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another facebook recap ~ {Ontario dog photographer}

3 April 2012 – 10:39 am

… bringing you some of the awesome scruffies from our recent sessions, shared on the scruffy dog facebook page.  if you’re not following us on facebook, you’re missing a lot of the fun!

we’ve got a great variety of dogs in this recap. first up, Emily and Kodiak … two huskies from Burlington.

we must have rescheduled their session at least a three or four times, if not more … waiting until we actually had snow this winter!

it wasn’t a lot of snow, but enough for us to make it look like a deep freeze … and Kodiak and Emily seemed to enjoy their session …

Nerian also enjoyed his wintry session during what is to be his first of several scruffy sessions to document his growth and development from gangly shepherd to the magnificent beast he is destined to be …

because the post production on a lot of the squeezed-in fall sessions wasn’t complete until February, i shared an image from a late fall session with repeat client Sasha.  you can see her “puppy” shoot here … and if you visited us at Woofstock last year or Poochpalooza, you might remember this little barkypants as our greeter since her mom is one of our fabulous staff who helps out at events.  but the real reason i shared this image of little Sasha on the scruffy dog chair is to show you the creepy guy who is constantly showing up at our sessions when shooting at our most requested location – the tunnel of trees.

i always have to look for “creepy guy” when finishing clients’ images and make sure he’s not hanging out at the end of the tree tunnel.  sure, a lot of people may never see him, but if and when they do, they won’t see anything else.  so, goodbye, creepy guy!

and here’s just one of two big canvases that mom Kim ordered of her little girl … this image was printed as a 28×53″ canvas with gorgeous floatframe.  for large canvases, i always recommend a minimum of 52″ for hanging over a couch or a queen-sized bed.

and then, well, it was March … and March is the goober’s re-birthday.  it was two years ago that we rescued merrick out of a six-year puppymill/breeding situation … he lived in deplorable conditions, was malnourished, underweight, full of worms and infection … but the physical condition of this boy was nothing compared to the emotional scars.  you can read more about merrick’s story here.   as i look across the studio here at scruffy dog headquarters right now, he is curled up, back-to-back with his big sister (and goddess) matea.  after six years of a miserable existence, this boy is finally home.  i couldn’t love anything more … my heart hurts when i look at him.

of course, in remembering my boy’s rescue, it’s hard not to remember his predecessor, morley.  in fact, merrick was rescued for morley.  as my old man faded under the influence of a brain tumor, merrick’s addition gave him a little more life and zip in his step, making his final three weeks as happy as his previous years with us.  still, with morley’s passing i was left with questions which still haunt me today, two years later …

did he know how much i loved him?

did he truly feel at home with me, with us, even though he’d belonged to another for 9 years before me?

did he know i didn’t give a crap about him peeing in the house when he was sick? and that i’d gladly clean up his pee today if he graced me with his presence, his calm and his wisdom just one more time?

did he know i tried my best to give him everything i didn’t think he’d had before? to let him be a real dog? to run free and chase and hunt with the big dogs?

did he know i rescued merrick FOR him, not to replace him?

did he know it was his last day?

did he feel my love and my incredible loss as i held him out in that field in the late afternoon sun and told him for the last time what a good boy he was?

did he feel peace?

and does he know i still miss him? that i would do anything to have him waddle into the studio right now and climb into the studio dog bed? or curl up at my feet?

does he know how much i wish we were hiking together again in those woods, down those trails, through those puddles that were lakes to his 3″ legs?

does he know how much i miss his bark, his courage, his expressions, and his joy as he’d race around the house with a Cuz ball?

does he know his photos will forever be on my walls? his photo album always lying at the ready on the coffee table?

and does he know he will never be forgotten?


but now for some happier photos …  Bella Rocketboosters Bulldog achieving lift-off …

and little Pyper, during her second scruffy dog session last week, showed off her extreme levitating skills …

and big sister Lucy … who never takes her eye — or ears — off the prize …

and then sweet, sweet Penny, for whom these sessions were primarily intended.  this lovely girl was finally let go yesterday, releasing her from the battle with cancer.  in the words of her mom, Caroline: “we made the decision that she had fought the battle long enough. The spark in her eyes that made her, her, was coming less and less and we did not want to see her suffer any longer. After a happy walk in the park, and a last roll in the grass, we let her go over the rainbow bridge. She can never be replaced, she was the best dog ever.”

