Monthly Archives: May 2008

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sweet, sweet Rocksy ’sneak-peek’

May 25, 2008 – 3:52 am

Rocksy was an absolute joy to photograph. She was super sweet and easy to please. Just wanted to be close to her humans and go for a nice walk. Poor girl fell quite ill toward the end of our shoot, but she was a trooper. Her mom reports she is feeling MUCH better now- whew! Must have been all of that grass she ate. 

Rocksy’s little ’sister’ behind her. She was a huge help with the photo shoot- giving Rocksy treats and helping her stand still. 

We went for a walk in this very pretty park near their house in Shoreline. There was a beautiful stream and tall lush trees forming a green canopy above us. It was hard to believe we were still in the city.

Guess what I found out when we got back to Rocksy’s house from the park? She has guinea pigs!! Ok, Rocksy doesn’t but her family does. There was no way I was leaving that house without getting some snaps of them. On the left we have  Mama June Bug Jones, who was ahem, SUPPOSED to be a boy when she was brought home, in the middle we have father Trucker, and on the right we have the little spinster daughter BeeBee, who is the product of Mama June Bug Jones very much NOT being a boy. Not a boy indeed. Aren’t they an adorable little family?

Daddy and daughter.

Mama June

Apparently Guinea Pigs love to eat clover, so Rocksy’s mom brought home a big batch from the park. They were in heaven devouring it, and let me tell you, that giant green pile of goodness was gone in minutes. I was so happy I had the opportunity to photograph them. I LOVE guinea pigs!!

Oh and, I was also thrilled when I got to Rocksy’s house and discovered she has two feline roommates: Butter and Daphne. They are two of the friendliest, most affectionate cats I have met in a long time. In fact, a moment after we met Daphne was literally in my lap, rubbing against me and sniffing my face. It was hard to take pictures of these two because they were so affectionate. I really needed a camera on my forehead. 

I love Rocksy’s home. Every wall was (tastefully) painted a different vibrant color, and the furniture was modern yet cushy. If I could design a home this is just what it would look like. It was a photographer’s dream. I didn’t know where to point my camera next. Good stuff. 

The shot on the left below is one of my favorites from the shoot. Rocksy has the most beautiful grey-black fur. You just want to bury your face in the fur on her chest. 

Rocksy really wasn’t feeling well at all (she actually gave us a bit of a scare near the end of the shoot), so I felt really bad for her and decided to give her my yellow rubber squeaky toy. I think this made her happy. (see her enjoying it farther down in the post)



By Jamie 'Cowbelly' | Posted in Private client shoots, sneak-peek | Tagged , , | Comments (3)

Angel: I want her, and you do too

May 23, 2008 – 11:36 pm

I was at the Belltown off leash park early this week and met the most darling dog ever. Angel is her name.



Here is how we met:

I was looking for Fergie’s poop in the bark after she did her business, and this medium-sized, very happy young black lab mix came running up to me, smiling and wagging her tail as if she knew me. Not in an obnoxious, bowl you over kind of way, but in a very friendly “heyyy, long time no see” kind of way. Ears back, smiling, submissive, super sweet.

Given that I am always happy to reciprocate, I got down and said “well hello there!” and gave her a hug and some pets. The first two things I noticed were that she was very sweet, and also very soft. I surmised she must have still been a puppy because she had both puppy fur and that extra skin that puppies always seem to have. She seemed a bit clumsy as well.

So we said our hellos and then she went on her merry way, after having made a terrific impression on me.

So I watched her play with the other dogs, and her ‘brother’ and tried to get Fergie interested in playing with her, but the Fergster prefers the boys.

So I found out from one of the regulars that the black dog’s name is Angel, after telling him what a super dog she seemed to be. “Isn’t she great?” he said. Apparently everyone knew her but me.

So here is the story:

The reason why everyone there knows Angel is because she is essentially homeless. Or I should say- ‘foverer’-homeless.

She has been passed around from person to person, after her first owner abandoned her. She has had more homes in her first year of life than most dogs have in their entire lives. I think it’s been like 7 or 8?

