this boy has a story, and not a good one. but he’s making the best of things for now …

merrick loves balls, and balls is what he loves.  it’s probably the only thing he loves right now. these shots were possible only because of a ball … a chewed up, discarded, crushed old tennis ball.

thanks for tolerating the camera, merrick, and working so hard at overcoming your incredible fear.

more on this superscruffy soon … stay tuned.

… and Layla.

two sweet senior sisters who are well loved.

i had a lovely afternoon following these ladies around their house.

the newly remodeled kitchen offered great light and colours, and fortunately Whiskers and Layla have no boundaries.

and they were rather patient for their closeups …

“patient” being a relative term, of course.

all in all though, these girls were very comfortable with the camera.

thanks so much, girls, for a fun afternoon. and thanks for introducing me to your lovely ladies, Maureen. looking forward to seeing you again at your studio consult.

… handsome, seven-month-old sheltie boy who loves the snow … and loves his mom.

we had an early morning shoot, and in spite of the sun’s spectacular display on my drive over to Ryder’s home, it refused to make even a hint of an encore during our shoot.

still, the diffused light of winter can make for some pretty wonderful shooting opportunities.  and Ryder hardly cared about the disappearance of the sun.  he just wanted to run.

… and sniff …

… and run some more.

although he could be a bit of a poser too.

but sometimes not.  pups do tend to have a shorter attention span.

this little guy has a wonderful future ahead of him, with a devoted mom who has a good handle on herding breeds and knows just what this active boy needs to keep his drive answered.

of course, i haven’t met a dog that doesn’t have at least one bad habit …

thanks, Ryder and Maris for an entertaining morning.  looking forward to seeing you again at the studio consult.

… but we had a little fun regardless.

stay tuned for more of this sweet senior and her sister coming soon.

i met this little girl a week ago, along with her big sister chloe.  bailey is a mastiff/cane corso cross.

… and i had a blast with this wide-eyed, crazy pup.

whether we were running around in a local orchard …

… or having some fun in the snow.

puppie’s aren’t always the easiest to work with, but i just loved this little girl’s energy.

and, of course, her many expressions …

thanks, bailey, for being such a challenging but fantastic model.

… little bundle of schnoodley goodness.  she’s a senior girl who lives in Stoney Creek with her crazy, puppy sister — who you will meet later.  but for an older girl, this little doll-face still gots some moves.

and she lo-0-0-0ves to bark.

on what felt like the warmest February date in history, we hit a variety of locales … from a snowless, grassy field (in February!), to an orchard/market, and i even had Chloe, her sister, and their parents make a U-ey when i spotted that last field of snow on the way home.

and yes, a little mud was involved.

… and a red barn door to die for!

of course, true to that fierce schnauzer character, Chloe had to find an empty mouse nest to dig up …

thanks, Chloe, for being such a little trooper.

stay tuned for the next blog entry where i’ll introduce you to Chloe’s adorable , little … er, big … sister.

this is Ryder …

… and you’ll be seeing more of him and our snowy morning very soon.

stay tuned.  you won’t be disappointed. 

this shoot was a surprise valentine’s present, so … surprise, Bob!

Ophelia is a five-year-old Portuguese water dog whose love for her toys and ball is outmatched only by her love for her owners, Barb and Bob.

on a cold afternoon last week we hit a small trail and let Ophelia fly … and pose …

and Ophelia is quite the poser.

… and a catcher …

… and a poser …

and did i say she was a poser?

to be honest, it was hard to get shots of this girl where she wasn’t posing, but i got a few. 

and for those who are curious and who have asked me in the past via emails or on the blog … yes, not every dog can be safely let off leash during a shoot.  as a result, i always carry a 60′ light climbing line for safety.  and yes, it is removed in post-process when prints and products are ordered.  that’s why you don’t often seen me removing leashes and lines in blog entries … it can be a lot of work and it can’t possibly done on every photo.  i removed the line from most of Ophelia’s blog images, but not all.

oh, and Bob, someone was on your bed while you were at work … just warning you.  but honestly, i got the distinct feeling she’d been up there before. 

thanks, Barb and Ophelia, for a fun afternoon. see you soon at your studio consult.

as some of you already know, old scruffy morley — adopted at 9 years of age and now an energetic 14 1/2 — has lost the sight in one eye and is gradually losing the other.  in spite of appointments with an ophthalmologist no exact cause was determined and it was suspected he is dealing with a brain tumor.

with no behavioral changes, however, i was determined not to believe the tumor-theory … however, last week morley had his first grand mal seizure, with several other small ones as well as facial twitches.  so yesterday he started phenobarbital in a hope to prevent any more seizures.  i may also add prednisone to the treatment plan to help shrink the suspected tumor, but i’m cautious to tax the old man’s liver too much.  so here’s to many more, seizure-free years for the sweetest of all scruffies.

8-year-old matea, my main girl, has been dealing with a rather significant case of bridging-spondylosis — a fusing of the spine.  so far it had only shown itself in passing stiffness and occasional moments of acute pain that would pass quickly. but this past sunday saw her in such excruciating pain that would not resolve and a visit to the emergency vet’s at midnight was necessary. but when a loading dose of butorphanol and metacam, along with continued tramadol, did nothing for her pain, there was concern that something more serious going on.  so … an emerg referral to the OVC (Ontario Vet College) was called in for us.  three hours monday night and 12 hours tuesday at the OVC, tests, rads, MRI and CT … initially there was the suspicion of a spinal tumor, to which i responded to the neurologist: “she doesn’t have a tumor” … it just didn’t fit with everything i’d seen over the past seven months.

as it turns out, she’s just got a really messed up spine … “benign bony overgrowth” … “chronic bony changes” … “no pathological fracture” … “exacerbated aging changes” …”chronic degenerative changes” … with the main cause of the pain originating in the bone and joint vs. nerves.  matea is past the majority of the pain for now, but will still be restricted during her course of Metacam … again, something i’m not keen on having her on long-term due to it’s potential liver damage, but there is the chance she’ll need the NSAID for the rest of her life.

so, it’s one day at a time around these parts … as we all snooze off the good drugs …

i want to thank all of my extremely supportive friends on flickr, as well as past clients who have expressed their concern, and to my very understanding current clients for their patience.  i’d also like to thank the numerous individuals who shared the waiting room with me during my 12-hours at the OVC on tuesday.  positive healing thoughts to all of your furred loved ones … and a special shout out to sweet-girl Georgia.  we’re thinking of you all.