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yes, another facebook recap ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

welcome to another recap — a little overdue — of the goings-on on the scruffy dog facebook page.  if you’re not following SDP on facebook and keeping up with all the news, client sneak peeks, and photos, no worries … you can always catch up with things here on the SDP blog … although sometimes we do fall a little behind.

first  up we have young Sophie Rose … she’s a “miniature” bulldog, and one of the sweetest, snortiest snuffleupaguses you’ll ever meet.  and really, she’s not as grumpy as she looks!

like any respectable bulldog, this girl can catch some air …

and she loves the scruffy dog Cuz balls.

next up we have Chai.  although his session was a year ago, we didn’t work on his images until recently due to family issues and then Chai’s early passing from cardiomyopathy.

we had a very brief sneakpeek on the blog around the time of Chai’s session.

this big boy is very much missed and it is an honor to have had the opportunity to capture his happy spirit.

we also shared a few images of big, drooly boy Buddy from his session the other week.

and, no, in spite of his appearance, i’m pretty sure this boy is not part Bridge Troll …

then there was the very handsome Moose, posing in front of one of the Royal York murals …

i had an awesome time with young Beretta, a six-month-old Dutch shepherd who truly stole my heart.  this little drivey girl sparked a lot of memories for me — having grown up with german shepherds — and at one point when i took Beretta’s leash for a moment so mom Dorothy could get her things out of her vehicle, i swear, i felt something i hadn’t felt in a long time: the promise of an incredible drive ready to be harnessed and worked with, a young dog with the world ahead of her and so many amazing things in her future.  i was truly and deeply in love.

and the greatest part is that Beretta has two more scruffy sessions on the books before the year is out.  i’m so looking forward to working more with this amazing girl.

as with any week on facebook, i also shared a little before-and after … this one is of my latest love-interest, Beretta …

and then one of sweet old girl Penny from her second session a few weeks ago.

i shared a couple of sneak peeks of the ball-crazy Cooper from his session last week …

this boy o.w.n.s his ball.

and in any given week on the SDP facebook page, i always share a couple of images of the resident scruffies, matea mcscruffy and merrick goobernuts mcscruffy …

if you don’t laugh at this next photo of the goober, you might want to check for a pulse.  a couple of weeks ago the Kong company contacted me asking if they could send a box of Kong toys to be used at scruffy dog photo sessions. upon opening the huge box, merrick, obviously, was under the impression that they were all for him. he was absolutely giddy with anticipation …

and here is a short video of the goober digging through the box of new toys for his absolute favorite Kong product … (and let me qualify that this is not the best video!):

and then my amazing, right-hand-girl matea …

she’s turned 10 this year, and in spite of being on a raw diet for the majority of those years, her system has been changing over the last year.  she’s not the first raw-fed senior i’ve heard of requiring a switch to a cooked diet, and honestly, given that she’s always had a sensitive constitution (even back in those early days of quality kibble), in the back of my mind, i always anticipated this day.  so, cooked it is.

what you see below is the meat-portion of the girl’s diet prior to cooking: a few pounds of wild salmon, 15 lbs of venison and 5 lbs of organs (including heart and lungs, which i don’t factor into my actual “organ” percentage as we’re not concerned about Vit A ratios as we are with liver and kidney). not sure why I decided to grind this batch, but i figured (a) it might cook faster (i’m new to all this cooked fare), and (b) i’d be able to mix in the organs more efficiently.  this will be the last time i cook organs though.  urg! they stank up the house!  i’ll stick to feeding dehydrated and freeze-dried liver and kidneys, and cook chunks of meat instead of the ground. (too much moisture is lost when cooking ground).

and for those inquiring … this will be divvied up, frozen, and then mixed with oatmeal and veggies before feeding.

i do still firmly believe that — for optimum health – a raw diet should be the first diet for dogs and the place to start in any canine nutritional journey, especially when there are issues with intolerances and allergies … however, in the case of special needs and requirements, raw is not always the best choice for some dogs.

i hope you’ve enjoyed this facebook recap.  if you’d rather receive more up-to-the-minute news and sneak peeks, consider joining the scruffy dog facebook page … truly, it’s fun!

another facebook recap ~ {Ontario pet photographer}

here we are once again with another recap of the images we’ve shared on the scruffy dog facebook page.

first up, the spectacular Indy, with her many expressions.

i just couldn’t get enough of this little model during our session  …

also on facebook last week, we shared a couple more before-and-afters from the post-production side of things.

and this is sweet little Sasha in some post-production … our last fall session whose post was delayed due to the heavy fall shooting schedule.

little Gizelle enjoyed the comfort of the scruffy dog chair last fall as well …

and then we finally got snow!  and i was finally able to meet this little girl for her winter session …

little Nala had a lot of fun in the woods.

we also had a session with handsome Nerian to celebrate his first birthday …

and at one year old, this young guy had a lot to say …

last week we also had a session with a lovely pack of three.  thirteen-year-old Penny:

and long-legged Lucy …

and last but not least little tiny Pyper, who danced a lot during our session …

stay tuned on the scruffy dog facebook page for more sneak peeks from these sessions and others!

have a great week, everyone!

camilla and sarah ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

strap yourselves in and make sure you’ve got the safety belts on tight because you’re about to take a ride in ultimate cuteness, the likes of which you will not have experienced before!

now, some of you who follow the scruffy dog facebook page will already have seen a couple of sneak peeks of these two darlings, but now you’re going to get to see a whole lot more!

we had so much fun at their shoot … well, perhaps not Vince so much, as he was designated as the chair-sherpa …

so this is Sarah …

and this is Camilla … a.k.a. Cammy.

and anyone who thinks that these two look alike couldn’t be more wrong.

Camilla is a foxy little girl …

… and Sarah is rounder

… with your typical corgi poof-rump … “does my butt look big on this boardwalk?”

you’ll see a lot of these looking-up shots since these two girls were pretty determined to stick near me.

still, we were able to get them out exploring …

Sarah is actually afraid of cameras …

… she’s skittish of a lot of things, even the sound of Velcro, and that fear was immediately noticeable as i took the gear out of the car.  in fact, she tried to hide in the scruffy dog mobile.  but with a few tricks and working with her energy, i was able to bring her around pretty quickly and she ended up being a bit of a poser.

these girls definitely love balls …

and that Camilla has a lot of giddy-up …

and check out that ski-slope tongue!

but Sarah’s no slouch either …

thanks for a fun afternoon, Jennifer and Vince, and for sharing not just your two little darlings but also your grandfather’s gorgeous property.  i’m looking forward to working on your big canvas and album!

orville love balls ~ {Waterloo, Ontario pet photographer}

this is Orville …

you may remember him from his short train tunnel/graffiti shoot earlier this year.  Orville is also one of the KW Humane Society calendar winners, and is featured in the 2012 calendar.  adopted from the KWHS, Orville is — without question — leading the good life.

you could call him Mr. Happy …

… or home jester, as he elicits a lot of laughter from his parents …

Orville’s proud parents wanted more than the mini-shoot for the KWHS 2012 calendar, so we took their scruffy session to the park …

normally a ball- or toy-driven dog is a pleasure to photograph since you can more easily direct their attention.  but the kind of over-the-top ball-intensity/obsession that Orville has can make a photosession difficult … that is, until you have a good handle on his particular energy — if you don’t want every photo to look unnatural due to the extreme intensity and focus on the ball, you need to determine how close is too close before he starts to look unnaturally intent, how much you can manipulate the ball to bring his head to a more natural angle.

most of all though, it was about having fun chasing the ball …

thanks, Orville, for a fun shoot!

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

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!