wherever i can, i’m trying to make room to do up a blog entry here and there, but right now it’s only a dream that i’ll get even a fraction of last fall’s sessions onto the blog.

some of you who follow the scruffy dog facebook page will already have seen a few of these images of Thor and his little sister Indy … and they would have made an appearance in the facebook recaps posted intermittently here on the blog … but since they’re among my favorites from the session, you’re getting a couple of repeats.

Thor is a repeat client from several years ago.  it was so amazing to see this big guy again as he was one of my most memorable sessions early on in scruffy dog history …

and wee little Indy … well, need i say more?  “hey, lady, down here!”

how adorable is this little sweetie?

and those wee, undersized legs work just fine when it comes to keeping up with her big brother …

and how utterly handsome is this big guy?

and this boy can move!

although it’s been my experience that long-haired doxies can be a little on the shy side, i think this little girl actually believes she’s a great dane as well …

we had a lot of fun at one of our favorite locations, and then made our way to the red caboose …

thanks for a lovely session with your two, Jennifer, and sharing them with me.

these two are certainly a couple of my most favorite scruffies …

of course, it’s also your opportunity to meet the scruffy dog sales team … er … the resident scruffies …

… and while here, clients enjoy a specialty coffee from our new SunCafe single pod brewer.  trust me, when we decided to purchase a coffee machine for our studio guests, we did our homework, and are proud to say that SunCafe is 100% Canadian, like everything else about scruffy dog products … and these Kienna pods are earth-friendly and biodegradable vs. all those plastic and foil “cups” that other single-serve machines throw into the environment (recycled or otherwise).

of course, we have cold drinks as well … we’re stocked.

yup, here at SDP we aim to please …

NOTE: we do not allow the sales team to serve hot beverages.

even though all of my rescues have been scruffy, merrick — the rescue coming from the worst circumstances and requiring the most rehabilitation –  simply had to be the inspiration behind the new logo.  with a vision in hand, i approached client Don Straus — dad to the incomparable Memphis — to help me design and work this logo.  yeah, i’ve got a fine arts degree, and in my day i wielded a pretty wicked pencil … but my drawing days are over, and unable to capture merrick in the absolute perfect, air-borne pose by camera, it was up to Don to combine several photos of the goober.  and after many hours and days niggling over every last line in Don’s drawing and then hours and days of searching for and stressing over fonts, the final SDP logo has come to life.

there are a lot of connections and meaning behind the various elements of the new logo besides the drawing of our own goober.

the ball is a no-brainer … balls have been merrick’s doorway to rehabilitation and his method of dealing with any terrifying aspects of the new world around him. it speaks to his amazing recovery, his joy and new freedom, as well as my years of working with dogs in training and rehab.

the extra large shadow is probably a truer representation of just how big this boy really is — in heart, in spirit, and in courage … well, and his big-dog attitude, of course.

the bones (which you will see in the “seal” below) were drawn by me and have been an element of SDP for years now, and certainly speak of the other huge passion in my doggy world, and that is canine health and nutrition, and feeding raw for almost 10 years.

and finally, the font … yes, i know a number of you have already voiced your dismay over the loss of our former “scruffy” font.  the problem is, that the scruffy font didn’t work with the graphics of the new logo.  and to be honest, as a novelist for twenty-some-odd years, a good typewriter font has always struck a chord with me.

i have no doubt that there will be variations of this logo over the next few years, but my little flying boy will remain.  he is now the “seal” and watermark on every photo that will be posted on the blog or facebook … even though I’m not sure Indy entirely approves …

and not sure about young Bosco either …

here’s the actual scruffy dog seal that you will see as part of the new SDP branding:

… used as a watermark or in other occurrences of branding …

i hope you all enjoy this new and much more personal SDP logo … and to celebrate its launch, as promised on the SDP facebook page, we’re going to have a contest!  so if you don’t already follow us on facebook, now might be a good time to start!

as some of you know, here at scruffy dog headquarters, we’re raw-fed, low-vaccines, and no chemicals unless absolutely required … and that includes topical treatments that may not be needed.  as always, i’d rather treat as needed vs. using a bunch of chemicals as a preventative for something that may never be an issue.  this decision is based on my own experience with my dogs over the years, as well as having researched a lot about the treatments, side effects, and actual cases of reactions.

so, with fleas, i’ve used Advantage maybe once every two or three years.  about six weeks ago, we found a flea on the goober.  for the next hour i was like a monkey picking through his hair, only to find ten more!  and running a flea comb through matea i was shocked to find a couple more of the little buggers, but also a lot of flea poop.

