I’ve had the job of photographing the wonderful Janice of Big Dog Little Bed many times over the years. The last time I saw her, I photographed her with dogs Toby, Murphy, and George, all of whom were extremely loved by not only Janice, but the entire community who met and interacted with these pups, myself included. This time was bittersweet because these friends are no longer with us and are very much missed. Anyone who knows me has probably heard me talk about Toby because I was very much in love with him from the moment that I met him despite Janice’s warnings of, “Don’t make eye contact with him, don’t touch him.” I did make eye contact with him (eventually) and I did touch him (eventually) and we even progressed to the level of SELFIES TOGETHER (!!!) where Toby is very visibly rolling his eyes and trying to get away from me. He was one of my very favorite creatures to walk the earth and also to photograph. I also very much loved and cherished Murph, who was always friendly and loving and cooperative. He seemed wise beyond his years – like a little Yoda who chose not to speak. I had only met George once, but he was handsome and took direction well and was a very good boy.

I miss these friends. But while I had photographed Janice many times, this was my first time meeting and photographing her husband Sean (!), as well as their new dog Layla Bean (!). And I’m very pleased to announce that Layla Bean is truly a stellar addition and quite the character – and so is Sean. I immediately adored them both. Sean is the perfect match for Janice and I got along with him right away. He’s funny and creative and loves the outdoors like Janice – and he has a baseball team that Geoff just joined! Layla Bean is a very small yet very mighty dog with a lot of personality. She’s a tiny bossy tyrant with the sass meter on 100% at all times and I love her. She likes to carry around a toy pig that says “Kind of a pig deal” and I’m pretty sure she knows what it says. She enjoys bullying other dogs, hogging all of Janice and Sean’s attention, digging through her toy bin, playing fetch, and celebrating her birthday. They got her a cake. She loved it. She is a cooperative subject only because she knows I’m taking pictures of her and seems to be proud of that. She’s a diva and I’m excited to see more of her in the future because she’s adorable in every way.

So while our old friends are missed, we can take comfort in our newfound friend Layla Bean and enjoy celebrating her for many years to come. This was Layla’s first Gotcha Day celebration and I’m so happy for her that she found her perfect family.

Objectives: to photograph the amazingly talented and gorgeous Perry Vaile of Perry Vaile Photography alongside her handsome husband Shawn. Also, to photograph the slightly elusive and slightly adorably-crosseyed cat Lexie. Also, to photograph the previous racing dogs learning how to be precious house dogs Huckleberry and Finnigan. This was the mission I accepted at their house. The second mission was to go to Perry’s neighbor’s farm down the road and photograph them there… where there happened to be the most adorable miniature donkeys ever.  Now, I’m not sure that “ever” really describes it as I’m fairly certain that miniature donkeys ANYWHERE would be the cutest ever, but, you know what I mean. So the house mission combined with the farm mission was total cuteness overload and WAY too much cute to photograph in 2 hours… so just know that I tried, Perry, but your family is way, way too cute… and thus this was only a glimpse into its cuteness.

I was super honored to be chosen by Perry to photograph her family this year as she is a WONDERFUL photographer and I was crazy nervous a bit like this. She and Shawn were so amazingly sweet to me and made me feel perfectly comfortable though… and I’m so happy to have worked on this for them!

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. ;)