Blue Bucket

Our foster pup: Oden

This week Ross and I are taking on something bigger than we could have possibly imagined (literally and figuratively) - a 20 month old great dane rescue named Oden, yup all 145 pounds of him. This sweet boy was rescued from a really sad situation where he was not being cared for medically and was living most of his life in a crate, resulting in a very elevated case of Demodex (mange) and severely underdeveloped hind legs, respectively. He was a mess when we got him on Saturday morning. A hot mess. He has lost a good portion of his hair, he has sores all over his body, and he was so hungry and thirsty it made me wonder when the last time he had free access to food and water. So here I was thinking, "What the HECK have I gotten us into?" But just being around this big pup its clear to see that his heart fits the size of his body... because all he wants is to be loved on. He is a total sweetheart. He has never once had an accident in the house. He stands completely still as Ross and I give him his daily baths, he delights in going for walks with us and Bristol, and like a good great dane he leeeeeeaaans against your legs just hoping for some affection. We are making smalls steps towards regaining Oden's health each day... Ross and I just keep saying, "Little victories! Little victories!" Plus we have to big Bristol some major credit for being such a good dog through this whole thing.

 Oden has a ways to go before he will be 100% healthy again, but it is fun to imagine how handsome he will be! Ross and I can only keep him through this week, but if you are interested or know of anyone who may be interested in fostering or adopting this big boy please feel free to contact me directly or the rescue coordinator that we've been volunteering with; Cinnamon Ellison (cinnamonelliotte@yahoo.com)

Here is Oden being a big ole' couch potato...

Because it's Friday...

... this is the photo of the day.

Tiny preview from my session yesterday with pups Cody and Luna.

Priceless.

Okay, okay and because I can't resist here are a couple more. Well, just because :)

Lots of goodies to come... everything from new gear, updates on my new site, and some crazy fun shoots. Can't wait to share!!!

Dad, is that you in the Santa outfit?

At the MAGDRL event on Saturday Greg, fellow volunteer, took one for the team and paraded around as Santa for the day. Truly he was such a great sport about the whole thing, but the funniest part about it was that his dane, Nala, kept coming over to check on him.  I think she was quite confused about the whole Santa beard, hat, padded belly thing... so she would come over and give him this big hugs, just to make sure it was still him in there and to show him that she still loved him, Santa suit or not. That is some good unconditional puppy love for you.

A day with the danes!

Saturday I spent most of the day hanging out with the great folks of the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue at a fundraising event in Charlotte. I snapped photos of folks and their pups with Santa to help raise some extra moolah because, honestly,  who can resist a Santa doesn't mind wrangling dogs?! It was really fun just being outside on a gorgeous Saturday morning, mingling with folks who were out with their dogs and helping out the cause of the MAGDRL. Some of the special needs rescues were there and just melted my heart... like Peyton, who is blind and deaf, but still finds his way around and is just a happy guy.... or there was Hope, who was picked up as an extremely underweight stray that has some issues with her hind end, but again despite it all a happy little spirit. These rescue pups are such a testimony of what a difference love, affection and some medical attention can make in the life of a dog. It's quite humbling to see these dogs accepting and blossoming under the love of their foster parents. I was brimming with tears multiple times throughout the day!
Huge thank you to Cinnamon Ellison who is the fundraising coordinator in the Charlotte area. I swear that woman has a heart of gold and she is simply a joy to serve alongside. If you are interested in donating or volunteering please let me know and I'll help to point you in the right direction!

Also, I'm mildly obsessed with the awesome collars that Amy Smith makes, please check them out here. I couldn't decide which one to get so I got THREE! Bristol is now sporting a festive Christmas plaid collar.

Here are some highlights from the day:

Who could resist one of these sweet faces???

And this bulldog was cracking us all up!

A handsome gentleman, Duke

As a Carolina graduate there aren't many times you will ever hear me say that I love Duke, but last week I met the most gorgeous german shepherd named Duke that was pretty hard to resist. The immaculate gentleman, so handsome... I'm pretty sure that I've found the perfect play date for Bristol (our great dane). Here are some of my favorite shots from my session with the Whitworth family that treasures this pup!

Some great Duke detail shots:

Back to mister Duke:

Okay and the family wouldn't be complete without the cat too...
These shots of the two of them interacting amicably are priceless!

  

The BooneOakley Dog Calendar

So the calendar has arrived! I'm so excited that I have to offer a sneak peek. Again, the "launch party" will be at the Dog Bar in NoDa on Wednesday Oct. 15th starting @ 6:30pm. Come one, come all and celebrate the BO pups as well as having proceeds go to the Mid-Atlantic Great Dane Rescue!

And here is Mrs. August (aka Mrs. Bristol) in all her glory! And that is the only sneak peek you get!

A scottie for your Friday

Murphy is on of the BooneOakley pups that will be featured in the dog calendar (Launch Party at the Dog Bar in NoDa on Oct. 15th if anyone is interested in coming!) and he holds a special place in my heart because he is the dog that convinced Ross we should get a dog...and then came Bristol, our dane.
Murphy is such a character and I'm excited to share his sweet face with you on this gorgeous Friday afternoon!

Now how could this face not make you smile?

 

Brothers

A few weeks back I introduced you to Bogey and Wrigley, two of the most precious yellow lab puppies. Well, Ross and I are spending the weekend with the pup-stars (and the 3 kids of the Bowen family) so I'm really getting a chance to see and capture their little personalities... and let me tell you what, these 2 pups are not lacking when it comes to personality.

Bogey is the bigger pup. He is the jock. You can tell he is going to be big, strong and full of swagger.

Wrigley is the fresh faced little preppy puppy. He is more dependent of getting snuggles and attention, but you can tell he will be the ladies man.

Back to the big man Bogey...


And then there's Wrigley, more proper....

I love selective focus! Can't you just hear Wrigley thinking, "Who's that? OH! It's Bogey!"

Pretty sure that the stars must have aligned for me to get this shot of the 2 of them looking so irrisitable and just plumb tuckered out.

Puppy details must be documented purely for their cuteness, especially since these 2 are not going to stay this little for long...

Stay tuned for some more photos of the kids AND the puppies. Right now the 2 boys, Gus and Andrew, are out saving horses and cows with Ross. I already know that they helped him deliver a baby calf earlier today, so I'm sure that the dinner table conversation will be quite interesting!

She's my girl.

I just had to share this photo that Ross snagged last weekend of me and Bristol. I love it when he takes my camera and dutifully changes it from Manual mode to Automatic and goes to town!

Bundle(s) of love: Part 2

As I promised, here is some more puppy love for you. I'm working on posting from several shoots so be on the lookout for some fun new work in the next few days!

Love how their faces are so squish-able...

It was quite a hoot seeing those little pups wind around underneath Bristol's long long legs.

 

Nothing quite like a face-full of puppy breath!