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Welcome to the scruffy dog blog . . .

... this is where the photos of scruffy dog photography meet the heart and soul behind all of those fun and whacky photo shoots and the long hours of digital editing that go into your dog's images ... a behind-the scenes peek at the madness of a pet-exclusive pet photographer, and her two trusty sidekicks. for more details on us, check out the "about" section at the bottom of the blog.

what you will find here is the past couple of years of blog entries -- selected client shoots, sneak peeks, news and announcements, promos and specials, as well as info on canine health and general dog chat. * previous years of blog entries have been archived.

so, grab a cup of jo, give Rover an organic, free-range beef tendon to gnaw on, and enjoy the photos and ramblin's.

memphis’s red dust shoot ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

2 December 2011 – 12:25 pm

oy … we are so swamped here at scruffy dog headquarters, and so behind in posting.  of course, the SDP facebook page is where you’ll catch all the action … as it happens!

weeks ago i had already prepped some images from Memphis’s awesome shoot to share on the blog, so i’d better get them up here for you to enjoy!  (i can’t believe it’s taken this long, but prepping blog entries does take a lot of time, and in the fall, with the heavy shooting schedule, SDP doesn’t have a moment to spare.)

you probably remember this eggheaded chap from his graffiti shoot earlier this year … and then perhaps from the sneak peek of his bigger shoot this fall.  but i want to share just a small collection of images from his big shoot here on the blog.

as you’ll see, we used one of the scruffy dog lines for a lot of Memphis’s shoot … too many distractions in this wild location for the boy.  you’ll also notice he’s showing off a brand new custom-made, Karma collar!  if you’re interested in one of these collars, don’t worry … we’ll probably have another scruffy dog/Karma collar special soon!

of course, with any scruffy dog session, running is absolutely involved!

and just a little posing …

and more running in the red dirt …

here you can see Memphis wearing his original Karma collar made especially for him.  how handsome is he in this awesome gear?

just a wee beauty-nap in between some ‘takes’.

i just love shooting this location, and Memphis rocked it!

thanks for being such a handsome egghead, Memphis.  i know i didn’t make mom and dad’s job easy in picking out photos for their walls and album … but they’ll get there.  and thank you, Don and Krista, for a memorable afternoon/evening.

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Tagged , , , | 7 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

your weekly Facebook recap! ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

29 November 2011 – 10:42 am

if you don’t follow the scruffy dog facebook page (and why wouldn’t you?), you’ll have missed some of these sneak peeks of scruffy clients …

first up, the lounging Daisy at the beginning of her session last week …

and her brother Duke … a.k.a. Ears McGee …

and fun in the park …

then i offered up a photo of little Baxter, in an attempt to share my feelings about Rogers and their service …

Scout showed off her catching abilities … eye on the ball, eye on the ball!

and i shared some more before-and-afters in regards to the post-production work that goes into scruffy dog images … these are some of Lolli’s images from a shot a few weeks ago.

then there was Jack and Fergus …

and Fergus showed off his newly discovered post-balancing skills …

then there’s big boy James during his second scruffy dog session … showing off the floatmount from his first session …

and last, but not least … sweet, sweet Macy, who i so easily could have taken home … always mindful of the camera as she quickly overcame her camera-phobia …

… especially once she let loose in the autumn leaves and along the beach.

and that’s what you missed last week on facebook!

By illona | Posted in facebook images recap | Tagged , , , | 7 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

gilmour and murphy very autumny shoot ~ {Muskoka, Ontario pet photographer}

28 November 2011 – 10:07 am

you’ve seen these two in their sneak peek earlier on the blog, and i know we’re behind in blogging due to the heavy fall shooting schedule, but here — at last — is their fuller blog entry.  these two sorta kinda loved the beaches.

Gilmour owns the strip of beach at his cottage …

and like just about any golden retriever, he loves the water …

add a stick, and this boy is in his element.

then there’s rescue-boy Murphy…

Murphy is almost completely blind but still manages to get around very well …

did i mention how much Gilmour loves his beach?

after some shooting at the cottage, we headed to a different beach … and the colours were glorious …

with lots of running …

and just because his vision is failing, don’t count Murphy out of some running games on the beach!

of course, sticks are always an integral component to any fun afternoon on the beach with a wet dog …

from the beach, we headed to the woods.  just check out the brotherly love …

grrrr ….

and that Gilmour sure knows how to have fun with mud …

thanks, Gilmour and Murphy for a memorable shoot.

