… 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 honored 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!