4 Legs

All the Dogs in my Life

Sparky

My first dog was Sparky.  As kids we had always wanted a dog and one day my Dad and brother went to a pet store on St. Laurent Blvd. in Montreal and came back with a very cute mix breed puppy.  My mother was as surprised as I was and I have to say not thrilled even though she had grown up with dogs.  She said that we could keep Sparky as long as she didn’t have to do any dog walking…at all…ever.  And I can honestly say that in Sparky’s life my mother never took her for a walk…she loved the dog but walking was out of the question.  So we had a puppy!  Having a dog back in those days was very different than now…sometimes dogs would take themselves for a walk, nobody ever picked up after their dogs and what was a vet?  I think Sparky must have had some Terrier in her mix because she would wait until somebody left the front door open and escape for parts unknown.  I remember my Dad and I trolling up and down the streets calling her name while she was on an adventure.  We didn’t find her but she came back the next morning to a very relieved family.  She was very smart and pretty…she looked like the Tramp in Disney’s Lady and the Tramp. We taught her to roll over, jump through a hula hoop and she could catch anything (as long as it was food) thrown her way and even out of her way…she never missed.  My brother and I were responsible for walking her and we were pretty good at it notwithstanding that Sparky was also paper trained for her whole life.  One day we all came home after dinner out at a restaurant.  My brother and I began to argue about whose turn it was to walk Sparky and I, who at this point was a moody teenager, turned and walked out of the house.  I went straight to my best friend’s house and instructed her not to tell my mother I was there should she call.  Two minutes later my mother called and best friend Elise promptly handed the telephone to me.  My mother said “get home now”, I did, and was grounded.  Sparky lived to the age of 8. Here is a photo I captured of Sparky from some old home movie footage (on DVD now).

Tooshar and Stoney

Tooshar was a white male Samoyed and Stoney was a black female Labrador Retriever.  When I met my husband Tooshar was part of my package and Stoney was part of his and the dogs quickly became friends.  Tooshar was extremely independent and he would get into all sorts of mischief just because he wanted to and Stoney was the opposite.  She was very needy and when I came on the scene suffered from separation anxiety.  I found this out years after she had destroyed many of my valued treasures while I was at work and as soon as I became a stay at home mother Stoney was a happy camper and the destruction ended.

Tooshar was just two months old when I got him and he was absolutely adorable!  People would stop me in the street just to pat him and make a fuss.

Tooshar and Stoney were both friendly and were great with our kids.  The kids also loved both dogs…Stoney was like a kid herself and seemed to be flattered that they would want to include her in their day to day rituals.  Tooshar was very patient also but if one of the kids fell on top of him one too many times he would just remove himself from the scene but very politely.  Of course when there was food he stuck around…this was a given!

When the dogs were together people would point at them and exclaim “wow, black and white!” like we didn’t know.  Sometimes we would act surprised but most of the time we just smiled knowingly as in “thank you for the brilliant update – we will be forever grateful”.  Tooshar lived for 15 years and Stoney for 11…they died within two weeks of each other.

Harley

Harley was a black male German Shepherd. We adopted him from my brother who could no longer keep him.  Harley was okay with other dogs but unless you were family there was no way any person was getting in the house without being introduced.  Harley was the kind of protective dog who would take a bullet for you.  He didn’t like the kids so much at first but eventually that changed and he actually became our babysitter from time to time.  This only happened when we went out for an hour or two – Harley was smart but hadn’t mastered tucking kids into bed.  The kids were actually old enough to stay by themselves but Harley was our insurance.  He really loved horses and just wanted to play with them but they didn’t like him too much and he did get kicked a few times.  He never learned his lesson though.  Harley lived to the age of 12.

