Lela is a Shichon with a whole lot of spunk and a little bit of princess thrown in. Her name is pronounced Lay-la, but spelled with an e for her human's love of Mexico. (Just wanted you to be able to say it correctly in your head as you read on. You're welcome.) ;O)

Lela goes everywhere dogs are allowed with her dog mom. On days when she goes to work with her she's proven to be a pint sized stress therapy dog for clients. She loves being around people and meeting new ones, and she's a wonderful cuddle bug. 

Lela enjoyed her session even though it was cold for such little paws. She ran around and enjoyed the snow, and after a little while she backpacked with her mom through the trees. I think even Lela realized how beautiful it was in those trees. (It truly was one of the most beautiful places on earth that morning.)

I mentioned at the beginning that Lela is a cuddle bug. Well, we didn't have a couch, but we managed to capture that side of her, too. Lela, I hope you and your dog mom have a fun, warm and snuggly rest of your winter. 

This little fireball LOVES the snow so when his humans put him on the snow session list every finger and every paw was crossed for the white stuff. Because Finn's dog mom works during the week and his dog dad is up all hours pushing snow during storms, the timing couldn't have been better for Finn to enjoy the last day of the best snow we've gotten so far.

Let me show you how much fun Finn had... I have never seen so many expressions in one run!

Oh that face! Finn loves dock diving, boating, frisbee & walks, and he goes everywhere with his humans. He's part of the family and he knows it. He's always smiling, very energetic and yet his humans attest he's a big cuddler.  At barely a year old Finn's a rock star, and even has his own Instagram page. 

Tell your dog parents I said, congratulations on their engagement, Finn. You make a lovely family!

Onyx waited over a year for a snow session since we didn't really get any good stuff last year. Because of that, he was first on the list and the wait paid off!

He was able to hang out with his human, enjoy the snow, and even explore places that hadn't been trampled on by big human feet yet!

Before we were through playing in the snow, Onyx's coat proved to be a wonderful collector of snowballs to save for later.

As a side note:
Onyx competes in AKC obedience with his human and loves exercises that have to do with jumping or nose work. Besides being a personal trainer for humans through her business, RaptorFit Personal Training, his dog mom, Hollie teaches AKC Competitive Obedience classes at Paws Pet Resort.
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If you've ever thought about obedience, agility, nose work, or any other canine sport, I encourage you to try it with your dog. I've seen dogs who come into their own once they "find their sport." I've also seen dogs who (obvious to me) don't really care for the sport, but love pleasing their human. They're like little kids... kids love to be read to, but it's not so much the story as it is spending time with their mom or dad. Maybe this is the year to find something a little different to do together. (But, never EVER stop cuddling on the couch!)

Here's to new adventures in 2023!

When I first saw Max all I could think was, wow, what a gorgeous dog! But, it didn't take but a few minutes to see that Max is just as beautiful on the inside as he is on the outside.  Max adores his dog mom and dad, and he's quite high on their list of friends to hang out with, too.

Max is not shy when it comes to the camera and he was quite happy to show me how much he loves being outdoors. Running, jumping logs, and fetching were his favorites. But, honestly, I think he would be thrilled doing anything as long as it involves being with his humans.

Max played the whole session, stopping every once in awhile to pose. THAT'S when I saw the oh so handsome modeling side of him. (There might be good money in this one day, Max. Just sayin'.)

Enjoy the rest of the snow season with your family, Max! 

Location plays a big part in the planning of the sessions I do. They are chosen specifically for the dog's size, color and personality. When I saw a picture of Willow, I knew the perfect spot for her snow session and couldn't wait for it to happen.

Just like I envisioned the colors were perfect for Willow. The bonus was that her dog mom could not have dressed in more appropriate colors if we had tried. 

When I mentioned it to her afterwards she said that her favorite color is green and she wears it all the time. This is exactly what I like for my clients to do. The more natural and comfortable everything is, the better the images. It happens all the time. ;O)

Willow had such a great time at her session. She ran, she played fetch, she even slowed down a bit to have a couple of moments with her mom.

