Lucky & Molly June 13, 2008

As I started to write this post, I kid you not, I described this dog as happy-go-yeah, lucky. Not because of his name but because that’s exactly what he is so it fits perfectly. However, it’s doubly sweet because his last name is Clover, for real. How adorable, right?!

I felt a tad under dressed when I arrived, seeing as Lucky had dressed in his Friday finest. But, he assured me, he’ll probably end up fetching too much and taking his clothes off anyway. Hey, that’s my kinda party! Totally kidding, ANYWAY… he was a perfect gentleman to match the black tie affair I had showed up at.

And he LOVES the ball of course. When playing by himself, he will choose a lighter fare of stuffed animal gizzards but when he has a partner, ball’s the game. I know what he’s talking about, I got just as obsessed with throwing the ball as he did intently tracking and catching it. He was so good at catching!

Okay, and the impression he does of Bill Cosby (just above) is uncanny!

Molly is an incredible young lady of high energy and lots of love. She has ball fever as well but treats fall on the same plane so she could have either and be perfectly happy. Just so long as she’s occupied you will get along just fine. She is such a speedy fetch-er and has so much fun that I had to make her rest so she would actually take a break. She gets so excited and it’s really fun to watch her enjoy her accomplishments. 😉

She also dressed for the occasion, sporting a set of pearls. Together, she and Lucky made a dashing couple! The pearls also came off with his bow tie as she likes to let loose and have fun too- hee hee!

Yeah, that pretty much says it right there.

Molly uses her fabulous combination of sweetness, attitude and female persuasion to get first dibs on everything when it comes to Lucky and the dynamic between the two is perfect. He just stays in the background and lets her have her way. Good boy! 😉

FurBall 2008! May 4, 2008

Last night was the annual FurBall Auction, which is a BIG fundraiser for the SPCA of Central Florida. It’s a really fun time what with all the food, booze and fabulous items up for grabs. Including…the chance to have your pet appear in the 12-month SPCA calendar, complete with a Photohound photo session. Held each year at Sea World Orlando Ports of Call, there’s always a good show and some new animal friends to meet (see below 🙂 )

Bidders above tracking their bids at the Photohound/Calendar table, waiting for the clock to run out. The cover of the calendar was part of the live auction segment and the final bid was in the thousands- woo hoo! That’s SO MUCH dog and cat food for these guys! Yay!

By far one of the best parts was getting to meet a two-toed sloth whom I got to pet. Yes, I am still 5 years old, thank you. He snacked on lettuce and carrots and squash while people stood in awe at his beauty. There was also the darling creature on the right whom I can’t remember the name for the life of me. I do know that it comes from South America and it’s related to the ringtail cat. It’s SOOO cute and when it gets nervous it softly sucks on it’s own hand, equivalent to a child sucking its thumb. It was captivating.  Many thanks to the staff, volunteers and supporters of the SPCA of Central Florida for making this event amazing!

Chelsea – 2008 SPCA Calendar November July 25, 2007

I had a bright and early shoot (as frequent during this time of year, to avoid afternoon gloom and doom) with Chelsea the other day and it couldn’t have been more peaceful. She is a very sweet, very thoughtful, very soulful golden with a white face that marks the wonderful years she’s graced her family’s life. She enjoys swimming but we didn’t partake in that activity that day. Instead, Chelsea let me watch her think her thoughts and sometimes played with a stuffed heart that I brought along- like she needed any more heart.

Okay, I have to poke fun here…somehow I also happened to catch her doing a REALLY ACCURATE IMITATION OF A SLOTH (see above) ha ha- she should go on Letterman.
Anyhoo, she recently had a bit of surgery so we kept it very low energy and the photographs make me feel relaxed when I look at them.

Thank you kindly, Chelsea. 🙂

Sassy – 2008 SPCA Calendar August July 3, 2007

Sassy is a charming little dame with a knack for relaxing. A retired racing pup, she was adopted by a loving family and has mastered the art of doing nothing -hee hee. This is not a bad thing at all! As her Mom says, after racing for 5 years she certainly deserves it. I agree. She likes chicken snacks, tracking squirrels (duh, read “greyhound”) and lounging in her bed or any other carpeted area.

She showed me what she was made of when she got the urge to do lightning bolts around me in the yard. Very fast indeed. She then decided it was time to rest and it was getting a little too hot outside. I managed to get some purty little shots of her where she’s most happy. Lying down. Inside. Sassy has a sweet little reindeer face and I had much fun getting to know her.

Ashley, Molly & Hershey- 2008 SPCA Calendar October

I had a great time with these three and they live within walking distance of my own house so I’m sure I’ll see them on a stroll sometime again soon.

Ashley the cocker spaniel may be the smallest but she manages to keep all the others under control by means of a GIANT heart. Following close behind that heart is a huge heap of patience as well as a bit of creativity (Honestly, she offered suggestions of places to sit and angles to shoot so I can’t take all the credit for her cute pics- she told me what to do 🙂

Molly is the sister half of the same-littered lab duo. She is smart, independent, likes to be chased and also likes her ball. What she doesn’t so much like is swimming. When prodded she goes REALLY slow and then remains on the stairs to watch for the remainder of play time. Swimming is for her brother.