Sheba

Sheba was our second black German Shepherd.  By this time we had fallen in love with black Shepherds.  The breeder was a bit eccentric to say the least.  He ran a zoo with lions and tigers and on Hwy.401 there is a large provincial sign advertising his place.  I am totally against any kind of zoo but at the time black German Shepherds were not easy to find.  He was known as THE breeder to go to and he had a good reputation.  We picked Sheba, brought her home and then the experience of having a puppy began.  We bought a crate which is a great thing to have for a puppy.  They love it – it is cozy and safe for both pup and home.  Anyway the vet told us that she would cry a lot at night in the beginning and to just leave her be.  That was very difficult and it didn’t quite work out…we brought the crate upstairs from its place in the mud room.  Hubby actually got out of bed and lay on the floor beside the crate.  When the first week was over Sheba was used to the crate but she was a wild devil of a dog!  Barking, snapping, running..it was hard to keep up.  It was like having a baby – couldn’t wait until she fell asleep for her mini naps.  I took this photo of her which was not easy…seconds after I pressed the shutter she was out of the basket.  This photograph is printed on fiber based paper, sepia toned and hand coloured.

Sheba turned out to be an Alpha female and she and I were definitely at odds.  At six months I began serious training with her at a wonderful obedience school.  I taught Sheba that I was her boss and ran the household, not she and that as long as she realized this we would get along.  It worked!  Although sometimes throughout her life we had a few issues, for instance when guests came over.  Sheba was fairly social and liked to assume the role of hostess.  She would go from person to person, wagging her tail, coming close to knocking drinks off the coffee table and I thought she was a pest. (nobody wanted to displease her – after all she was still a German Shepherd and a dominant one at that).  I would point my finger and demand that she leave the room.  Sometimes she would raise her lip a bit…she didn’t like that at all but because she had long ago accepted my position in the household she did leave the room.  Sheba didn’t have any dog friends and was not interested in making friends.  We would throw balls for her in the field and she loved playing that game.  Sometimes a goofy Golden Retriever would bound over to make friends…Sheba would stop any dog at 100 yards with her stare.  The friendly pooch would stop dead, look confused, turn around and retreat.  Border Collies use “the stare” to herd sheep.  Sheba developed a tumor on her heart at the age of 9 and had to be “put down”.  I grieved her death for months and months…even though I was not her hero (hubby was) we definitely had a special bond.

Colby

About a year after Sheba’s death we bought Colby…another black female Shepherd who was also feisty and adorable.  Colby loved games.  When she was a puppy she would run at high speed under each sofa in the living room.  When she got a bit bigger and could no longer fit she would take off from the tops of the sofas and later she would run from bedroom to bedroom, bed to bed.  Colby is very smart, affectionate and likes people a lot!  She does not like other dogs though and when she was a puppy she was attacked a couple of times in the park by adult dogs.  It is a fact that many dogs do not like puppies…next dog we get will not be off the leash in a park until it is a year old.  Colby loves soccer balls and collects them the way some people collect stamps.

We went to the breeder to choose our dog once the pups had been born.  This is Colby at 4 weeks…she still had blue eyes. She reminded me of a bear cub…so damn cute!!

…and this is Colby when her ears were starting to stand up but hadn’t quite made it…amazing though how symetrical they seem to be.

Colby loves the water as does Rufus, our granddog.

It was a beautiful September 7 a.m. morning, and the dogs were on the dock probably thinking the same thing.

Rufus

Rufus is my son’s dog…he adopted him a few years ago.  I think they both got lucky to have found each other.  We see Rufus quite often and he has many sleep overs at our house which has become his second home.  Rufus is gorgeous – part German Pointer and possibly Lab, Great Dane and a host of other handsome-making features.  He is friendly with other dogs and people.  Not a mean bone in him…everybody loves Rufus!

Rosa

Rosa is an Italian Spinone and belongs to our friend who owns the gorgeous property up north.  This breed are hunters and if Rosa gets a scent she is gone so she has to be watched carefully at times.  Rosa is Colby’s only other dog friend and all three dogs get along beautifully.  I think Rosa is five years old – Colby and Rufus are close behind in age…the only downside to Rosa are the amazingly long drips of saliva that sometimes hang from her jowls.  Get away from me Rosa!

Max

Max is a 15 year old Wheaton Terrier and belongs to my sisinlaw.  He was an adorable puppy and is now a good looking older fellow.  He’s still fairly feisty and the upside of owning a medium sized Terrier is that they have a long life span.  Max knew Sheba and they had an altercation…unfortunately Hubby was the one who was bitten!  Colby and Max only met when she was a pup and I’m not sure if they would get along although Colby does have respect for a feisty dog no matter the size.

