A DOGS LIFE

THE CHOSEN

You already know how much I love dogs.  Funny how my 

first dog, who shall remain nameless, sent me straight to the

doctors with a diagnosis of dog allergies.  It was no furry or

house dogs.  Well, nameless was a Pomeranian devil named

Buffy.  She was a humper.  No leg was safe, ask Tim from

Morrow Florist.  His leg was her favorite.  Maybe it was the

slight turn at his ankle.  

Books, magazines, anything with pages was gone.  After six

months...so was she.  The nail in her coffin was when she 

chewed my Beatles album collection.  Fifty albums and she

acquires a taste for the British.  

To be fair, Buffy was a gift.  I believe there has to be a 

connection between you and your dog.  Gifters  don't

usually know your lifestyle or likes.  A mismatch always

ends up a disaster for both of you.

Shelly was my first "chosen" dog.  I found her at a pet store in

Kaneohe, Hawaii.  They handed her to me backwards.  When I 

turned her around and saw her face, it was love at first sight.

It was Mother's Day and she would cost me $950.  I didn't have

the money and they couldn't hold her for me.  I called every day 

for 5 days to see if she was still there.  I had just done a photo shoot

for the mural artist, Wyland.  I was hoping for an advanced check.

As you can see... she became mine.  

This is where my love for photographing dogs began.  No matter 

where or when, if I had my camera, I would shoot them.  

Unfortunately, I lost all my negatives on my last move.  All I have left

are  prints from photos and digital images from my new cameras.

Shelly's litter.  I had to help her with each birth.  They had to be

recorded for order of birth and markings.  It was difficult for Shelly.

I didn't know that she was ill at the time.  

Charlie, 4th born, youngest boy.  He was born with an infection

in his left eye,  a result from Shelly's illness.  I sold the other

puppies, but kept Charlie, knowing no one would want him.

It worked out for both of us.

My sweet Charlie 

Bailey, an Australian Shepherd

Dogs at play

Winston, A Royal King Charles Spaniel.

On his owners desk at work.

Roland, a Retriever

Paco, man of the house

Mine, mine, mine

I think I can, I think I can...

No I can't

A Christmas shoot with Angus

He has since passed

Kaya and Charlie 

They were inseparable 

My favorite of Kaya

Kaya and Charlie 

After a snow storm at Swan Lake

A Yorkie house guest

English Sheep Dog at a Perry Dog Show

Under a blow dryer

Store owners dog, at Crestone, Colorado

Bearded Wheaton Terrier at Manitou Springs, Colorado

I did a photo shoot at a doggie day care and adoption center.

Some were waiting to go home, and the others were waiting

for homes.  I'm lucky to have had my dogs in my life.  I wish

for everyone the love a dog can bring to your life, and for the 

dog,  to be chosen by the right person.

All we need is love

I've used this photo many times before.  It's my favorite memory 

of Shelly.  She loved to run up and down the beach, chasing

Sea Birds.  She'd spend hours staring at the ocean.  Everyone,

 either a person or a dog should have day like this.  

I've been blessed.

2013

BEARING IT ALL

SHOOTING BEARS

You'll be glad to know that this will be short but hopefully

sweet.  As long as I can remember, I've never been into dolls.

A parade of Barbies, a Chatty Cathy, and a Cabbage Patch Doll 

named Emily, that I dearly loved, but that's another story.  

Teddy Bears.  Big, small, any color, it didn't matter.  Teddy Bears.

Throughout the years, I've had many.  As time went on, I would

periodically  "cull" the heard.  For whatever reason, these

are now my favorites.

My most cherished bear is from Mama.  It's a necklace

she got me for Christmas in 1975.  I wore it everyday  and

lost it once in the sauna room at European Health Spa.

I put up a reward and got it back.  It made me mad that

the woman who found it would not have returned it had

it not been for the reward.  

I wasn't able to wear it in Hawaii because everything

swelled up.  My feet size, my ring size, and my neck.

I'm able to wear it again, now that I'm back in Georgia.

And I didn't lose a single pound. 

A friend made this for me out of fabric scraps

I got this one from a shop on River Street in Savannah

This brooch came from Harrods in London

This needy little thing came from a Luau gift shop in Hawaii

No history,but I love him anyway

This was a special edition Millennium Bear from Hawaii

He's from Georgia but found fame in Hawaii.

I created magnets with several of my bears and sold

them to gift shops.  A also did magnets for Dole

Pineapple.

I had them doing typical tourist stuff

I rescued this one from a Salvation Army here in Georgia

He was the most popular of the bear magnets

Just look at him.  He's a keeper

This brooch/necklace has moveable arms and legs.

From Mama

This is the last Stuffed Bear Mama gave me

I got a bear from Mama every Christmas since 1975.

This one came from Jay and Kay.  The tradition continues.

He's an FAO Schwarz 150th Anniversary Bear.

In 2002, on our way back to Georgia from Hawaii,

we stopped in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and picked 

this guy up.  We were driving back in a 1993 Ford Explorer.

It was packed full with things we didn't trust with the movers.

Oh, did I forget to mention there were 2 dogs with us?

I got him from one of those chainsaw carvers.

As you can see, he is big and heavy. About  200 lbs.

worth of bear.  From Colorado to Georgia then back 

to Colorado and back to Georgia.  That makes him

about 800 lbs. worth of bear.

Group shot of the family

My great nephew James, from an earlier shoot

One of these is not a bear.

Our "Bearby Sitter"

Sometimes he can be unbearable

Two of these aren't bears...

But we've all been stuffed.

2013

PS  Any collection is more valuable with memories.