you’ll be seeing more of these two boys soon. this is just a quick sneak peek for mom Deb.


hope they slept well last night, Deb!
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you’ll be seeing more of these two boys soon. this is just a quick sneak peek for mom Deb.


hope they slept well last night, Deb!
for those who didn’t catch Bridie’s sneak-peek earlier, this is Bridie …

cairn-terrier extraordinaire …

… sweet old lady … but don’t call her “old” to her face or you might just get the cold shoulder!

feisty and spirited like any terrier worth their salt …


… but mostly what you should know about Bridie is that she is loved beyond any measure known to man.


when i received mom Harriet’s phone call, as with most of my initial contacts from clients, our conversation centered around the logistics of scheduling and the shoot, the possible locations, the dog, etc. but Bridie’s situation was different … as a senior dog struggling with Cushings, there was plenty to discuss — health, diet, vetting — but most importantly, how to fit Bridie’s shoot into an already crammed summer schedule. always with cases like this — seniors, failing health, etc. — i make room. but when Bridie ended up in the hospital the day before our shoot, in renal failure, i wasn’t certain i’d ever have the pleasure of meeting this sweet girl.

fortunately, that terrier spirit is strong — as i know well myself — and i should never have doubted the eventuality of Bridie’s shoot, even if we did have to postpone it for a few days to allow her to recover enough.
we started in the park … a good long walk …

with enough rests in between …

and then home, where i probably had the most fun with Bridie and the variety of textures and colours around the house.



we needed to take a short break for Bridie’s dinner and meds …

where she waited patiently … sort of …

then back outside …



i loved the back deck and hillside, all dark and dramatic … and Bridie was on the lookout for racoons. probably the same ones that crossed my path as i drove off much later at dusk.

in spite of being in renal failure, Bridie could still be roused for a good game of ball.

and then more resting. after all, a girl this gorgeous does need her beauty rest.

but it didn’t take much to get her up and going again.

… especially the promise of the neighborhood cat! a terrier’s work is never truly done.


and finally up to mom’s office, where Bridie spends most of her days, and where i, at long last, released her of her modeling duties once and for all.

thank you, Harriet and Tom, for a memorable afternoon and evening. and thank you, sweet Bridie, for being you, for hanging in there, and for loving your humans so utterly and absolutely.

meet Ginny.

… probably one of my top three shiest clients to date. with these types of high-fear cases i tend to start out from a distance.

… and work my way in slowly.

to the point where i’m eventually getting some attention from them. Ginny was no exception to that handling technique … even giving me a little flourish with those brilliant papillion ears of hers.

thanks, Ginny, for being such a little trooper. and thanks Janet and Mark and Julianna and James! i hope you enjoy the rest of Ginny’s images.

just had to share a few images of one of my favorite clients, Wrigley, from our shoot a couple of weeks ago.

why is he one of my favorites? because he’s a lab and he’ll do just about anything for treats.

and because he’s a big, fun-loving goofball …

… who only pretends to be a hunting dog when he hears a pretend noise.

plus, the camera just loves him, no matter what he’s doing.

thanks for the fun, Cynthia and Shane, and most of all Wrigley. i can’t wait to see your gorgeous face on canvas!