And those are the dogs in my life!

My Brother the Horse Lover

My brother started riding when he was five years old…if memory serves (and it probably doesn’t).  In any case he began riding as a youngster and was a natural from the beginning whereas I was petrified. Years later I overcame my fear and became a decent, if cautious rider.  My brother was not particularly cautious although as he has gotten older he is probably more careful these days and he is still an amazing rider!

Ride ‘em Cowboy!

Some years ago my husband Mike and I went to Las Vegas.  While we were there we decided that going horseback riding would be fun especially since we were avid riders and had two of our own horses back home. Our rides always consisted of lovely hacks through the woods and fields and we thought it would be fun to ride in the desert surrounded by towering red rock formations.  We were only able to find one stable in the area and when we arrived the owner greeted us.  He gave us a big, friendly smile revealing the one tooth he still had left.  Apparently he was a rig driver and ran the stable on the side (or vice versa).  He kept his horses in small, individual pens…they were all saddled up waiting for tourists like us.  Mike  mentioned that the horse he was being offered had a saddle sore and toothless replied that it was o.k. the horses were used to it.  We replied that we weren’t use to it, and to please give us another horse.  He brought out two small quarter horses who both seemed to be in reasonable condition.  We mounted and set out to the beautiful desert in front of us but to our surprise we found ourselves in a never ending garbage dump.  Above us the roar of jets in the flight path to the nearby Las Vegas airport made it impossible to hear anything.  The horses seemed impervious.  I never was able to get my horse to move and as I had become quickly fond of him I decided not to argue.  Mike  had more luck and was actually able to get past the garbage dump!

Horse Portraits

Laurel asked me to take  portraits of herself and three of her favourite horses. Taking photographs of horses can be extremely difficult, especially when they need to be posed or very easy when it’s a capturing the moment shot.  For these shots, we had two of the gals who ride at the stable help out.  Sharon lay down on the ground in front of the horses and made funny noises so that they would look alert and in some cases achieve that fight or flight look!  Laurel is sometimes a bit shy when the camera is in her face but we were having fun..Sharon lying on the ground and entertaining the horses was definitely comedic.

 

Animal Photography

Max

Rufus

Colby relaxing

I love photographing animals, specifically dogs, horses and cats.  It isn’t really easy but one good thing is you don’t have to worry about being shy when you take photos of them.  They are completely non-judgmental, and won’t be annoyed if you stand in front of them taking their pictures without permission.  But as I said it isn’t easy to get a good shot.  A portrait of a dog will work out if the dog is obedient and knows the words “sit” and “stay” and has an expressive face. Sometimes I want to do something different, not just a vertical portrait of a handsome looking dog.  The other day I kept my point & shoot on my night table.  Our dog sleeps on the bed and likes to lie on her back.  When I woke up in the morning there she was on her back, paws facing me so I took a bunch of funny paw shots which made me quite happy because for me this was allowing myself to be a little crazy.  I have lots of portraits – good ones but I want the funny ones too…the shots that put me in another zone.

I also photograph cats…they have beautiful eyes so I like to get close-ups.  But they’re curious and will often walk toward you to get a better look at your camera.

Horses are another animal that I love to photograph.  I have experimented with my digital infrared camera and was very happy with the results.  If you’re taking a photograph of the horse from head to tail the results can be very strange…the head can look huge and the the body totally out of proportion.

Three horses (taken with a Fuji digital infrared camera)

Digital infrared image

The right lens and shooting position will make a difference.  I enjoy getting unusual photographs and horses can fill that need.   If you’re looking for a  guide book for horse photography this book might still be in print…”Photographing Horses and Other Livestock” by Darol Dickinson.

Recently I photographed two dogs.  Seamus belongs to a riding friend of mine and he was adopted from the animal shelter a year or so ago.  He is  friendly and energetic and rarely sits still long enough to have his picture taken unless he is trying to catch his breath after running around trying to do a million things at once!

Another friend who owns a ladies clothing shop  always brings Maizie his West Highland Terrier to work every day.  Maizie is 17 years old and still in amazing shape for her age.