Adopt-a-Thon with Flynn

So today was the AARCS Adopt-a-Thon at the Pet Planet in Olds. They asked me to come out and take some photos of the dogs there and I was happy to do so! One of the more important ones they needed photos of was Flynn.

Flynn is a 6 month old, purebred Beagle. He is an owner surrender and as such, has had very little training. Since he is a Beagle he is super high energy and more than likely was completely out of control with his old owners. He's currently appreciating the stability and exercise his foster home is providing him and is working towards being well mannered and calmer for his new, perfect family. Still, it is recommended that prospective family members be familiar with Beagles or be ready to do some intense research into the breed. These are no cuddly lapdogs but outgoing activity partners!

Stay tuned for more photos from today's event but until then, here's a shot of Flynn waving with one of his rather large ears.

Enjoy!

Adoption Day and an Oldee but a Goodee!

So some very exciting news today! Pet Planet in Olds is hosting an adoption day for AARCS on January 28th! They've kindly asked me to join them and take some photos of adoptable critters and hopefully of adopted ones too! I may even get to see Miss Ellie again if she gets to come for a visit. This will also give me a chance to meet other AARCS volunteers in the area and perhaps even the people I've only "met" through email. A day of wonderful possibilities for sure! I just hope I don't fall in love with too many pooches...

For today's photo I'm going back a month and a bit to a gorgeous December day. It was nice and warm out with beautiful blue skies so I figured Hey, why stay inside when I could be cleaning up the disaster of a garbage shed? Of course this is where the cats live so they were kindly keeping me company while I puffed up their bed and gave them kitty scratches. Since I took out my camera with me it was like working with ADD. Every five minutes I had to take some photos. Fortunately, (or unfortunately!), because of the cold and my charging negligence, my battery died :( However! I did get a few wonderful captures of Frosty. He's an absolutely stunning cat but all too often he has his dopey, just woke up from a nap face on. While he's definitely not super alert in this shot, he is still stunning!

You can't tell in this photo but Frosty is a Manx. His dad, Trout, was a reject from an acquaintance's farm. Trout was considered too shy and wild of a kitten so they were going to shoot him. Of course, tell me that and I'll make room for anything so he came home with us and proceeded to starve himself upstairs for two weeks straight. Since he's taken to peeing in the house so he's now strictly a barn cat with his two sons, Frosty and Pilsner! He also eats regularly now, having gotten oven all wildness.

But on to Frosty's photo! And if you're in the area on the 28th make sure to drop by for a visit!

Enjoy!

Ellie

Today I got to do a second photo shoot for www.albertaanimalrescuecrew.com My model was the wonderful, gregarious Ellie! She's an amazing, friendly girl just waiting for the perfect person to come love her. The entire shoot she was busy playing with her three doggy counterparts which helped to get photos since she's a little bit camera shy!

Ellie's story is a too familiar one for rescued dogs. Abandoned at a campground, she was cruising around with two other dogs, one most likely her sister. When she was found she was lactating however no puppies were ever discovered. Ever since she's been living the life in AARCS foster care, patiently waiting with tail wagging. Spread the word and help Ellie's search!

Reba

Today I did my first volunteer photo shoot for Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society. I help them by taking photos of animals they have in foster care that are currently looking for their furever homes! For the most part I sit around waiting for a pooch outside of Calgary. Since most of the animals are fostered within the city, photographers in the city take their photos! But every now and then there's a foster home outside of Calgary. Like today with Reba who lives in Drumheller!

Reba is a 7 month old Collie Lab X. She was born in a foster home and adopted once already but was unfortunately returned because she wasn't the breed her adoptive family had been looking for. It's hard to guarantee breed in rescue dogs sometimes! So for now Reba's keeping her foster family on their toes with her happy go lucky antics and patiently waiting for that perfect someone to come along and fall in love with her. Hopefully my photos will help speed this up for her!

Here is one of the shots of Reba today. She really loves chewing on sticks if her face is anything to go by!

Enjoy!

Kricket

Meet Kricket. The freak of the horse who would make Mr. Ed the ideal equine wife! She lives on the doorstep, sticks her head in the door, is in love with our vehicles and has an unhealthy appetite for dog and cat food.... She also takes lovely photos. When she's not coming to close to snoop... While there are spots on this photo from my dirty, dysfunctional censor I still love it. The clouds, the background, Kricket's expression. The fact that she was actually standing still...

It was a gorgeous October day that I took advantage of by going for a stroll with all the acreage critters. It was the same day I took the previous photo of Pilsner! Now I'll have to go for another walk to get photos of them all in the snow but until then I hope Kricket will help tide you over!

Enjoy!

Pilsner

I went for a lovely walk today. Petrie and Mystic decided to join me but Mystic is a horrible poser. I did get a couple of nice shots of Petrie though. Still, the shot of the excursion was of Pilsner! He was quite content suntanning here and while I really wanted a nice photo of his brother, Frosty, I didn't get anything like this! (Frosty was too busy going to the washroom...) Pilsner is about 6 months here and while his dad and his bro are both Manx you can see he has a full tail himself! He's obviously just eaten otherwise he'd be bugging me and meowing in my face instead of lounging so nicely.

Enjoy!

Back in Canada

It's been a while, I know. I took a slight break to go travelling and see some sights in Australia! I sure did miss Canada and seasons but while it's good to be home, it's hard not to miss Australia as well. You can see things there that would only be in a fantasy novel in Canada! I also got to experience just about every natural disaster that isn't possible here in Alberta and that's unforgettable in itself.

I should be able to update here fairly regularly, at least for a little while :3 The main chunk of photos will most likely be from Australia and why not! It's gorgeous over there and I'd like to share the little places I went with everyone! First up is the majestic Barron Falls...

Now originally I'd have been hard pressed to find a river that I've ever seen that's the size of the Barron River. Running right through Cairns it was one of the first I seen in Australia and it was HUGE. I was then told it's a tidal river, meaning at high tide it's higher therefore bigger, and at low tide it's smaller. Also it was flooding when I first seen it... Still, massive river. Then I found my way to the start of the Barron River. No longer massive if was the size of a small stream. There's many different river crossings across the Atherton Tablelands where I was staying and at each one it gets slightly large. I loved seeing how it grew.

The Barron Falls are right where the river meets the edge of the Kuranda Range. It pretty much has to fall a couple hundred feet to get down to the level of Cairns and the Coral Sea. Here you can see it as it was when I first arrived in Australia. While it wasn't flooding it was extremely high and the reddish brown tinge is from the soil erosion. This part of Australia has extremely red dirt. I went back again just before I left Australia and while still beautiful it wasn't near as awe inspiring. That photo may be posted later.

Enjoy!