By illona | Posted in clients & sneak peeks | Tagged , , , , | 6 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

another weekly facebook recap ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

22 November 2011 – 11:37 am

if you’re not following the scruffy dog facebook page, well, i’ve said it before: you’re just not running with the pack!  … and you’re missing a lot of sneak peeks.  but just in case you’re not very keen on facebook, i always make sure to share a few of them here on the scruffy dog blog.

first we have Indy, owned by Tami Packham of  Waterloo Dog.  you’ll be seeing a lot more of Indy … one of my favorite models of the year.

i also shared a couple of before-and-afters on facebook, as a lot of people enjoy seeing the work that is done on scruffy dog images.

we shared a couple of sneak peeks of handsome boy Kaiser from his Standard session …


… and crazy Baxter … expert leaf exterminator …

and little Gus, whose session was a squeeze-in a couple of weeks ago …

then there was wildman Sprocket and his flurry of attempts to catch a ball in spite if his dwindling eyesight due to PRA (Progressive Retinal Atrophy) …

i also shared a photo of our two resident scruffies — Matea and Merrick — wanting in from the cold and our first snowfall …

and Indy again … she just cracks me up with her myriad of expressions …

and we closed out the week with a dramatic shot of resident scruffy Matea … my girl.  this photo was taken in answer to a challenge of “black” within the 52 Weeks for Dogs project on flickr (a photo a week of your dog) …

hope you have a great week!

By illona | Posted in facebook images recap | Tagged , , , | 6 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment

the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society 2012 calendar is now available! ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

18 November 2011 – 12:33 pm

do you have your KWHS 2012 calendar yet?

as part of our ‘giving back’ initiative here at scruffy dog, for the past several years, scruffy dog has photographed and designed the KWHS charity calendar which raises thousands for the Centre to help the orphaned animals.  and this year’s calendar is filled with dogs and cats who have been adopted from the KWHS Centre!  this is extra special for me since the ultimate ‘giving back’ is not only raising significant funds, but — of equal importance — raising awareness of the plight of abandoned cats and dogs, and the overpopulation of shelters just like the KWHS.

part of raising awareness is to show people the amazing dogs and cats available … contrary to popular belief, most shelter pets don’t come with a laundry list of problems or behavioral issues.  almost always it’s their former humans who had the issues — buying a puppy of a breed that is not suited to their lifestyle or abilities, or a change in living situation which forces people to give up their pet, or just plain laziness.  for almost as many pets as are in shelters, there are as many reasons as to why they have wound up in their desperate situation … but in most cases, the issue is not with the pet, it’s with their former human.

i hope that the extremely happy, well-loved dogs and cats in the pages of this year’s KWHS calendar this year — some of which are purebreds — will not only demonstrate the amazing companions that can be found in any shelter, but perhaps — even in a small way — alter at least a few people’s thinking and beliefs on adopting from a shelter instead of buying that cute, cuddly puppy from a store, a backyard breeder, a farm (which is almost always a front for a puppymill situation), or from listings on Kijiji or Craig’s List.

these are just a few of the amazing pets i met this year during the calendar’s shooting …

… big boy Figaro, one of several extremely loved cats in the home …

and awesome doodle Dixie …

then there’s fun-loving Static …

and ball-crazy Orville, whose guardians opted for a full scruffy dog session.  you might remember Orville from his graffiti shoot back in the summer … or from the sneak peek of his big session in the early fall.

and little, smiley Milo …

these are just a few of the happy faces of rescued pets you’ll find in the KWHS 2012 calendar.

and with scruffy dog’s clean design, it is our hope that this calendar will appeal to just about anyone, as all the profits go to the animals of the KWHS.

these 2012 calendars can be purchased directly through the KWHS website or picked up in person at the shelter for only $15.  get yours today!

By illona | Posted in news and rumblings | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 comments         Show Comments | Add a Comment