bloggers unite for dog rescue | ontario pet photographer

Today is Bloggers Unite for Dog Rescue, an online event to stress the importance of dog rescue. Millions of dogs are euthanized each year  — MILLIONS. One of the main reasons is because not enough people are adopting dogs through local rescue groups and shelters. Also, many people underestimate the the time and dedication it takes to become a responsible pet owner, and surrender their dogs, or worse.

Local rescue organizations consist of volunteers who help by fostering dogs in their own homes while they search for permanent placement, taking dogs to adoption events, fundraising to cover medical and boarding costs, to name a few.  Most rescue groups do not have the luxury of people dedicated to promoting their efforts on a large scale.

To help raise awareness, today's post is a peak into what goes on behind the scenes at the shelter I volunteer at — the Burlington Humane Society. Although most of the pets that pass through here are cats, there are many dogs that have been cared for here and have gone on to find forever homes. There are so many tasks that must take place for BHS to run smoothly — things like laundry (those cat and dog beds need to be washed!), doing the dishes (those bowls need to be cleaned!), bathing the animals, administering medication, hand-feeding kittens if necessary, and lots and lots of paperwork.

All of the hard work and dedication of the staff and MANY volunteers is all for one purpose: so animals — dogs and cats alike — such as Duncan here find forever homes.

Duncan is on his way to his new home!

Also a paws up to the ordinary people who give what they can and donate to the shelter. These donations help provide daily necessities for all the residents — this place runs because of you!

Right now BHS is caring for Weego — a fantastic friendly fellow. If you know someone looking to add to their family with a four-legger, please spread the word and help him find a home! 

BHS is one of many local organizations making a difference in animal lives. A few others I have dontated my time to include the Milton Animal Sanctuary and The Dog Rescuers Inc. If you are looking for a way to help dogs who can't help themselves, please look into all of these groups — they are doing great work and saving one dog's life at a time. Here are a few other things you can do TODAY to help:

• Adopt a four-legged companion from a local shelter or rescue organization
• Donate to a local shelter
• Foster a dog or cat
• Volunteer at a local shelter or rescue organization
• Share this post and encourage others to participate!

Wags,

Stacey

"arf"mazing race fundraiser | burlington pet photographer

After many days of preparation, and weather watching, the day finally came for the Burlington Humane Society's "ARF"mazing Race fundraiser at Spencer Smith Park on Lake Ontario. The skies started out gray, but the rain held off and the sun even made an appearance. This was my first time attending an event as a vendor, and it was a great experience. I was the only pet photographer in attendance and I met tons of dogs — breeds I had never seen before! — and their people. Being a little on the shy side, it was an opportunity for me to step out of my comfort zone, and I quickly realized it's pretty easy talking to so many dog lovers, being one myself.

A huge thank you to my supportive hubby, who not only constructed a screen to display my photography and was on hand to help set up my tent, but also had the very busy job of entertaining our 18-month-old son that morning. And to my awesome friend Jane who made me blush all day with the kind words and amazing promotion she did for my business.

Here are a few of the furry faces that popped by the Happy Tails Pet Photography booth to say hello. I'll be posting an album of these photos on Facebook, so if you see your four-legger here, hop over to the Happy Tails Facebook page and tag yourself so all your friends can see how awesome you are for supporting such a great cause!

Needless to say, there were A LOT of smiles.

I also met some breeds for the first time like a Peruvian hairless, below centre, and a Chinese crested hairless, below right. There was also the biggest doberman I have ever seen!

My favourite part of the day was the alumni parade. All the dogs who had been adopted went up to the front of the stage and had their names announced. I loved it because I saw lots of faces that I've photographed as a volunteer, and almost all of the new owners said they adopted because of the photo they saw on the website. One example is Dot — there is her adoption photo below as a puppy, and to the right is Dot at the ARFmazing Race. What a difference! I especially like how her ears grew in — one up, one down.

This tiny Teddy bear pomeranian named Stitch was a huge hit — yes, that is a real dog and not a stuffed animal. That is some cute!

This little monkey was my last visitor of the day and one of my favourites. Every booth had treats, but even with what I'm sure was a full belly, the temptation was still there!

This was my first ever vendor booth and I put a lot of heart and soul into it. I had these 5x5 cards printed to accompany my business cards. I wanted them to be totally unique and have the same playful vibe that Happy Tails is all about. There were four different sayings on the front — each a different reason, from the dog, for why they deserve a photography session. On the back of each was a different photo and my info. My super talented hubby, an amazing graphic designer, designed them for me and I wrote the copy. Totally different, and I think, kind of cute!

Here's my booth - there's lots of pink!

My hubby also constructed this screen to display my photographs, which were 12x18 in size and mounted on eco-board. He made the frames with 1x2 pieces of wood, added hinges painted them white and then stapled chicken wire to the back of them. It actually worked out really well because it was a windy day and this allowed the wind to blow through. My high-tech way of hanging the images — paper clips.  In the future I might add some pretty fabric behind the panels.

 

I tried to research vendor booths to see how other people put them together, but I really couldn't find anything related to pets and photography, so I came up with all of this on my own. And because I was on a tight budget, most of my booth was borrowed or DIY'd. I'm pretty proud of the way it came out. Of course I forgot to get a photo of me in my booth ... next time I guess!

Thanks to everyone who came out to support the shelter and for taking the time to stop by my booth!

Wags,

Stacey

weimaraners in the woods | burlington, ontario, pet photographer

It was a perfect spring day when I met up with Buckeye, Zoey and their person Kim. The dogs' glee at being in a new place with paths to explore and fresh grass to sniff was evident as they ran all through the woods and open fields — no trail was left undiscovered!

Buckeye and Zoey are both rescues. Buckeye was adopted at the age of one and is now three. Little sister Zoey is two and was adopted just last November. Even though they have only been together for about seven months, this duo is already bonded and seem like a perfect fit for each other.

Here's big bro Buckeye. He has a beautiful grey coat and likes to make eye contact. It really seems like you could have a conversation with this guy!

Buckeye has a little white patch on his chest that Kim calls his "power patch." Love it!

Zoey is a blue weimaraner and her eyes really pop against her darker fur. She is spirited and always on the lookout. Zoey was found as a puppy living outdoors in a wooden crate with her mom and brother in the middle of winter in Michigan. She was tiny and heartworm positive when she was rescued by Great Lakes Weimaraner Rescue. Kim and her partner Nathan are volunteers for the organization —  they adopted Buckeye from GLWR. After enduring one failed adoption where she wasn't cared for properly, and several foster homes, Zoey was eventually placed with Kim and Nathan — it was supposed to be a temporary arrangement.

Of course her sweet personality and zest for life won them over ... and she moved in permanently!

With these two high-energy goofballs, our session was filled with lots of walking, and lots of treats and playing! Kudos to Kim for her excellent weimaraner-wrangling abilities!

I'm so happy Buckeye and Zoey now have such wonderful lives in a happy home. They LOVE their people!  I imagine life must be tons of fun with these two in it!

Wags,
Stacey