Foster Profile Portraits ~ What I’ve been up to
In November of last year I wrote a blog post about the importance of giving back and one of the ways I do that is through taking profile portraits for rescue dogs who need to find their forever homes.
Since then I have been posting images here and there on my Facebook page, but haven’t written a post about it, so today I will catch you up on what I’ve been doing, where I’ve been and all of the great rescues in Ottawa.
December
In December I got to photograph seven adorable 10 week old husky mix puppies for Hopeful Hearts Rescue. Their mom was a rescue from up north and they had no idea she was pregnant until her foster mom noticed her tummy moving. They went to the vet and sure enough, there were seven little pups in there!
These guys were so cute that after we finished their individual portraits, we tried to get a shot of them all together. This is not an easy task as you can imagine! We stuck them on the bench and they kept squirming off in all directions – it was so hilarious.
The bottom image is one of my favourites I’ve ever taken. If you’d like to see it in person, visit the Bell’s Corners Animal Hospital to see a large canvas of it hanging above the seat where we took the portrait.
That day I also got to photograph two new arrivals into Hopeful Hearts. This is Balea.
And this is Winnie. Such a sweetheart!
January
In January, I photographed Bogey, a cute little Schnauzer. This was a bit different as Bogey was adopted and on his way to his new home, but his foster Mom wanted some portraits to remember his time with them by.
March
In March I photographed two special dogs for Hopeful Hearts.
First up is Nanny McPhee, who has the most adorable little tongue that sticks out.
In this first image, Nanny McPhee is sporting a fab coat for a review for the Ottawa Dog Blog.
Next up is Cindy Lou Who. She is from the puppy mill bust that happened last September. She was soooo nervous and really afraid of the camera. We worked really hard to get these images and when we were done, she was VERY proud of herself. Ciny Lou is still available for adoption to a special home.
A few weeks after these portraits were taken, Cindy escaped from her yard and lots of rescuers, including me, were out for 5 days and nights searching for her all over Nepean. I spent three mornings walking all over Nepean and Bruce Pit Park and finally, on the fifth day, she was found on the side of the highway and was finally caught by a lot of really amazing people working together. She was so scared, she would run whenever someone got close to her. When she was finally back, the vet determined that she had been hit by a car and had a broken femur. Donations were raised to help her in her recovery and she is doing quite well at her foster home, resting. What an adventure! If you’d like to donate to Hopeful Hearts to help with Cindy’s recovery, you can do so here.
In March I also visited Lanark Animal Welfare Society, to help their volunteer photographer learn how to photograph their rescue dogs. We had a great time together and captured some great images.
It was quite a rainy and cold day, but that didn’t stop us. I was all decked out in my winter boots and slush pants and got mighty wet on the outside, but stayed nice and dry on the inside. It’s all about being prepared!
We were so lucky to have LAWS’ official trainer, Jessica O’Neill from Forever Friends Dog Training, on hand to help us out with the images. She was a great asset as she was working with the dogs while we were photographing them. It’s always great to have another person on hand to “handle” the dogs. We made sure to have lots of fun and make it a very positive experience for all the dogs who had their portraits taken.
Teaching LAWS’ photographer, Dane Kidner, how to photograph these super quick and squirmy beagle puppies.
Jessica helping get some action shots!
I was lucky enough to have Valerie, my intern, along for the day as well.
April
In April I got to photograph some familiar faces! Two of the puppies I had photographed in December, still had not found their forever homes, so we decided to have an updated portrait done.
Eklypse is up first and has since been adopted! The left is her portrait as a pup from December, and the right is at 6 months old. What a difference!
Secondly is Sahara, who is such a beauty.
And this is their mom, Kamotik!! Kami is still looking for her forever home and you can read about her on the Hopeful Hearts website here.
And Lexi came along for a portrait as well – such a sweetheart and I just adore her one floppy ear!
Also in April, I photographed Miko in an awesome raincoat. Miko is currently on hold until her foster Mom figures out her skin condition and how it can be managed. Poor thing. But while they are figuring things out, Miko is having a blast with her dog-brothers.
May
This month, I got a call from a foster family through Loyal Rescue and I headed over to photograph their adorable little Yorkie foster, Sam. He is such a sweetie and although he’s a bit overweight now, he’s losing it fast walking with his foster family several times each day. Sam is still available for adoption and you can check out his profile here.
Behind the Scenes
Because Valerie was along with me when we went to LAWS, she took some shots of me hard at work!
Sometimes I make funny faces when I am working and sometimes I lift it up and just go for it!
I like to run and play.
Fewf – that was a lot longer post than I was planning, but I am happy to have shared all of these amazing rescue dogs with you.
Have a wonderful day,
