If you’ve been following us for any length of time you probably recognize the furry face of Levi, dog extraordinaire. You know – the one who makes the crazy faces when you pick up his ears or when you make high-pitched noises for a while. Loved for his antics as well as his no-nonsense attitude (you want me to do what? pose for you? no. not even for treats. not even if you squeak that plush pig at me. i will stand my ground and eat this grass over here.), this is Levi’s third shoot with us. But before it was more a Levi side-note. Not that Levi is ever a side-note in our book, but in prior shoots he was previously an accent to the love of his wonderful parents, Kim and Ginny (who are our clients-turned-friends who we are so lucky to have in our lives when we get a chance to see their wonderful faces!).

This time, our task was a Levi-focused photos session where Kim and Ginny were finally the side-notes to Levi, as we celebrate Levi’s 9th year on the planet. We bought him a squeaky chipmunk for his birthday. He did not care about it. I can’t help but think he would’ve preferred the birthday cake shaped hat that said, “It’s my barkday!” on it. We took him to a park where he could roam free, graze on grass, run from his parents, and generally mess up his incredibly well-groomed hair. He fell asleep in the car before they even left the parking lot to go home. We love you, Levi, and we are so happy to document you in your 9th year of being absolutely adorable.

Say hello to Belle! She is a Havanese doggy diva belonging to a wonderful family. When Belle’s mother contacted me to take her picture, I was informed that the 1.5 year old pup is very loved, very spoiled, and very much the center of the household… and indeed she is, and rightfully so. :) She is surrounded in these pictures by her identical twin bothers, John and Christian. Good luck telling them apart – inside their house are several portraits on their wall, and John and Christian can’t even identify themselves! :D The boys and Belle are super adorable, and I had a great time getting to know them. I send Belle’s mom this recommendation for her Halloween costume afterward as I think Belle would demand a costume that would highlight her assertive nature. ;)

enter renee, daniel, and khia! and yes, this is the renee and daniel from july. :) i was so excited to see them again and even more excited to photograph their new puppy, khia. i am a cat person as i’ve never owned dogs and suspect i’d be far too lazy to ever have one, but khia made me want a puppy. like, now. specifically, a puppy just like khia. i can gauge how adorable i think an animal is by how badly my face hurts afterward due to clenching my jaw when i speak to them because i’m overcome with cuteness. and my jaw hurt pretty badly after this session. :) SOOO RIDICULOUSLY CUTE. and she didn’t bark once. how amazing is she!? pet portraits are so fun.

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there’s a puppy in there somewhere. :) she was awesome at listening! we told her to stay and walked really far with her treats and she stayed, just chilling in the barn. most kids wouldn’t do that!

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i feel like i need a big canvas of the below two shots in my house somewhere. and when someone asks me if that’s my dog, i will say no. and they’ll look at me funny, but i won’t care.

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prepare for your hearts to explode, everyone! it’s an australian shepherd puppy driving a john deere.

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and let’s not forget that renee and daniel are adorable themselves. :) love these guys!

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sooo, how many of you have the strong urge to go out and get a puppy?!