Chula - Pet Photography

The plan is to get Chula adopted. She is my foster pup and I have precisely three months to find her a home. If I don't she will be stuck here at Alaqua. Don't get me wrong, it's not a bad place, but I know she will not do well in a kennel. She is already skiddish in new places as it is. I can't imagine her being in a kennel. She's a great dog. Minds well. Knows how to sit, down, come (most of the time), and she's crate trained. Seriously, if there is anyone in Northwest Florida looking for a fairly trained young dog, who LOVES her master, this is the one for you. Once she gets to know you, she'll stick by your side for anything. I'd keep her myself, but it turns out you can't have more than two dogs in base housing. And, realistically, three dogs is a bit excessive for the often moving military life. So here she is... born mid-September, Shepherd/American Bulldog mix, spayed, crate trained, and ready to go! If you know anyone interested in adopting her please contact Alaqua Animal Refuge at 850-880-6399.



I hate to split these two up, but what else can I do? I'm sure they'll get over it. Not like they have a choice.



Chula loves this little pool. She dunks her head in as far as she can and swirls it around :) It's pretty hot here these days so it's a pretty good idea.



This is THE BEST shaking dog pic I have ever gotten. I have tried quite a bit too. Pretty stinkin' hilarious :)

Cocoa

I love this dog. I don't love all dogs. I can be picky. Small dogs have to seriously work for my love. This dog though? Instant. I think Cocoa has been here a week or two. Not sure how she was not instantly adopted. Clearly not everyone shares my affinity for large puppies with floppy ears. Do I need another dog? No. Can I turn down a puppy? It appears I am capable of such things!

If you live anywhere near Northwest Florida and want to adopt this puppy. Check out her link and call on her!

More Change

Hello internet world. It has been a while and I was doing so well with posting regularly! I went into internet hibernation due to some serious changes going on. It seems we wait for weeks and weeks and then BAM! everything is immediate! Well, what if I am not ready to leave Florida? Leave Florida you say? That's right, this trip is coming to a quick end.

Turns out Brian was not meant to be an EOD tech. He is no longer in the program and as of today we officially have orders to Hawaii! It has been a crazy couple of weeks with all kinds of changes and waiting for information. The dogs will have to go through quarantine and I was pretty stressed about that for a bit. Turns out Shugo is still clear cause the FAVN test is good for 36 months. We'll make it just in time. But then there's Chancho... it crossed my mind to find him a home for about one day. If only I could find the perfect home who would take both Chancho and Chula... unlikely. And in reality, I don't want to get rid of Chancho. He is a part of the family. So, there are some other plans brewing and we are still waiting to get a move date, but we are officially moving to Hawaii and I am officially keeping both my dogs no matter what! Below is a very excited pup cause that is how my life feels most of the time. Exciting, crazy, all over the place. And right now I am excited about new plans and some upcoming changes :)

Chula - Alaqua Animal Refuge

Alaqua is addicting. There is so much to help out with and it's nice to be contributing to the community. This is my first time ever doing so much community service with one particular place. And, to be honest, I have probably spent more time volunteering with Alaqua than I have with any other place throughout my life all combined! I have just never really done much volunteering. At least I am now though! So many different things they have going on and so many different ways one can volunteer. I feel as though I have done a little of everything almost yet I know I haven't! Chula is my new "thing" :) I am now also a foster parent! Please do not be confused by the picture... this is Chula. I promise :)



Chula is Chancho's sister. And by sister I mean litter-mate, not half sister, or look alike. They are positively 100% brother and sister! We found Chancho on craigslist. He was free and had two sisters with him. We went out there to find a odd situation. I didn't really like any of them a ton, but I felt obligated to save at least one. I considered for a moment taking all of them, but thought better of it. They all freaked out when something fell over and made a loud noise. One puppy in particular (Chula) never recovered. She was yelping the entire time we were there (about 30 minutes) hiding under a truck. We couldn't get her to come out and I knew she would be lucky if someone took her. Who would want a whiney/yappy dog like that? I know it seems heartless, but we are Barkers... we don't want barkers. Needless to say I was not one bit surprised when I saw her picture posted on FB and she was in fact, out at Walton County Shelter. I immediately knew it was Chancho's sis cause she looks just like him and is the same age. I figured I would call the next day to save her, but then realized that we can't spend the money to adopt her and spay her etc. I emailed Laurie Hood (founder of Alaqua) and asked her to pick her up as an Alaqua dog and I would foster her until adoption since I know they don't have any space at Alaqua. Less than one week later she's here!



Below, Chancho is on the left and Chula is on the right. Definitely siblings. At Alaqua when they get a litter of pups they name them all starting with the same letter for organization. So I figured I would pick a C name and keep it Spanish too :) They have not been reunited yet as we need to have a quarantine period to be sure no one gets each other sick. Chula is very sweet though. Skiddish, but coming around quickly.



These two boys can't wait to meet her. When I put her in her crate and let them out of the front room they RUN out the door to the yard thinking she might still be out there and perhaps they could all be friends. I trick em' every time! And Chancho... mister pig who wouldn't leave his food behind for anything? I locked the boys in the front and gave them breakfast and went to the back to take Chula into the yard and there he was... staring through the sliding glass door hoping to get a glimpse of his sis as she passed through the hall :) I put her outside and immediately went to rescue Chancho's food from Shugo's mouth. I had to lock Chancho in his crate so he would focus on his eating and Shugo wouldn't steal it! Ridiculous... Soon though they will be reunited and it will be sweet :)

Go Time!