There is really only one rule when doing a pet session with me, and that is to have fun! Willow and her dog mom did just that.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love my job?!  ;O)

This boy lives up to his name. He was a big puppy and he turned out to be a very handsome and big dog. And, do you know what you get with a big dog like Hercules?  You get a big heart.

Speaking of big, the snow decided to "go big" for our session as well!

When I have a client who wants to do a snow session with their dog we plan things a little differently. Instead of picking a date and planning for it, we plan the session first and then when the weather cooperates we pull on our snow pants and head out.

This particular day was perfect. With temps in the high 20s and very little wind everything was great weather-wise. What we didn't realize was that the snow at our location was deeper than we anticipated. This is where Herc's size was a Greek god-send. ;O)

He ran, jumped and played in the snow, and plowed through so that he could lead his littlest best friend across.

Big dog, big heart and big snow... there was definitely a theme that day... and, it was wonderful.

This handsome young dog goes by the name Gus. He was my last session for 2016 and thus my year ended with love. Look at those eyes and you'll know what I mean.

Gus was originally told that he should be a guide dog, and in fact was the poster puppy for his school.  However, it seems that Gus had other plans in mind.  His plans included Emily in his life so somehow he managed to eloquently squirrel his way out of school (completely intentional of course). Now, Gus goes to work with Emily at a doggie daycare (pretending to be in charge), and he insists on accompanying Emily during her travel and hiking adventures. (Do you even know how lucky you are, Gus?)

I first saw Gus at the Dog Swim this past summer. He is an amazing jumper. He loves the water and it appears that he's just as happy in the snow.

No one can deny that Gus is a beautiful dog, but I don't think that he knows just how handsome he really is. His world revolves around Emily and the two of them have a connection that is felt by anyone who sees them together.

Gus, you are a special dog with a special human and I'm so glad you found each other... It's a gift so keep smiling.

This little girl is full of spunk and knows how to have fun.  She LOVES the snow (YAY! ) and she loves to run.  When I started going through her images  I was worn out within minutes; she ran the entire session!  lol What a beautiful ball of energy.

Maesa Lou's session happened in quite a unique way . . .  It was that morning in January when we all woke up to snow and frost everywhere.  It was gorgeous!  I had already been out taking pictures and returned home to start my day. I was working on my website when I got a phone call.  I was asked about setting up a session so I asked a few questions and answered a few from her. When I asked if she had been to my website she replied with, "Yes, and I couldn't decide if I should contact you through your website (not knowing for sure when I might get the message) or just call because . . . today is a perfect day for it."  This was a girl after my own dog loving heart. We can't predict days like that, so to actually be able to have a session on a day as perfect as it was . . . well, lets just say, if I had a tail to wag I probably would have hurt myself.

We decided on a place to meet and I quickly (ok, frantically) packed up my gear, and we made it happen.  Maesa Lou ran and ran and played and played. She greeted everyone that came by and then she resumed playing never missing a beat.

I have no doubt that this little girl had a lot of fun at her session. It was a perfect day to be out with lots of new snow, beautiful frosted trees all around and no wind to freeze those of us who don't have fur.

Maesa Lou, I know you will keep your owners on their toes during the rest of the winter and I wish you many snowy adventures together.  ;O)

This handsome guy has a big personality.  With a name like Rosco P. Coltrane how could it be otherwise?!  He's was such a trooper with me following him around with my camera.  He did look at me a couple of times and I could swear I heard him say, "really?"  Of course I just grinned really big and said, "But, you're so cute!"

Rosco is quite the big dog in a little body.  He was right there to protect us when the big plow came by. I'm told that he has a thing for big trucks.  He's always there to guard his people from things like big trucks, and Rosco . . .  I think that is very heroic of you.

It was getting colder and colder as we walked around, but before we were finished with our session, Rosco got to meet a very popular fellow.  Rosco got treats and a few snuggles and I'm pretty sure that he had a visit from him around the 24th of December.

I hope you enjoy the rest of the winter, Rosco.  Stay warm and keep you're mom safe from the big trucks. By the way, you look quite dapper in that red scarf.  ;O)