Come get your dogs photographed at Wagtime!

Amazing rescued elephants from Thailand

Hi everyone! As always, it's been way too long since I've posted.  I've been drinking up the end of summer and doing some awesome shoots around the DC area.  And I finally buckled down and edited the rest of the photographs from my trip!  These ones were taken at the Elephant Nature Park outside of Chiang Mai was a huge highlight of my trip. It seems like everyone who goes to Thailand wants to see elephants, but what most people don't know is that a lot of these elephants are mistreated.  Elephants are strong and sensitive creatures and the training process their owners put them through to break their spirits is really awful.  Many elephants are brought to big cities like bangkok so their owners can earn money from tourists but they are not built for the busy life (they pick up sensations from miles away through their feet and are totally overwhelmed by traffic).  Also, they eat a lot--like over 1,000 lbs of food a day and people rarely feed them enough.


Seeing these problems, a little but brave lady named Lek decided to start rescuing elephants.  It started with one and today it's almost 30.  Mostly these elephants have been bought out of bad situations after they've been trained but she has been able to train one completely wild elephant just through love and positive reinforcement. Also, they have rescued over 200 dogs who all lounge around the center like they own the place.  It's an expensive visit and definitely very touristy but so worth it.  Plus, I really like to see places like this find a strong income stream (although I think they could always use more if you want to donate).  This bustling business keeps the elephants eating plenty of bananas and cucumbers, many dogs safe, and tourists happy to have seen such peaceful elephants. 

Poncho and goodbye for a month!

Oh was my last post really in March? I can't believe how bad I am about posting to this blog these days! It is not for a lack of great clients and fun shoots. It's just that life gets busy and the months just slip by.  We all know that story right?  Well, I'm going to add another one month here, as I leave tonight to travel in Thailand/Bali.  It's going to be an incredible adventure, but I will miss my clients,  my boyfriend, my home but mostly I will miss Poncho. We have just celebrated 5 months together and I could not love him more.   I'll be around in August/September, so please write me at houndstoothphotography@gmail.com and we can schedule those back-to-school shoots.  Have a wonderful month!

Chance with his lovely owner Beata at Dumbarton Oaks

Adopt Grover! Get your VDay picture taken at Wagtime too!

 City dogs just sent him Grover's profile and I just had to post it up here.  He looks so much like our sweet little Poncho (the dog my boyfriend and I recently adopted from Lucky Dog rescue) that I had to post.  We think we got the best dog ever and think Grover may be the same.

Also, in the spirit of helping awesome dog rescues, I'm doing a photography benefit with Lucky Dog this Tuesday night, February 12th at the Wagtime too store.  No need to set up a sitting time. Just stop by from 5-8pm on Tuesday night and get your sweet one photographed.  Owners are always welcome to be in the shots too!  And you if sign up, you get 20% off at the Wagtime Boutique for the evening.

Tuesday, February 12th 
5pm - 8pm

Wagtime Too 

900 M St SE,
Washington, DC 20003    

 

$35 sitting fee is donated to Lucky Dog, and purchases made in the Wagtime Too boutique during this special event will be 20% off. 

Click HERE for more details 

Lovely Lady

Isn't Lady the cutest? Something about dogs with two differently-colored eyes really gets me.  She was the runt of her litter, pretty much deaf and such a sweetie.  Her owners--who are also quite lovely--adore her and we had a great shot around their beautiful home in Old Town, Va. 

I got a dog!

His name is Poncho, he is a 1 year old Lucky Dog rescue of terrier origins, and I love him madly!  I can't get over his cuteness or his sweet personality.  After 5 years of waiting to get a dog due to a group house living situation, I was so excited to adopt with my boyfriend.   After 6 months of living together, we thought we were ready to commit to the right dog.  As soon as we saw Poncho's photograph on the website, I had this feeling that he was our one.  Animal control picked him up wandering the backroads of southern Virginia without a chip or collar and Lucky Dog brought him here. The second I saw him, he jumped up on me, licked my face and I was sold.  We could sense something about his little vagabond spirit that craved both excitement and relaxation.  He's been a dream to live with so far (except for him getting very car sick this morning while driving Adam to work), and basically I feel like I hit the dog jackpot.  Although I grew up around dogs, this is the first one of my adult life.  The bond feels so strong between us and I have felt my heart grow two sizes bigger.  Truly, it makes me understand my clients and their pets that much more.  I created this business because I find the relationships between humans and animals to be inspiring and important and now I am finding all of that out first hand.  It's definitely a learning process, but a very wonderful, fun one.  I'll keep you updated on how it goes and until then, Poncho says hi!

In order to help Lucky Dog make more of these great matches, I am going to do benefit photo shoot for them in February.  Please stay tuned for an exact date and get your own special dog photographed!