I spent the weekend at the Contact Zonies agility trial doing Valentine’s pictures. Well, ok, I spent Saturday there, because it was rained out on Sunday. So, I made a slide show of all the pictures from this year and last. Everyone I shoot is a potential Slice of Nice model, let me know if you see a star!
As I was going through all the Valentine’s pictures, this one immediately made me think of an old married couple. Casey (left) is just sitting there waiting and Ashby (right) has that curled lip of frustration, such as a husband who has said the wrong thing again. How many times has this happened to you on Valentine’s Day guys? It’s because you forgot the roses right or maybe you took your wife to the sports bar down the road?
Let’s go on to our next picture, because Ashby’s outlook is much better as a husband or boyfriend! To me he has this “I just got lucky” look on his face. All the romantic guys out there would say - “I got lucky the day I met you honey.” Casey looks rather happy in the picture also.
A lot of people say that Valentine’s Day is a commercial holiday and they just don’t want to participate. And while that might be a true statement, there are some good reasons to participate in Valentine’s day. Number one reason - You don’t want to end up in the dog house! But really, relationships are hard and we are supposed to work on them every day and give 100% and for those of you who do, good for you. But for the rest of us, Valentine’s Day is a nice day to say to some one you love, “I Love You.” The simple gestures of a card or dinner or flowers are part of the little things that just make your partner smile! You might see a smile you’ve not seen in a long time.
Valentine’s Day is not just for couples either! So many people can get down or discouraged on VDay, but think back to those days in grade school where everyone got a Valentine and the teacher got the carnation. So, sending a card to a friend, flowers to your parents, or buying your dogs that extra special doggy treat is a great celebration! Enjoy Valentine’s Day! Make it special in your own way!
Don’t forget that Slice of Nice has Valentine’s Cards! Click here to order yours now! We’ll even send it for you!
Get this card in our store for Valentine's Day! Click on shop.
It’s a great sign isn’t it? I found it at Michael’s one year and Duncan was kind enough to model it for me. I wanted to do this picture because I’ve always seen all those videos where they are holding up signs instead of speaking. I thought it was great that Duncan could finally “speak” with words. I Love You is definitely what Duncan wanted to say, well, that and “do you have any cookies”, but I couldn’t find that sign.
So, this picture became one of Slice of Nice’s Valentine’s cards for this year! The inside reads: Be Mine. You can pick it up in the Slice of Nice store here. We can send it out for you or send it to you so you can give it to your Valentine! And remember if you use this as part of your Valentine’s experience you will be supporting the National Canine Cancer Foundation also!
Alot of people that I talk to about what I do are always amazed that I find dogs easier to take pictures of than people. We always have a great working relationship, but we do have our fair share of out takes. So, between now and Valentine’s Day, I’m going to share several of the potential shots for our V-Day line up and some of the out takes for your fun and enjoyment! We’ll start with the prep shot for this card. This one was taken right when I brought the sign home, as you can see, Duncan wasn’t quite in the modeling mood at the time…
Prep Shot for the VDay card
You can also see the patch of hair that is missing on his leg, this was for an IV. In January 2007 he had his spleen removed because he was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma. We were hoping to get it all out by doing the removal, but Hemangiosarcoma Cancer is very aggressive and it had already spread. Duncan’s last formal photo shoot was this Valentine’s one. He fought the disease as long as he could and we lost him March 2007. This is one of the reasons that we feel very strongly about supporting the National Canine Cancer Foundation. A Cancer diagnosis is a very devastating one because most owners don’t know that dogs fall victim to it. Duncan was our third Canine Cancer diagnosis and while we knew who to turn to and what to do, we still lost in the end. If you have any questions about a Cancer diagnosis, please feel free to contact me. While I am only a photographer, I can point you in the right direction of questions to ask your vet, how to find out some good information and things like that.
Visit the Slice of Nice store and get your Valentine’s Day cards!!
Poor Riggs, he loves his balls. As he patiently waits for the girls to finish their make overs so we can play ball, the hair just keeps piling up. So much so that he rolls his slobber soaked balls into the hair and can’t get it off! And so it goes, the Hazard of Hanging Around the Grooming Table too long!
It’s the first weekend of the New Year and that always signals the start of the dog show season. The first show for a lot of West Coasters is in Palm Springs at the Polo Fields. We made it to this show last year and we decided to rent a motor home for this show. Well, apparently we didn’t plan enough in advance, because although we had this beautiful view at sunrise, it was also quite a hike from where the actual show was taking place. And yes, I forgot key things at the RV, more than once.
Wrigley and Emma were the ones we showed at this show last year. Gary and I have developed a good system of getting the dogs ready. He gets them ready and I show them in the ring. Some how, I think I got the better end of the deal.
Riggs looks like he sees a pretty good lookin’ girl! His pre-show routine is very ‘diva’-esque. He has to be the first one on the table. All eyes must be focused on him and I especially cannot be fawning over another dog within his site. We have varied from this routine in the past and I have suffered once we stepped into the ring.
This was only the second show that Emma had attended. She was in the front of the line and as you can see, she was also scoping out the crowd. Emma is very much the look at me dog. However, I don’t think it’s the conformation type of beauty show look at me. I think she likes to RUN FAST and RUN HARD, while people look on and applaud. This is why she will get agility titles first! But, look at her coat! There is just so much of it and it looks so pretty!
If you have not had the chance to make it out to a conformation show, it’s a very neat experience. You can find your favorite breed of dog and see several of them there. If you are looking to find a new addition to your household, I recommend visiting a show first to see all of the breeds. And after the breeds that you like have finished showing, you can talk to the breeders about what type of dogs they really are. Here you will get a true answer of what the dogs are like, as most conformation people are serious about their breed and improving their breed. But enough of my soap box for now, if you have questions about finding the right dog, please email me for some tips and pointers!
Alas, we have had to miss this year’s Palm Springs show because we are tending to my Mom who has been in the hospital. Gary is taking care of the dogs while I am here in Texas helping out. I miss the dogs, there’s nothing like a good kiss and cuddle from the dogs to relieve stress. And yes, Gary, I miss you too. :)
Even the littlest elf gets Santa’s undivided attention! We had to find the xxxxs hat for this little one. She was so sweet when she sat on Santa’s lap. She just wanted to spend time loving on him. I’m not sure she even asked for anything for Christmas, but you know she’ll get everything she wants!
The three wise dogs are waiting for Christmas to come and for the reason for our season, Jesus. These three Schnauzers posed perfectly for their Christmas photo. The little one even left our Emma one of her favorite toys to play with and she is very happy with it!