over the weeks, i take time out to search for them on the scruffies, believing i could stave off any impending infestation “manually” … and while the numbers of fleas were no more than two or three a week on merrick and one or two on matea, and even though we ourselves have not been bitten in spite of the goober nestled between us all night every night … last night i’d had it.

so, out came the Advantage, and all three of them were treated (even though Aslan did not appear to be carrying a single flea).   trouble is, matea’s coat is far too thin and after applying the dastardly chemicals, she sat for a couple of minutes waiting for her treat, while we did the other two … and by the time i got back to her, the chemicals — applied to the back of her neck and top of her shoulders — had run all down her back!  and two minutes later, she’s wanting to lick it.

so all last night she wore her Back on Track “blanket”, but it’s not to be worn more than 8 hours … so, today she is sporting a lovely T-shirt …

so pretty …

tomorrow morning i’ll take it off and bathe her back so that there are no more chemicals that she can reach.

of course, no resident-scruffies blog entry would be complete without the goober … so here he is …

hoping you’re having a fabulous first week of the year!

And while our trip out east in the spring was pretty much a wash, and we had to cancel all of our pre-arranged sessions out there, we did manage to capture some memorable and unique shots of the resident scruffies on the beaches to bring home with us.

But the year would be nothing without our amazing clients.  2011 brought us such a huge variety of models, from seniors to puppies, and clients from as far away as California and New York City, as well as commercial clients on a global level.

Business-wise, we have made some big moves as well this year … trademarking the “scruffy dog” name in several countries, and even as I write this we are on the verge of rebranding, so stay tuned for that!

With enormous thanks to our clients and friends, followers and supporters, we were once again nominated and won the “Best Pet Photographer” category in The Toronto Pet Daily‘s Readers’ Choice Awards for the second year running.  This, along with wins in the categories of “Favorite Photographer” and “Favorite Photography Studio” in the Kitchener-Waterloo’s Readers’ Choice Awards, makes 2011 a pretty stellar year all around. And of course, there’s no way this could happen without the incredible support, word-of-mouth, and generosity of all of you.

But when I look back on the year of 2011, it will be marked more by the tongue-lolling, tail-wagging joy in so many of the scruffy faces I met and had the absolute pleasure of photographing.

We would be nowhere without our clients … and to show our appreciation, I have compiled a video of our 2011 clients. With the number of 2011 scruffy clients far exceeding 100, it took everything I had to choose just one photo from each shoot (for those of you with multiple shoots last year, you will find your dog appearing twice in the video). I hope you enjoy this 2011 retrospective!

Enjoy! And thank you for being a part of the scruffy dog family!

but yesterday, after five shooting days in a row, we decided to drag the equipment out on a walk to capture a few photos of the scruffies in action.  a few have been posted up on the scruffy dog photography facebook page already … but here are some more.

just heading out …

the look i get when i ask her to ‘wait’ at the top of a hill … first i get some awesome, alert stances, and then it’s like: “seriously, take a picture!  it’ll last longer, lady.  i got places to be!”

merrick always stops when he sees me stop …

and if i’m squatting too long with the camera, he comes flying back …

while matea is all about the hunt … always searching to scare up something … although this hike didn’t turn up anything to chase.

and merrick has become quite an adventurer himself, in spite of his very miserable beginnings … in spite of being at least 7 years old, merrick still acts like a puppy (i have no doubts he was removed from his mother too early) … and as a result, he turns to matea to direct and guide him through this new world of his.

and with matea as has guide, it’s no doubt that his hunt drive has gone from zero to ten … always on the lookout for voles (a much wiser quarry than the coyote he tried to chase down last winter!)

still with his eyes on matea …

a year and a half since his rescue, i think you’d be hardpressed to find a happier dog …

and at ten years of age, matea sill has the moves …

in all the years of photographing my girl, countless running shots, i don’t have a single shot like this one … with he ear fringes flying …

and, as always,  matea’s tongue was definitely along for the hike …

and this is why i love shooting in November … all the dried grasses are absolutely beautiful.

weeee!!!!

and near the end of the hike, we had some awesome light to work with …

and no dog … but a spider …

i hope you enjoyed this little break from scruffy clients.  i know matea and merrick certainly did!  have a great Monday, everyone.

hope you enjoy it.