It's go time people! Go time. This morning I was photographing a dog and did this sort of jump to play, and I am pretty sure I scarred the boy for life. He didn't want to come near me after that. Apparently we didn't know each other well enough before I tried to play. I am like these dogs today. Ready. Intense. About to bounce. Why? In due time my friend. In due time. Life's a box of chocolates and you never know what your gonna get. I just hope I don't get chocolate :)

Furry Fanatics Portrait Party

Saturday April 2, 2011 we are having a party. A portrait party! Furry Fanatics in Gulf Place has invited me, Joy Jill Photography, out to do a portrait party for their clients! We are having 15 minute sessions all day long from 10am to 5pm! This is the perfect opportunity to get your Mothers Day gift early :) Yes, that's right Mothers Day. Because it is almost upon us yet again. Bring your pet out to get some nice portraits done and if you don't have a pet that's OK! I photograph people too :) We'll have 15 minutes to photograph whoever you'd like. Furry Fanatics will have frames available for purchasing and all images will be posted online within a couple days so you can order prints or albums for Mother's Day! Please stop by Furry Fanatics or give them a call, 850.278.6902 to sign up. There are limited time slots and they are filling up fast!



So come on out to Gulf Place in Santa Rosa Beach on Saturday, April 2, 2011 to get some dog photography (or people photography!) done. I'd love to see you out there!

Furry Fanatics - Dog Photography

Well Saturday was a success. We had one pup adopted and a few people who went out to the shelter to look at the other animals available and a couple were adopted out there as well :) Any adoption makes it a successful day. I had a lovely time photographing a few beloved pups for those who donated to Heart Worm treatment. Below is this a sweet little dog who followed his mom everywhere. No leash or bribing required.



Next up is this beautiful Golden Retriever. He was VERY excited to see all the animals we brought and he really just wanted to play with them. We just had to set it up so I was shooting from the direction of the puppies cause he wouldn't look any other direction :) I know they are not super different, but I cannot decide which shot I like better. Votes anyone?





And last pup that was photographed was the lovely chihuahua. Such tiny creatures they are. I just don't even know how you are supposed to pet these dogs. I feel like one pat and I could knock him over! For that reason I am pretty sure I only pet him a little :) So, it was a good day. Thank you to all who came out to support Alaqua!

Furry Fanatics and Alaqua Animal Refuge - Pet Photography

Tomorrow I will be at Furry Fanatics with Alaqua Animal Refuge. Alaqua will be bringing out as many furballs as they can for a Valentine's Adoption Day. If you haven't been out to Furry Fanatics, this is the perfect opportunity! Tim and Julie are wonderful people who are serious volunteers for Alaqua and they just recently opened this cute little shop! There will be treats for the furballs and their humans and even some champagne to sip! Furry Fanatics will be giving 20% of their sales to Alaqua. There will also be a raffle for a beautiful Donna Burgess Gallery animal print - Matted. Every $2 donation gets you a ticket for a chance to WIN!

Also, I will be there doing portraits for anyone who wants them! A $15 donation will get you a digital file to print and post as you please! 100% of the money will go to Alaqua to pay for Heart Worm treatment for some of the animals that come in. Many of the dogs that come in have Heart Worms and the treatment is quite expensive. So come get a portrait done and donate some money to saving the animals :)


So, as you can see there will be a lot going on at Furry Fanatics on 30A this weekend. Hope to see lots of people out there!

Puppy Bowl 2011 Destin Commons - Alaqua Animal Refuge

The Puppy Bowl went quite well on Saturday :) There were lots of people who came out despite the cold weather and few sprinkles. A big thank you to Bark Avenue for being the sponsor :) There were banners and t-shirts and toys and treats for all the players! I have to admit it was my first Puppy Bowl and I was impressed. I personally fell in love with the referee. Brian says no though. Three dogs is apparently too much for him (even if the third one would be small). A Basset mix though? SO necessary to our family! I agree that it would make our lives more complicated especially since we are military and move every couple years. And it would really make moving overseas complicated (and expensive). Not to mention who would we find to watch our lovey pets when traveling... but STILL! She is SO cute! I have not given up, and I just might bring her home despite Brian's protests... unlikely that I will do that... but I'm still trying to convince him! We already have two large dogs (at least we think Chancho will get large). Bassets are the only small dog that I like, and yes, I realize that they are not actually small dogs. They are much smaller than my regular dogs though! Brian's thoughts? No. Where does it end! You will never be satisfied. Get control of yourself! No. Heartless man. I will tell you where it ends. It ends with me getting this dog and a mastiff. That's all I ask for! Is it really too much? Maybe I will wait to get my mastiff in ten years when Shugo dies. But we need the Basset mix now.

Back to the Puppy Bowl. Please. Enjoy the pictures :) We had some hard core players.



Quite a bit of rough-housing around in the beginning. Lots of foul play.



Even against team members





The ref took a lot of heat for some of her calls.



Eventually they started to get tired though.



Really tired.



They all got treats. This is seriously pretty much my favorite shot. This dog would fit in my family! We NEED her!



And everyone got lots of love from the fans :) It was a good day, and there were several applications put in for puppies!

Dog Photography - Puppy Bowl 2011

Saturday Alaqua is having a Puppy Bowl at Destin Commons.  It's basically a Superbowl for puppies. That's right. Puppies. In a Superbowl. I think there may be puppy jerseys and someone dressed as a ref and/or a cheerleader or two (maybe even a pup dressed as a cheerleader). Alaqua people get creative to raise funds for what they do. Real creative. I will be there Saturday and and I am sure it will be tons of fun because really, who doesn't love hanging out with puppies? It will be quite interesting I am sure.

If you wanna see the puppies below and their other siblings in action on Saturday, come on out to Destin Commons for the first ever Alaqua Puppy Bowl!