.

This weeks challenge was Yellow.

Click through to Embracing Grace Photography in Chicago, Illinois to see her interpretation of this theme. Each blog will post a link to the next Pet Photographer so you can follow the circle until you get back to here.

Thanks for visiting!

Project 52 - Day in the life - Week 5

The 52 Week Project is a weekly photo themed challenge put on by members of Beautiful Beasties which is a network of professional Pet Photographers from around the globe.

This weeks challenge was A Day in the Life of your pet. I have decided to show a mix of 3 different images of my pooches. During these winter months my dogs love 2 things: the sun shining through the living room window and ... watching EVERYTHING. If not sleeping, this is what they do most often.

Click through to Spotty Nose Pet Photography in Los Angeles, California to see her interpretation of this theme. Each blog will post a link to the next Pet Photographer so you can follow the circle until you get back to here.

Thanks for visiting!

Project 52 - Favourite Book - Week 4

Beautiful Beasties Network is a network of professional Pet Photographers from around the globe. The 52 Week Project is a weekly photo themed challenge. This is my first week participating and I must admit .. I felt stumped. What on earth could I photograph with my pets that could represent a book?

There was some head scratching and in the end I thought I had decided it was going to be Farley Mowat's Never Cry Wolf. It's COLD out, like really cold this week in Eastern Ontario. I was going to use Shamar, my white Canaan, and drive out to the Greenbelt and photograph him in a more 'arctic' setting but by the time I get home from work .. even with a short drive .. it's getting dark and I knew I wouldn't have any helping hands near by to help light him if needed. As I was sitting my car — thinking really hard — I noticed hanging from my rearview mirror a pair of vintage looking motorcycle goggles. Then I remembered Mowat's OTHER book from my childhood, The Dog Who Wouldn't Be.

I decided to reproduce the book cover of the copy I had years ago. I chose Jorja as my model because she's the least sketchy around my lights and will basically sit still and pose. She wasn't crazy about these goggles on her, they really don't fit at all. She was a champ though.

By clicking through to Suzi Pix Photography in Cincinnati, Ohio .. you can follow the blog circle and view everyone's Favourite Book challenge.