What My Paws are Diggin'

Welcome to a new series that I'll be featuring on my blog! This is What My Paws are Diggin' and will showcase some of my favorite pet and animal related items along with all the good info on where you can find them! I have so much to share but to not overwhelm your senses, I'll just be featuring 5 items at a time. Feel free to leave any thoughts, comments, or ideas in the comments section below! Enjoy this very first installment!!! :) 1) DIY Paw Print Art: If you love DIY art projects that are all about your pet, this adorable project is for you! I love the simple and classic look of the finished paw print piece that can totally be customized to your taste and decor. Find all the instructions on the fabulous Chic Sprinkles blog HERE.

2) Diesel & Juice illustrations: Obsessed much? Um, yes I am! This talented artist can take simple snapshots of your furry friends and turn them into one-of-a-kind, custom, computer-generated illustrations. They are amazing! To order your own custom piece and see more amazing examples, check out the Diesel & Juice site HERE.

3) 52 Weeks of Treats: This is a brand new recipe e-book that you MUST purchase if you love to give your pups yummy (and healthy) treats. Don't worry - you don't have to be a wiz in the kitchen to mix up most of these yummy concoctions! The recipes are nicely broken down into chapters for the seasons and special events. Not to mention, the photography makes it a joy to "thumb" through and, if you're nice, your pup may let you have a taste too! Yep! The recipes are all safe for us two-leggers (and you might find yourself making some of your own). To purchase your own e-book, visit the Pretty Fluffy blog HERE.

4) Anthropologie Ring Holder: A fellow pet photographer (thanks, Barbara!) took a picture of this find and recently posted it on Facebook. I knew right away I needed this for my nightstand. I never wear my rings to photo shoots so this pretty dish is perfect for their safe-keeping. I got my hands on one a couple days ago and for only $10! Order yours while they last HERE.

5) Sharon Montrose Art: I have been in love with Sharon Montrose's Animal Prints for years and years and years. Her collection features anything from baby giraffes, to snakes, to bison, to chickens and everything in between. It's so hard to pick a favorite! Full-run and limited-edition prints are available for purchase. Go drool over her photography at her site HERE.

I hope you found some new favorites to add to your own pet-needs list! :)

Maggie Mae, Tessa, Forrest & Sam

Photographing 4 dogs during one session can sometimes be a lot to handle. However, when the dogs are great models like these four, it is a breeze and oh so much fun!!! I'll start off with Tessa! This snugly three year old was a camera ham right from the get go. As long as I had my stinky treats nearby, she would do anything I asked - even a little head tilt...

She also loves the tennis ball which she was happy to retrieve for me.She is so pretty and I just want to cuddle up with her!Next up is Forrest! Named after the famous Forrest Gump, this handsome Sheltie cracked me up big-time! Just a couple minutes into our time together, something caught his attention. Birds flew overhead. Evidently, Mr. Forrest is a little obsessed with birds flying high in the sky and airplanes - yes, airplanes. He constantly keeps his watch up to the sky just in case something flies over the house. It seriously was cracking me up! He would even chase the airplanes from the back of the house to the front as they flew over - so funny!

Every once in a while, I could get his attention again with a nice treat...

So funny!!!The eldest of the pack is Maggie Mae. At 13 years old, this sweetheart kinda wanted to do her own thing which was fine with me! It was so interesting to watch her walk through the woods because she almost looked like a mysterious wolf. She is so gorgeous and so unique. I heart her...Last but not least, we have Sam. Sam was the only pup that we were a little worried about because he is a rescue and is still skittish and shy around strangers and weird noises. I really took my time letting him get to smell me, the camera, and, most importantly, the treats I had stashed in my pouch. With a little food incentive, he was all mine! He was even running toward the camera by the end and sitting on my lap as I chatted with his people. I sooooo love this handsome boy!At the time of our session, Sam was actually still a foster with my client. After I posted the below picture on Facebook, his mom decided to turn in the adoption papers for him. It could have been a coincidence but I think not! Lol! ;) Gotta love foster failures!!!At the end of our session, we took a short walk down to the cotton fields. Unfortunately, they had been harvested the week before. They still looked cool to me so we decided to give it a shot. I literally clicked two frames and the farmer pulled up to gather some equipment. He was super nice but we didn't want to be disrespectful so we said our goodbyes to the field. Fortunately, this was the second shot I walked away with.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peek! I can't tell you how much fun it was working with these pups and their parents. Love. Love. Love!

Max, Sparky Parker, and Riley

Anyone that follows me on Facebook probably knows that I'm extremely fond of older pups. So when I found out I was going to be able to photograph THREE in one session, I was thrilled! Each one of these wise, elderly gentlemen has been rescued into a wonderfully loving home with plenty of toys, attention, and friendship. I introduce (from left to right) Sparky Parker, Max, and Riley...Max's white face makes my knees weak. I could never say no to this adorable face!