I’m so honoured to have been trusted to capture Penny’s images both in the winter and again this spring. and i will work on a slideshow as soon as work on her spring images is complete.  here at scruffy dog, Caroline, our hearts are with you.

oh sigh … need more happiness …  how about a gargoyle on a caboose? er … i mean, darling little Indy on a train?

and little Sadie and her little-dog Wubba …

i also shared a little before-and-after from Sadie’s session …

and finally, no facebook recap would be complete without a couple of pics of the resident scruffies.  merrick accompanied me to the Royal York Animal Hospital several times for sessions and clinic photos there … and, as always, he makes a most excellent stand-in when it comes to testing the lighting.

and the two scruffies together on the studio bed … merrick had a tough night with our first thunderstorms.  even his Thundershirt didn’t help him too much that night … and it wasn’t until we were all in the studio later that morning, that he finally relaxed and caught up on some badly needed sleep, finding comfort under his sister’s leg.

hope you enjoyed this little scruffy dog catch-up … have a great week, everyone!

By illona | Posted in facebook images recap | Also tagged , , | Comments (7)

another facebook recap ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

16 February 2012 – 12:21 pm

lord, it’s time for another facebook recap … blog entries are so slim these days due to the backlog of fall shoots and now the big orders coming in from those sessions.  but as of yesterday we officially completed the post-production work on all of our fall sessions (yeah, with that many squeeze-in sessions, it took that long!), and we celebrated that completion by going out and shooting two Starter sessions yesterday afternoon. what is it that they say about no rest for the wicked?  people who know me and know how little sleep i get already think i must have been a very very nasty individual in a former life. :)

so, while i contemplate the possible sins in my former lives, let me entertain you with a few of the images that you may have missed on the scruffy dog facebook page. i understand that not everyone is a fan of facebook, and if you aren’t, you can always catch up here on the blog … but if you are on FB, you might want to join the fun over on the SDP FB page.  it’s a pretty rockin’ place.

first up, one of my faves of the week … and one of my favorite models of 2011 … Indy.  her finished gallery was just a wee bit bigger than the typical client gallery due to her non-stop expressions …

and then the highlight (or rather lowlight?) of last week was the sudden loss of scruffy client Sprocket …

this boy’s session (along with big sister Basil) was shot in November and we were just finishing the post work on their session when mom Jayne emailed me from the OVC with the shattering news.

Sprocket was one of those dogs with an unquenchable love of life, an incredible spirit and character that touched anyone who met him.  his sudden loss was the result of a ruptured splenic tumor … something that is familiar to me, and, unfortunately, not a rare enough condition.

as a tribute to Sprocket, i put together a little slide show for this amazing boy’s parents …

i consider myself extremely fortunate to have met this boy and been able to capture his spirit and energy in these images.  my hope is that his premature loss is a message to others on the importance of having photos of your 4-legger.  take photos (and video) yourself, and if you don’t feel competent in capturing those images, hire someone to take some photos for you.  they are so important as these beloved 4-leggers of ours aren’t with us long enough.

and let’s not forget Sprocket’s lovely sister Basil …

over the past week, we shared a number of before-and-after shots from the post-production side of things. little Gizelle … i have got to do a blog entry on this snippet of a scruffy …

for those inquiring, this is Lightroom.  all SDP editing is done in combination with LR3 and CS5.

and a little before-and-after of Charlie showing off his Karma collar …

and no week would be complete without at least one photo of resident scruffy merrick goobernuts mcscruffy … believe it or not these shots were taken mid-February in Ontario!

and then there was little baby Harlow … since she was another squeeze-in session this past fall and the post-work was delayed, i’m pretty sure this little girl is easily twice the size now!

and that wild Indy again …

and Jack and Fergus … these two scruffmuffins belong to fabulous photographer Chris Dupuis-Kufske of Click Photography.

and we’ll close out with an old archived image i stumbled upon the other day … taken almost two years ago during the goobernuts’ very first official photo session … when he was still terrified of the camera, but working hard to overcome that …

i hope you’re all enjoying your week!

By illona | Posted in facebook images recap | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (3)

thor & indy ~ {Toronto pet photographer}

1 February 2012 – 8:02 am

here at scruffy dog we’re still working on the post production of a number of our fall sessions due to the extremely heavy shooting schedule last season.  and even while some clients’ galleries are up, and orders are already being processed, we’re woefully behind in blogging the amazing sessions we’ve had … with dozens of sessions, unfortunately, never making it to the blog.

