referral program

A while back on Facebook I hinted that previous clients would be receiving something in the mail from me soon. Well, "soon" actually turned into a month or so due to the postal strike here in Canada, which really set me back. But I can finally share what showed up in their mailboxes!

I started a referral program, and these were the first packages to go out. Clients received a postcard outlining the program — on one side it says "Sit for me and get a treat" with details below, and on the flip side (not shown) there is a collage of photos from sessions with this particular group of clients to make it a little more personalized.

The postcards are put in these nubbly (I might have just made up a word, but they really are nubbly) brown envelopes, which are made out of 100 percent recycled materials, along with a few of my new rounded-corner business cards tied up with a ribbon.

Once the envelopes are stuffed and addressed, they are sealed with one of my fun new stickers.

It was so much fun designing all my new marketing materials! If you would like more info on my referral program (yes, there is free stuff involved!), please get in touch. Next up is a packaging post — you don't just get a boring disc with images on it when you book a Happy Tails session. Stay tuned!

elly | castleton, ontario, pet photographer

This is Elly, a black lab mix with the shiniest coat and beautiful brown eyes.

She belongs to my brother and sister-in-law, and has been through many changes over her six years. They got Elly when they were a young couple just out of university and today they are married with two kids, plus one on the way. Elly has adjusted to a relatively quiet existence to a household full of, well, chaos ... in a good way. She has handled it all with grace and loyalty.

I have been wanting to get my hands on her for some time to photograph, because although I love my brother and he is good at many things — fatherhood, knowing the lyrics to every single Beatles song, collecting an impressive wardrobe of beer t-shirts from around the world, to name a few — I have yet to see a decent photo of Elly. This is what she typically looks like in family photos:

Yep, pretty sad, right? She kind of looks like a black ink spot (here's a great resource by Marianne Drenthe for more reasons why custom photography is the way to go!). There really is so much more to Elly. She is such a sweet soul with some tricks up her, er, nose.

Elly spends most of her time outdoors and loves to explore her property's forest ... squirrel!

 Through it all, the bond between Elly and her dad has remained strong. Kisses!

adoptables | burlington, ontario, pet photographer

I was back at the Burlington Humane Society on the weekend to take more photos of the amazing animals available for adoption. There are still a ton of cats and kittens being housed at the shelter, so I was busy photographing all their cute faces for the website. Every single one of them is a sweetheart and deserving of a loving home (seriously, they are all adorable!). If you're looking to add a feline friend to your family, drop into the shelter for a visit. Here are a few of the awesome animals looking for homes:

And Cliff, the only canine in the pack!

adoptables | burlington, ontario, pet photographer

On the weekend I volunteered my photography services at the Burlington Humane Society — a fantastic no-kill shelter run by more than 400 volunteers. There are currently more than 100 cats and kittens being housed at the shelter, so my first visit was all about the felines. It was so much fun to capture the personalities of the animals — they were all amazing and each one deserves a wonderful home.

My photos will be used on the organization's website and will hopefully entice people into the shelter to adopt. I hope that by putting their best paw forward in a great photo that shows their personality (no cages or bars!), these animals will have a better chance at finding their forever homes.

Are you looking for a new four-legged family member? Here are a few of the animals available for adoption at the Burlington Humane Society.

And lone dog Heidi!

in case of emergency

It's something no one likes to think about - what if there is an emergency at your house and your pets are home alone? Every family should have an emergency plan, and if you have furry family members, the plan should include them too. We have an emergency sticker on our front door to alert firemen, police and neighbours that we have animals in the house. Please excuse the photo quality — the window film we have on our front doors makes taking a clear picture tricky, but the sticker is very clear and legible in person.

If you don't already have an emergency sticker, Modern Dog magazine has a free template you can use to make your own — download it here. It's always good to be prepared!

cat stalking

Wonder dog Chloe has received lots of exposure on the blog, so I thought it was time to shine the spotlight on our other furkid. Let me introduce you to our bossypants tuxedo cat Kitty.

Kitty is actually a nickname — those of you who have seen Monsters Inc. will know where it comes from! But we call her Kitty so often that I don't think she knows any other name. Although she only weighs eight pounds, Kitty is the ruler of our roost and we all know it, especially Chloe who is totally submissive around the cat. And she rules with an iron fist, er, paw. A few fun facts about Kitty: she does not like to be picked up or cuddled, and don't even think about touching her bum or belly; she has learned how to open closet doors (I think it is phase one in her plans for world domination); and I swear she has a wristwatch stashed away somewhere because every night at exactly 10 pm she wanders downstairs to let us know it is time for bed (ie. yells at us) and herds us upstairs.

I decided to try and capture Kitty's daily life through photos. So, like any reasonable person, I cat stalked her. Kitty's starts her day by sleeping in ... which makes it hard to make the bed.

She eventually rouses herself for breakfast. If there is no food in the bowl, we hear about it!

Then it's bath time, followed by a rest in her favourite hiding spot — the edge of the bathtub between the shower curtain and liner. I don't know how she maintains such a hectic lifestyle.

By mid-afternoon she has enough energy to terrorize the dog.

Then it's time to find some relief on the scratchy box.

Which must be exhausting because she doesn't go far for a rest. But she does manage to squeeze in some time for her favourite hobby, birdwatching.

Once she is satisfied that she's told the birds whose boss, Kitty likes to roll around and entice you to rub her belly — don't be fooled!

Late in the day she retreats to the laundry basket to get a little shut-eye.

To show her softer side, Kitty then gives love to inanimate objects like the office chair.

And she wraps up her day by supervising dad on the computer.

Did you manage to keep up? We love Kitty — long live the boss!