Slice of Nice

We have known Armani for awhile.  I’ve competed against him in the show ring.  I always loved seeing him on the table, virtually asleep while his Mom was getting him ready to show.  When the offer was made to us to take care of Armani, I jumped at the chance.

Ball Guy

When he came into our house we found out what his true personality was.  He is the mushiest dog I have ever met in my life.  Soft doesn’t even begin to describe him!  He is so very sweet and is very practiced with his puppy dog eyes.  When you pick him up to take him off the grooming table, he is a rag doll.  Not one wiggle out of him, no matter what you do!  We’ve had 6 Goldens before Armani and none of them have prepared me for him.

I have always had respect for people who rescue dogs and I’ve always given to help rescue.  But my level of respect has gone up even further now for the people of rescue who foster and adopt dogs that they have only just met in their 5th year of life.  Armani is five years old and he is who he is.  He has adapted to his new home with us and has learned to love the early morning walks, that he’s never had before.  But he is a challenge to me since I am so used to dogs I have raised from a puppy.  What I mean is, that usually when I raise a dog, I know what makes them happy, what triggers the wild dog run around the yard, the good words to use when I need to get the proper cock of the head for a picture.  When you get a dog who is already established, you  have to find all of this through trail and error.  While this can be fun, it can also be a bit frustrating and I guess that is what I am saying about Armani.  He is teaching me  how to reach out to him and how to be patient because he is such a different personality than any of our other goldens!

It’s been two months or so now since we have brought this silly, mushy boy into our home and I love his eyes and enjoy looking for a tail wag.  My hats off to you who rescue dogs of all ages and breeds.  What a job you do finding out how to make a neglected or abused dog whole and happy again.

Mani boy smiling

  As every photography pro or enthusiast knows, you have to keep your camera and lenses clean!  Since I work with dogs, I am constantly cleaning my lenses and the sensor in my camera.  Slobber is a work hazard for me!

About two months ago, I dropped one of my camera’s with a lens attached.  I was getting this weird error 99, so I sent it in to be fixed.  When it returned, I found a note from the technician that told me I might still get the error and if so, I needed to send in the lens.  Well, of course I got the error and I was NOT excited about having to send in my lens.  So, I decided to write them about it and complain, not that it was going to do me any good, I was still expecting to send in the lens.

As it turns out, I followed their directions of cleaning the contacts for the lens and voila - I got some NICE pics this morning from the offending lens and camera combo!  My moral of the story being - before you send in your camera for repair - email them and ask if there is anything you can try first.  

Here’s a small check list for your SLR before contacting your camera maker:

Clean all the lenses - including taking off their protective filter and cleaning it.

Take an eraser or soft cloth and clean off the contacts where the camera body and lens come together.  Be sure not to get anything in the camera body.

Clean your sensor according the instruction manual that came with your camera.

Check your cards and format them in the camera.

Just by doing this simple maintenance you may find an improvement in the clarity of your photos!

Have Fun!

 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!