kobe

Two months ago one of the dogs that I walked passed away. His name was Taz and he was a beautiful black miniature schnauzer who had been struggling with diabetes for a few months. Taz was a great boy and he brought his family a lot of joy and love, and when he passed they missed him terribly. Taz was a unique member of my dog walking pack, and he will always be remembered.

A week and a half ago, the family who owned Taz picked up a new addition to their family. Instead of going with a mini, they found a lovely standard schnauzer breeder and prepared their home for the new bundle of joy. This new little guy is named Kobe (like the beef!) and has doubled in size in just under two weeks! He's a sweet little character with a lot to say and also a lot of love to give. I can't wait until he is old enough to join me on my walks with my other dogs!

So without further ado... I'm pleased to introduce Kobe. He was 8.5weeks old when these pictures were taken (just a week ago). What a little cutie!

happy (belated) hallowe'en!

I took Rio out for his yearly Hallowe'en photoshoot on Sunday and instead of getting some pictures in the leaves (since we did that earlier this Autumn), I decided to get some of him in action. So here is Rio, sporting his handsome Hallowe'en collar and racing up a storm and having a great Hallowe'en!

fiona

In my opinion, Autumn is one of the most beautiful times of year. All of the colours that surround you are just stunning and it's a photographer's dream to be able to capture all that beauty. It also helps when you have such gorgeous dog models, such as the beautiful Fiona.

I've been walking Fiona for a little over 3 and a half years now and I truly consider her "my other dog". A hunter at heart, Fiona loves to chase squirrels and ducks, so when we went to G Lord Ross together she was completely thrilled. Not only was she able to race after tons of squirrels, but she chased a whole flock of ducks -- barreling after them through water, even!

We had a great outing, and by the time I got her home, she was exhausted and happy. I'm not sure if she was quite as tired as Rio and I, though. We both passed out as soon as we got in the door.

crosby

A year ago some friends of mine came home with the smallest yellow labrador puppy I had ever seen. They named the little guy Crosby (after Sidney Crosby) and they were kind enough to let me get some shots of him in all his cuteness. A week ago, I asked Shirley if she and Crosby would like to join Rio Chloe and I on a walk so that I could get some autumn pictures of Crosby exactly a year later. We all walked off to G. Lord Ross park and there I got some great picture of the very handsome boy.

So here is Crosby... a year old and looking as wonderful as every.

chloe

What can I say about Chloe? I've been in her life since she was an 8week old puppy and I just love her to death. Chloe is a great girl and an absolute angel on walks. She is always able to make me laugh by lunging into the grass or fallen leaves or snow and squirming around until she just can't squirm anymore! Chloe is now almost 5 years old and she's still just as silly as she was when she was younger.

We headed over to G Lord Ross park on Friday and the colours were just beautiful. I will have another couple posts from our walk, as we went with another labrador and I also got some lovely nature shots, but today you get to bask in the glory of the beautiful Chloe! Enjoy.

rio and halloween!

I decided to have a little fun with Rio this October and enter him in a couple contests online. The first one is a Halloween costume contest at PetSmart. It's a Facebook contest that relies on votes. Below is the link and information on how you can vote for Rio (if you are so inclined), and also some very festive pictures of him all dressed up.

Last year, Rio was a pumpkin. This year, we decided to go all out on something different... so here is Rio, the little Rockstar! Sporting his "Ruff Rocker" studded shirt, his spiky collar (with a little guitar charm), a mohawk and an eye-star, he really is the little trooper!

If you'd like to vote for Rio (and he'd really appreciate it!), please go to Rio's PetSmart Page and click on the yellow paw underneath his photo. The contest ends October 27th, 2010 and you can vote every day. Along with that, Rio is entered in a Global Pet Foods contest. If you'd like to go there and vote for him (again, he'd love your vote!) please go to Rio's Name Page. Again you can vote once a day. Thanks!

diesel

Until a few months ago I didn't have any "Diesel" in my life. Now, I have two! Both are younger, wonderful dogs. The first Diesel is the very handsome German Shepherd that I posted pictures of in August, and "my" second Diesel is a gorgeous Golden (well... actually, White) Retriever. This post is for Diesel the Retriever.

Diesel was adopted at the beginning of summer, and I have the pleasure of walking/jogging with him. Still young (about 14/16 months old), Diesel has a lot of energy to burn and could walk and run for hours. This was why I decided to take him into the wilderness for a short while and let him romp and play. Once again, this is at G Lord Ross park, but I found I was able to get completely different areas for each picture. Enjoy!

marley

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking Marley (a beagle client) out for a three hour adventure. I decided to walk with her to G Lord Ross park. I brought a 20foot lead and my camera and attached Marley around my waist and off we went! We had a great time and I'm pretty sure that a couple times Marley's nose was overloaded with all the smells. She was a true hound-dog - nose to the ground and desperate to catch those squirrels!

ripley

Here's something a little different. As well as owning my adorable little dog, Rio, I also share my life with three talented and fun loving budgies. Today I'd like to introduce you to my youngest and most tame - Ripley.

Ripley (also known as "Ripples") is quite the talented little bird (as his name would suggest). He has learned how to say his name and loves to blurt out "Ripley Ripples!" throughout the day. As well, I taught him how to wolf whistle and he also will start mumbling "happy bird" or "pretty bird" and other words I can't quite decipher just yet. I have been working with him on different words and sounds and hopefully my little guy will be quite the conversationalist as he gets older.

finnigan

I've known Finn since he was a wee little pup (though, honestly... he was never THAT little!) and he has grown into quite the handsome and well behaved guy. Still obsessed with his squeaky ball and loving to run, Finnigan is just a big puppy at heart. The key word in all of this is "BIG". Finn is a large and lean chocolate labrador who gets many compliments while we are out walking. Just the other day I was walking Finn down a busy street and someone driving by had a megaphone in their car (you have to admit, it would come in handy with some bad drivers) and yelled out "I like your dog!" at us. Not really knowing how to react, I gave them the thumbs up.

Along with his super good looks, Finn sports a great personality. He just loves people! It completely makes his day when a stranger comes over to say hello - he always offers them a wagging tail and lots and lots of loving leaning.

diesel

It's been a while since I posted, and to be honest, a while since I took my camera out. Summer has been a busy dog walking and dog sitting time for me and I've been very lucky to have such wonderful "subjects" for my pictures. I have a few different dogs to post, but the one I'm going to start off with is a beautiful 6month old german shepherd puppy named Diesel. I'm over at Diesel's house this weekend taking care of him as his "mother" is out of town, and so far he has been an excellent boy!

I've never had my own shepherd to take pictures of and pose, and Diesel has just been a delightful young boy! He's quite large for his age (already as tall, if not taller, than a full grown golden retriever) and I find many people are wary of him, but underneath that shepherd exterior (which I don't find frightening at all) is a heart of gold, love and kisses.