Hershey (yes, he’s a chocolate). He’s very inquisitive, very willing to please and SO ridiculously cute. He loves treats and his face just kept me in hysterics. I know he thinks about profound things but I just couldn’t figure out what. 🙂

Luke – 2008 SPCA Calendar July June 20, 2007

I really enjoyed playing with Luke because I felt like I was playing with my own dog, Maya. Luke is a pit mix, like mine. Black, like mine. However, Luke is much better behaved, well-mannered and a boy. Luke’s Mom and I sat out in the neighborhood park for a couple hours. Luke chased lizards, chased toys, read the morning news in the breeze and tried to sneak a game of tug WHEREVER an opportunity presented itself (the photographer’s sweaty washcloth, the photographer’s lens cloth, the photographers plastic cover sheet) and it was hysterical because he was always trying to plot his next tug operation like we didn’t know what was going on- ha ha!

Tug-of-war is not encouraged by his parents and I want to take a moment and APPLAUD them for giving the breed a chance and a great home. I am a bully breed owner and mine came with a slew of problems (see thunderstorm anxiety and any other stereotypical pit frustration) but I wouldn’t give her up for the world and I’m obsessively responsible regarding her interactions with other animals/people.

When you have a great dog like Luke that can act as an example as how wonderful and sweet the breed can be (he LOVES giving kisses) I hand it to the owners for spreading the word. I want to see more Lukes! Anyway, I had tons of fun with Luke while noticing the similar endearing mannerisms that he shares with my own little girl (tilting his head back to enjoy the breeze, taking toys apart in the same meticulous way, and moments of deep thought on a quiet morning outdoors.)

Sasha – 2008 SPCA Calendar April June 16, 2007

Holy sweetest thing ever. This Golden was so gentle and so kind and so tolerant of how many times I had her do the tricks she knows. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s a 50/50 chance as to whether my dogs will decide to perform the 2 commands they know so I find it interesting when I get to hang out with good listeners. Watching other dogs do tricks with such speed and willingness is a novelty I can never pass up.

Sasha was a little camera shy when the giant camera got up close but you’d never know by the pictures (she’s easily comforted by treats :-)) as I was able to get a picture of the cutest set of teeth I’ve ever seen.

hee hee!

She was truly amazing and has a giant heart. I had a blast with her.

Boomerang- 2008 SPCA Calendar January

Boomerang’s parents are going to start a new trend. Dual ownership! Yeah, it’s genius. He has two homes and it’s not because of a break-up followed by a custody battle. One set of owners are musicians and they travel a lot. They didn’t want to give the dog up so they sought out a 2nd owner. A stranger heard the word and thought it a wonderful idea. All have since become the best of friends (so much so that they have a pet sitter when they all travel together :-)).

I can attest to the benefits of this arrangement as “Boomie” (their nickname for him) is very well-rounded, very independent (he takes himself for walks and moves to the shoulder when an unknown car approaches) and an incredibly huggable pup.

Isabella, Riley & Charlie Brown- 2008 SPCA Calendar March

Okay, I officially LOVE Cavalier King Charles spaniels. I’m pretty sure Dr. Suess had one at some point because they have Seuss feet and Seuss tails. And Seuss hair and Suess nails…

Anyway, these three were such a tight-knit bunch. They honestly liked to hang out with one another and each had such great personalities!

Isabella is the petite little lady whose face I’d like to just pinch and squeeze. I settled for just squealing over her though. Such a little angel!

Riley, oh Riley. Riley is the sweetest little guy who wants to be a part of the group and enjoys just observing from a comfortable snooze spot. He reminded me of the cowardly lion except without the coward part (he’s the same color though) or John Goodman if we’re onto celebrity look-a-likes.

Charlie Brown is lizard hunter extraordinaire and prefers the more active lifestyle. He has great eyes and likes to watch over his sister.

My husband acted as my assistant on this shoot and the next day he actually had Riley’s whimper stuck in his head like a song. Hubby says, “I actually miss hearing it. I think I miss them, they were really cool dogs.” I laughed out loud since I had to con him into being my assistant in the first place…and then I agreed. It was 4 hours of fabulousness.

Bandit & Kokopelli- 2008 SPCA calendar September June 12, 2007

I met Bandit & Kokopelli at Gemini Springs in Debary for our photo session. It is a beautiful dog park amongst old trees and plenty of brush to play in. They were certainly fun to work with we trekked all along the park munching on grass (well, I didn’t) and searching for lizards (I kind of helped on that one.)

Bandit is a 14 year old Lab/Terrier mix and the alpha dog when it comes to who gets a treat first. She also likes to soak her feet in the water bowl to cool off. Pedicures for everyone! A charming little lady and great companion.

Kokopelli is the younger Lab/Chow mix and critter hunter extraordinaire. When she sets her mind to finding anything reptilian, watch out, she’s unstoppable.

She loves her older sister and always lets her take the treat first. Such manners 🙂