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 …

By illona | Posted in about us | Also tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

another facebook recap ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

21 January 2012 – 12:31 pm

once again, the following images come to you care of the scruffy dog facebook page … if you’re not currently following SDP on facebook, you might want to reconsider!  … loads of fun, daily photos, client sneak peeks, before-and-after captures showing some of the work going on around here at SDP headquarters … yeah, and scruffies … lots of scruffies.

first up, some feet … a few people thought these were vizsla feet, which makes me realize that although we’ve shot hundreds upon hundreds of dogs, we haven’t had a vizsla client in the past couple of years!  but these particular feet belong to big, Rhodesian Ridgeback James …

James is a repeat client, so some of you might remember him from his shoot last year …

then there was my girl matea.  people are always asking me what kind of dog she is; if you want to learn more about this gorgeous girl of mine you can find her fuller story here.  she had to visit the vet this past week with the intention of having a tumor removed from her hind leg/foot.  however, as suspected, it was infected, so we have to give her time for the infection to go down before we have it removed at the beginning of February.

merrick gave his own opinion in regards to the computer issues we went through here at SDP headquarters … a complete overhaul and upgrades of all the studio software.  what an ordeal …

and little Indy and her big brother Thor.

here’s a shot of my boy from earlier this summer when fellow photographer, Brian Douglas, and were checking out some possible locations …

and while on the subject of resident scruffy merrick, here’s a little video clip of this boy overcoming his fears of the new LG laundry machines.  these new appliances (along with some other new appliances in the house), with all of their new beeps and trills and songs, had taken the goober to a level of anxiety that caused him to shut down.  in spite of turning off all of the alarms and indicators on every appliance, the damage had been done … if we so much as opened the laundry room door, this boy would fly upstairs and not come down again.

so, the other day, when he seemed to be in a more daring mood, actually stepping into the laundry room briefly before trying to take off again, i decided to do a little work with him.  it was a major step in the right direction. (and let me qualify, i do not endorse putting pets in your dryer! this was a much-needed exercise to help a formerly abused dog conquer his fears.)

what an amazing boy this goober is.  we’ve all learned so much from him and his rehabilitation.

also on the facebook page, we shared a before-and-after, which a lot of SDP facebook followers seem to love.  here is monster boy, Thor…

this was Thor’s second shoot with SDP.  he was one of our clients very early on in SDP’s history.  we find him with a few more white whiskers, but with the same awesome spirit, joy for life, and … well … same flappy jowls and drool.

i just love these two together … big Thor and his wee little sister Indy …


and finally, another shot of the goober … this one taken with the Nikon V1 … a new addition to the SDP lineup of cameras.  although not intended for client sessions, it’s a fun little camera to carry in one’s purse.

hope you all have a great weekend!

By illona | Posted in facebook images recap | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

another facebook recap ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

11 January 2012 – 8:46 am

as usual, i bring you the latest sneak peeks from our current clients on the scruffy dog facebook page … and it was a bit of a Yorkie week, with two shoots of two yorkies!  so, why not start with some Yorkies?

Harley and Nahla were back for a second shoot.  you can see their summer shoot here.  these two niblets reside in California, so watching them deal with the snow was fun … and doesn’t Nahla look like a little winter princess?

this was a Starter session added on to Harley and Nahla’s summer Standard.  because of the cold, these little guys lasted about 25 minutes, but we got a ton of gorgeous photos from these two.  they really knew how to strike a pose.  maybe they’ve lived in Hollywood too long?

and with the coming of the new year, it was time for resident mcscruffy matea to “hand over the reins” for the 52 Weeks for Dogs project on flickr.  merrick is this year’s model.

i shared another photo of the spectacular Indy, whose photoshoot from the fall is still in the post-work stages … a girl can’t get any privacy!

and then gorgeous old man Dante, whose shoot also is in the post stage …

and this shot i thought was funny … imagining Dante yelling at someone out of frame.

then the resident merrick mcscruffy … this shot was taken with a new point-and-shoot … my purse camera.  along with some new appliances that beep a lot, merrick turned his back to the new Nikon down in the studio as he’d just had it with all the beeping!

this mcscruffy is far more comfortable with the big cameras …

and we asked facebook followers what was their pet’s favorite new toy received over the holidays …

then there was baby Harlow, another client whose shoot is still in the post stages. how cute is she?

and then … more Yorkies!  these two are Darla and Enzo … catching a few rays …

and you don’t need a doorbell if you share your life with a Yorkie!

and a little fun in the autumn leaves …

Enzo did well with a little fence-post posing at the end of our shoot while the moon came up …

i hope you’ve enjoyed this week’s facebook recap.  if you’d like to see more of these kinds of client sneak-peeks and SDP photos even sooner, join the scruffy dog facebook page and follow the fun as it happens!  see you there!

By illona | Posted in facebook images recap | Also tagged , , , | Comments (2)