Max has been diagnosed with kidney failure and we actually had a bit of a scare when I showed up for his session. Earlier in the day, he got sick twice. When I arrived, he got sick for the third time. We cut the session short so he could be seen by the vet. Fortunately, everything was fine and the vet just thought it was a stomach bug. Even better news was that his kidney levels were back in the normal range and we got to finish the session the very next week! Yay!

Sparky Parker is the eldest of the pack but would never let you know! He still has quite a pep in his step! This cutie pie was adopted from a local rescue after being with them until he was 9 years old! Because he is a little dog aggressive, he was never taken to adoption events and the public never got to meet him. Fortunately, my client volunteered with that rescue and was able to spend plenty of time with him. Eventually, she fell in love. His still has some dog aggression but fits right in with his tight-knit pack.Riley, oh, Riley. I must admit, Riley stole my heart. Riley is ten-and-a-half and has a wonderful old soul. This precious Golden is actually the leader of the pack and is known to bring the calmness to everyone. I totally believe it because I could curl up with him and be calm all day. He is such a lover and SOOOO handsome!!I really enjoyed hanging out at their house and the pretty trail in their neighborhood.When my client would visit Sparky Parker at the rescue, this is how they would spend their time. She would love on him and he would just sit there and take it all in!Riley, you can run to me ANY time you want!!!I'm glad Max was feeling better because I even got a little smile out of him...He even had some goofiness!Not to be forgotten! This 3-dog pack is actually a "small animal farm" of 7! Yep! There are 4 kitties that keep these boys company. Below are two of the curious felines! :)

Much love to all these 4-legged babies! Can't wait to see them all again!!! :)

Macon - Mr. Heartbreaker

I think I am on some kind of lucky streak because I have been photographing dog after dog that I just want to snatch up and take home with me! Macon was certainly no exception! Macon is a rescued Beagle/Coonhound mix that seriously stole my heart. He is playful, listens well, and is straight-up serious when it comes to modeling. Unfortunately, his parents aren't interested in parting with him so I'll have to live with just looking at his picture. That's ok though because, like I said, this guy could work it... ;) Oh, and his eyes are this amazing!!! I did nothing to enhance the color, etc. Makes me melt!!!This is Macon's irresistible beg.Macon's toy of choice? Sticks! "Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom..."Macon even invited his people to join in for some of the pictures.Seriously? These two are just as adorable as Macon!Our session took place at CaliCos Haven in Huntersville. It is a non-profit rescue for horses where Macon's mom volunteers. Of course we had to sneak in a few pictures of the other 4-legged beauties.I can't wait to share the rest of the images with Macon and his family! Thank so much for a wonderful session!

Chi Chi, Lola, and Ramesses II

I know that Forrest Gump said that life was like a box of chocolates...you never know what your gonna get. But for this session, I wonder if he should have said that dogs are like a box of chocolates? Upon booking her session, my client warned me that one of my subjects, Chi Chi, was known to be feisty and has a bite history. Knowing this, I certainly took my time allowing her to get familiar with me and the camera. Of course she barked at me at first. However, when I pulled out the treats and she got a little taste, it was only a matter of minutes before she was licking my hand. She didn't even respond to the camera so I knew we were golden!

I never like going into a session with a preconceived notion about a dog. Of course I want to know about their behaviors, personalities, habits, bite history, etc. But like Forrest said, you never know what your gonna get!

Here is Chi Chi workin' it for the camera just minutes after we met... Lola, on the other hand, is also a barker but warms up to strangers easily. She loves treats and showed off her best beg.I love the way Chi Chi sits. Haha! It cracks me up (so does Lola's look in her sweater)! This picture pretty much is the visualization of my tagline, "Modern images for posh pets." Those are definitely some posh shawls!Surprise! Not only did I photograph Chi-Chi and Lola. I also had the honor of spending some time with Ramesses II! And, wow! He is a looker!

This gorgeous boy was previously a race horse but has been off the track for 3 years. He was adopted by my client just a couple months ago and he has made their family complete.Ramesses' mom has been riding for 17 years and is so ecstatic to finally have a horse to call her own. I love the way they look at him...These two are just too gorgeous!