Right now she is living with a foster mom who absolutely adores her, but she has another dog and is moving to NYC next month for a new (demanding) job. She is totally uncertain whether or not she’d be able to give Angel the kind of home she deserves, so is trying to find a permanent home for her. Plus she figures, it would be so much better for Angel to have a new permanent home here with someone who can really love her and care for her, than to subject her to yet another disruptive event by moving her across the country. Hence the reason for this post.

I normally don’t get involved in trying to rescue dogs, because there are so many people who do it and do it well, plus I like to donate money or services to rescue organizations instead, BUT, in this case, I just had to tell everyone about Angel.

She is a FANTASTIC dog.

I have met and worked with many many hundreds of different dogs over the years, and I can tell you, just from our short hour together, I know that Angel is special.

Why don’t I take her? First, as I mentioned above, Fergie is far more interested in playing with and engaging with boys than girls. She largely ignored Angel the entire time at the park, even when Angel tried to play with her. Fergie LOVES to play with the boys, and it only seems right to me to get a companion for her that she will be really interested in. The other, more important reason is that I am so gosh darn busy right now I don’t even make a very good doggie mommy for Fergie. For any new dog that comes into my life I would want to take several weeks off work to bond with the dog and do training and get acclimated to each other. Given my schedule there is no way that could happen anytime soon.

SO, I plead to anyone reading this who may be interested in bringing home a new dog, to please consider Angel. I guarantee you will fall in love with her. I have thought about her every day since I met her, and still am trying to rationalize a way I could keep her, even though I know it’s not reasonable. That’s how awesome she is. Let me put it this way: knowing what I know of her, and having met her, if I was searching for the perfect dog, I would drive through two states to take Angel home and keep her with me forever.

If you are interested in meeting her and possibly welcoming her into your home, please email me at info@cowbelly.com and I will put you in touch with Angel’s foster mom. Who by the way has the following things to say about Angel:

“Angel is an absolute love. She is just over 1 year old, playful, sweet and loves to be loved. She is house trained, can do basic commands (including paw!) and walks pretty good on a leash too, not to mention she has the softest fur I’ve every felt! 

I just took her to the vet and had her first round of shots (Parvo and Rabies) and she is scheduled to be spayed on June 2.”

Oh yes, and of course, Angel is fantastic with other dogs- boys and girls alike.

Email me at info@cowbelly.com if you are interested!!

By doggirlseattle | Posted in Cowbelly Family, miscellaneous randomness | Comments (0)

sneak-peek + contest

May 21, 2008 – 1:24 am

Since I can’t show the editorial photography I have done recently for CityDog Magazine until the summer mag actually comes out, I decided to provide a sneak peek of sorts at the shots I have taken for the ‘Dog’s Eye View’ article for the summer 2008 issue.

I am calling this photographic art piece ’slice of life’.

(I dig this piece so much I am getting it printed as a wide canvas for my bedroom wall. I’ll be making more of these in the future for sure!) You will need to maximize your browser window. Having issues with blogger’s image uploading- hopefully can fix it later so you can view the image larger in a new window. 

 

This photographic art image is also a contest! 

The first person to accurately guess which Seattle neighborhood this is wins a mini-shoot with me for their dog(s) in the very same neighborhood the shots were taken in!! (note: shoot is good for up to 2 dogs and must take place in either June or July of 2008. Prints are not included). 

The ALSO win a year subscription to CityDog Magazine! 

Woohoo!! 

Here is how to enter the contest: leave a comment in the comments section of this post (click on where it says ‘# of comments’), with your guess of neighborhoods, or send me an email to info@cowbelly.com, and the first person to accurately guess wins! Also, PLEASE email me if you leave your guess anonymously as a comment, and/or if you don’t have a link back to your blog/website in your commenting name. 

The neighborhood may seem impossible to guess but there are a few slices that are dead giveaways. 

Good luck and have fun!! 

Jamie
By doggirlseattle | Posted in Contests, editorial, sneak-peek | Tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Diablo, Chico, Pucci decopaw art

May 20, 2008 – 2:36 am

Remember Diablo, Chico and Pucci? The three adorable boys I photographed in Pioneer Square last year?

We are designing art from their photos now, and I just finished the proofs this weekend. Their mom is doing a 3-canvas grouping with one larger canvas and two smaller ones- all of different sizes. I can’t wait to see how they turn out!






The final product will look something like this when hung:

By doggirlseattle | Posted in decopaw dog art | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)