Monthly Archives: July 2009

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Paolo

07.30.2009 –

I met Patrick (human) and Paolo (dog) on a perfect summer evening in downtown Denver.  The light was delectable: that thick, warm light that coats its subjects like honey.  Patrick and Paolo were up for anything, and we covered a lot of ground.  Poor Paolo was exhausted by the end of it, but I think we came away with a variety of location that really made it worth all that walking.

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We must have been stopped five or six times in an hour by people wondering what kind of dog Paolo is.  I can’t blame them; he is really striking.  He’s half Chocolate Lab, half Husky.  Very cool mix.

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I can’t decide which of these shots I like better, but they are definitely my favorites from this session.

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I am sneaking away early next week for a road trip with the dogs.  (I have Kinley for most of this month).  I will try to post once more before I leave, and plan to post intermittenly along the way, but posting will be lacking its usual regularity.  I have yet to decide just where we’re going. although I’m finding myself drawn to the coast.  I am always insanely jealous of all of you who get to take your dogs to the beach, so I think I just might head West til we reach water.  Even if it does take 18 hours of driving.

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

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Shelby & Rugby

07.29.2009 –

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Rugby (left) and Shelby (right) are everything one would expect Golden Retrievers to be: friendly, devoted, ceaselessly good-natured.  There is most definitely something about Shelby’s face that reminds me of Kinley.  I think it’s that perpetual puppyness, that sweetness that is so easily discerned.  Not that Rugby isn’t just as sweet.

I love me some Goldens in black + white.

Rugby:

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Shelby:

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Admittedly, Shelby was my favorite of the two.  I couldn’t help it.  But these shots of Rugby make me smile.  One thing that’s right at the top of my (very long) list of reasons I love dogs it’s the fact that prioritize play.  I don’t think a day goes by that Roux doesn’t try her darndest to convince me to run around the house with her.  I try to make sure I oblige, even if it’s just for ten minutes.  And when I play with her I drop any pretense of being cool right off the bat.  I run around with that dog like a maniac.  I think it keeps me sane.

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Gracie & Gus

07.28.2009 –

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Gracie and Gus, decidedly wolf-like in their appearance, are also unbelievably well behaved.  It’s clear that Cathy has invested a great deal of time and effort in these dogs, and it most certainly has paid off.  Having struggled myself with trying to convince two large dogs that they should both listen to me at the same time, I am all the more impressed with Gracie and Gus.

Gus:

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Gracie:

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Water dogs, through and through.

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And my favorites:

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2

07.25.2009 –

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Roux turns two today.  I’m well aware of the fact that most people find it ridiculous to remember–never mind celebrate–a dog’s birthday, but I actually have a particular knack for remembering them.  To this day I can recite the exact birth dates of every dog I’ve ever owned.  I have been known to actually forget my own age, but never a dog’s birthday.  Fear not, I didn’t go overboard today.  There were no birthday hats, no streamers, no Happy Birthday Roux banners (tempting as that was).  But we did spend the day doing dog-friendly things like swimming in lakes, hiking and napping on furniture.  And my wonderful friend Sam, budding cupcake artiste and mother to Grady, baked Roux an entire batch of peanut butter dog cupcakes with yoghurt frosting.  This dog is decidedly spoiled, a fact that I freely admit only because she is also terribly well behaved.  (Provided there are no squirrels in sight).  She waited stone-faced while I shot these, a good fifteen minutes of laying still and looking regal without so much as sniffing one of these cupcakes before I allowed her one.

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Happy Birthday, little Rouxby.  While I would give anything to go back and bury my face in those puppy rolls again, I am so proud of the dog Roux has become.

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Megan & Kaya

07.24.2009 –

I’ve been trying to pinpoint just what it is about Danes that is so endearing to people.  When I’m on Dane shoots it is not at all uncommon for complete strangers to stop and spend ten, fifteen, twenty minutes petting the dog.  Children especially seem to be enthralled by them (and actually some of my very favorite photos from this shoot are the shots of Megan with a little boy who just happened to be in the same park).  I think people are enchanted by these large animals’ gentleness.  There’s a juxtaposition there, that sheer size  paired with acute docility.  In some very primal way we understand the capability that’s there, the fact that many of these dogs easily outweigh us and could just as easily overpower us.  But they don’t, for the most part.

For the most part, they’re like Kaya and Megan, perfect human companions.

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Kaya:

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At age eight Megan is beginning to feel her age creeping up on her, but like many older dogs she still has moments where she is a puppy, leaping, running, spinning.  I have no doubt that if she were human, she’d be laughing.

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Take Megan’s lead and don’t forget to indulge in a little whimsy now and then.  And since it’s Friday, now is a good time.

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