and a special thank you / shout-out to Heather Windsor for recommending scruffy dog to Ryan for the series. if you’re not already familiar with Heather’s stunning wedding and portrait work, do check out her website. when a recommendation comes from someone you’ve never met, it’s an even greater honour. so, thank you, Heather!

this week’s poll is about how you came to be the guardian of your current 4-leggers.  we want to know how our followers met their Rovers and Fifis and Fluffys too!

the poll is fun and easy … a few clicks … and if you follow the scruffy dog Facebook page (and why wouldn’t you?) you’ll see the results posted in a week or so!

you can get to the poll through this link.

of course, i can’t possibly do a blog entry without a few photos, so here’s a little before-and-after of our most recent scruffy rescue boy, merrick … rescued at 6 years of age …

his “before photo”, taken by the not-so-nice puppymill/breeder people who wanted rid of him …

and merrick today … with a little love, guidance, training, and no more breeding and abuse.

so go on over to the scruffy dog Facebook page and click the Polls tab on the left, or follow this link.  we’d love to hear from you.  and if the way by which you became guardian of your 4-legger(s) is not on the list, please drop us a line on the Facebook page, and we’ll rectify it pronto!

ALSO if you have an incredible rescue story, you know we’d love to hear it!  you can share it in the comments below and/or share your rescue pup/cat’s photo on the scruffy dog Facebook page! (please keep photo submissions to one-per-pet).

looking forward to seeing the results from the latest poll!  have fun!

i decided to offer this as a blog entry because the following photo receives a lot of attention and questions, especially when we had a 30×40 of it hanging at Woofstock last month.   when people see it — besides a rather predictable “aw” — i get a lot of  “oh my god!”s, and “how!?”, and “why?” … even, “did he get up there himself?”

that’s Oxford up there, balanced on a 4′ fencepost in the middle of a soybean field.  and no, he didn’t get up there on his own … after all, this isn’t scruffy monkey photography.  also, don’t worry, dad was inches out of frame, hands at the ready, in case my sweet little model mistakenly believed he was wearing a Superman cape and took flight off that post.  safety first.  always.

so, why did we put Oxford on a fencepost?  well, several reasons …

(1) because it was the only thing to put him on in the middle of that field, and when a young, energetic dog doesn’t have a firm ‘stay’ command and is zipping in and out of the soybean plants, one of the best ways to get them to stay still for even a minute, is to put them on something.  granted, it doesn’t have to be something this high or this challenging.  a tree stump, a rock, a park bench … all work fine as a ‘place’.  with a more defined place or object on which Rover is expected to stay, his boundaries are clearer and the exercise is clearer … and sure, it could take a few tries, but eventually, most dogs figure out that the trick is to stay on the ‘place’.  and yes, this works for cats too!  of course, rewards follow … as do some awesome photos.

(2) i wanted to get Oxford higher.  we had great skies, and a lovely landscape, but there was no way to capture that with such a shorty, and with him zigzagging amongst the soybean plants.

and (3), the owners had seen a recent blog entry featuring Miles — the original fence-post balancing terrier.

Miles was a seasoned pro…

… fence posts are his forte.

and Oxford proved to be a bit of a superstar himself …

to be honest, these little guys rather enjoy the higher vantage point, for a change … and really take the opportunity to check out their surroundings.  Oxford seemed to know exactly what we were hoping for …

perhaps he’d seen Miles’ blog entry?

but like i said: safety first.  don’t try this at home. 

last night, after weeks of no rain, we finally buckled and turned on the sprinkler for the first time … and Merrick Goobernuts, whose love for water exceeds almost all else, discovered the joys of self-entertainment.  it was pure joy to watch him wander out into the yard with the sprinkler already on, stop with confusion over the sound of the water hitting the leaves of the maple, and then look up at the sudden raindrops.  from inside the house, we watched … and for five minutes you could see him gradually putting the pieces together, moving ever closer to the source … so tempted, snapping at a few falling drops, studying the source and then staring at the back patio doors as though to seek approval for what was clearly churning in that scruffy little head of his.

i knew it was going to be good, so i raced down to the studio for one of the cameras, and by the time i came up, he had already figured out his strategy.  but bolstered by my presence on the deck, Merrick simply let loose.

what follows is just a very small sampling of the insanity that followed …

“sprinklers — the new Water Pik”

and if you thought that was it, you’re sadly mistaken … he was only taking a breather …

have an awesome weekend, everyone.  and stay cool!

and if you want to watch the video, it’s available on vimeo: merrick meets the sprinkler.  enjoy!