I want to give a special thanks to Perky Ears, LLC  - you gals know who you are! Hahahaha! I hope this gorgeous family enjoys their sneak peek! :)

Pebbles and BamBam

If I knew that Pebbles and BamBam were so darn cute, I would have watched WAY more Flintstones when I was growing up! But in all seriousness, to say I'm not excited about this post would be the understatement of the year. Not only was it hard to narrow down Pebbles and BamBam's images while editing, it was pretty impossible to narrow them down for the sneak peek! In turn, this may be longest blog post ever! I hope you don't mind! ;) This adorable pair's mom booked their session months and months in advance to make sure they had prime Fall colors for their photo shoot (very smart, BTW). Even though we had to reschedule once because of cloud cover, we only had to put off the session a couple days. I'm so glad we did because these cutie-patooties looked FAB with all of the sunlight and amazing colors! We spent a beautiful evening together at Fisher Farm in Davidson (which is probably my favorite place to shoot - LOVE).

So you may be asking yourself what kind of doggies are they? They are Pomeranian/Cocker Spaniel mixes that happen to be a doggy accident (cover Pebbles and BamBam's ears!). Two dogs met at a bar-b-que (I'm not kidding) and the rest is history if you know what I mean!

Pebbles is the lady and donned a pink-themed collar throughout the session. BamBam is the handsome boy and sported a matching collar in blue.

Right off the bat, I could tell I was going to love this pair. They had a BALL running through the huge fields of the park and weren't shy to come right toward the camera!After tons of running and exploring, we took a break and did some "posing". They sure know how to work their magic!And we made some time for the family...Pebbles and BamBam were done with the cuddling and posing and were ready to go right back into play mode. BamBam's toy of preference is the ball, while Pebbles prefers sticks (of any size).Aren't their tags so perfect?!? They were an Etsy find by Woo Woo Workshop which is owned by Melissa McGraw Petrusch. (Shout out to another McGraw!)After our session and because the pups worked so hard, they were treated with one of their favs...ice cream!!! How freakin' cute is this!?!?Please ma'am, may I have some more? (said with your best Oliver Twist accent)

Wow...what a fun, fun session! If your dogs work super hard, what is your favorite treat to give them?

Maverick - Ball of Energy

Maverick's family booked their session back in June too make sure they got a prime session date for featuring the Fall leaves. I didn't want to disappoint! The day of our session, Hurricane Sandy was moving in and the clouds kept coming and going. We decided to go ahead with the session and it started out with sunny skies and very little cloud cover. Unfortunately, the clouds slowly moved in and the grayish light did little to make the golden hues of the trees sparkle. We ended up stopping the session early and reshooting a second day. I'm SO glad we did because the sun was out, the leaves were gorgeous, and Maverick looked stunning!This handsome boy just turned 5 years old but still has the energy of a puppy! He had a good ol' time exploring the park and smelling everything he could. Don't you just love that adorable face?!?One of the main objectives of the shoot was to get a picture of Maverick with his younger 2-legged brother. Before we could even think about Maverick being ready for that, we had to get some of his energy out...And we got one!!! You never know what to expect when working with a dog and a very young child. They each are on their own schedule and want to do what they want to do. :)Thanks Maverick and your family for being flexible and patient! I hope you love the results so far!

Sur Nicholas McLovin and Sierra

There are so many places to start with this story that I'm not sure where to begin. I guess I'll start with Sur Nicholas McLovin, aka Sur. I actually met Sur about two-and-a-half years ago when I was volunteering with the Great Dane Rescue of the Carolinas. He was being fostered by fellow volunteers - now his parents - and was fighting a horrible battle with Mange. He was struggling for his life but fortunately found a great couple that provided wonderful care and love. This is what Sur looked like before...And this is Sur now. Isn't he stunning?Too often, the "ugly" dogs (especially Pits and Pit-mixes) are overlooked and left behind at shelters around the country. I love Sur's story because it shows that the ugly duckling can turn into a swan! Through Sur's recovery, a strong bond formed between he and his dad. His dad owns a dog walking and training business and Sur has been instrumental in helping him perfect his training abilities. In fact, we took some time to photograph some of his training techniques for his developing website. The exercise on the right is called Pushing and is part of Natural Dog Training. Sur's dad uses these giant boulders during his training sessions and they were just to pretty to pass by. Time for a photo opp!This session wasn't just about Sur. His sister joined in too! Her name is Sierra and she is just the sweetest ol' lady ever!Sur may be daddy's dog but Sierra is definitely momma's girl. Some of Sierra's mom's favorite traits about her are...

1 - She always raises her paw to get your attention

2 - Her teeth!!!3 - She has a great body wag and bounce4 - Her play bow. I'm so glad we captured them all!!!This whole family makes me want to squeal!!! Love them and they are the epitome of dog people!Sierra looks gorgeous in this picture but I think she was ready for a nap! :)And I'll finish off with more of Sur balancing on things...

Thank you so much for a wonderful session! I'm so thrilled to see how far Sur has come and I hope he inspires others to take a second look at the "ugly" doggy in the window.