These are the beautiful little monsters we’ve been fostering over the past two months… God knows I love them to pieces but can’t wait for my sanity to return. We’re down to 2… the deaf babies, of course. They aren’t so bad. They sleep like a rock and have tons of fun playing together. Luckily we have experience with deaf dogs (Buckley) so they aren’t hard at all. Love these babies… and they are SUPER photogenic. My gosh!
I’ve been so busy lately, I haven’t had a lot of free time to sneak down to the shelter, but I managed to go a week ago. With the help of another volunteer, Chuck (thanks so much!), I was able to catch these guys (and gals) at their best…
As some of you already know, I live in a town named Dublin, which is located in the middle Georgia area. It was named by (you guessed it!) Irish settlers who thought the land reminded them of home. (I wish…) Dublin is about halfway between Atlanta and Savannah, which made it useful in trade of agricultural, textile, and other trading. It was also chosen as the site for a Naval Hospital, built in 1945 to convalesce those suffering from Rheumatic Fever. It is now the Carl Vinson VA hospital, which is where I work. I love my job, and Dublin is a nice enough town of roughly 16,000 people.
Anyway, I ramble… The town is named DUBLIN, after Dublin, Ireland… and of course, Saint Patrick’s Day is kind of a big deal around here. The town hosts a parade and other family activities. It’s a lot less boozier than Savannah, but kid-friendly, and makes things interesting for the locals. I’m not Irish at all (or at least that I know of… I’m Scottish, English, Cuban, Spanish, and Italian, actually… I describe myself as 25% Hispanic and 75% Generic White Girl) BUT I enjoy any kind of holiday and an excuse to act sillier than usual.
The Humane Society got in on the action, hosting a “St. PAWtrick’s Day” Dog Costume contest. And of course, since I am the volunteer photographer for the shelter, I was asked to come on down and shoot the event. It was going in the paper, website, and Facebook page, so, off I go with my camera in tow.
It was pretty cute… Here are a few of my favorites:
Miss Livi tends to get overshadowed by my dogs often in my work… but she is beautiful and deserves some attention as well. She got some catnip for Christmas in the stocking from her “Grandma”, so I took a cute picture of her rolling around under the bed the other day after playing in it.
Canon 6D with 50mm f/1.2L in low light room, no flash (under the bed) 🙂
One of the best parts of my weekend is that one of those days, my puppies get their weekly bath. In general, dogs tend to smell unpleasant after a week of running around outside, playing rough, and not getting their bottoms cleaned. Think about it… you would too, if you didn’t bathe but every 7 days.
I decided to document the event in photos. (Ryan said I was mean to just stand there and take pictures.) Personally, I think dog bath pictures are pretty fun.
Duncan
Buckley
Thor
Bonus 🙂
Buckley B&W
Canon 6D and 50mm f/1.2L
As most of you know, I am somewhat of a regular at the local Humane Society. I show up ever so often, camera in tow, prepared to crawl into dog pens and photograph scared, dirty, and unhappy animals. It’s challenging to capture the spirit of an animal when they are often lost and heart broken. I am diligent, however, and will not leave until I catch a glimpse of this dog or cat’s soul, just so a potential adopter can see the beauty that I see.
I say all this, not to brag on myself. I need no congratulations or pat on the back. However, I would like to acknowledge someone else who is far more diligent than myself. I’ve been fortunate enough to meet some very dedicated, amazing people. The director, George, his wife, Dee, some of the workers and volunteers at the shelter (like Reggie, Cindy, and Debbie, just to name a few) who have been more than helpful during my visits. One particular volunteer, however, I have become most fortunate to know.
This man is a Navy veteran, dog lover, and as a journalist, he is one heck of a good writer. His name is Chuck Warzyn, and despite ups and downs in his own life, one thing is certain: he WILL go to that shelter at least 3 days a week and walk those dogs, and he WILL go to that shelter and give them all fresh Kong balls filled with peanut butter, and he WILL ensure I am updated on what photos need to be taken/changed/moved/deleted/replaced. And he does it all so eloquently, whether it be by telephone or e-mail.
On my way out of the shelter on Saturday, Chuck mentioned that he wanted a photo of Drucilla, the resident Irish Deerhound, jumping up with her paws on someone’s shoulders, just to demonstrate her size to any potential adopters. He happily volunteered to be the “shoulders”.
This is what we got…
I just loved it.
Duncan is just so handsome in black and white. It just comes naturally! 🙂
Positively Peachy 