Beautiful Wild Cumbe

Cumbe is a wild animal! Just kidding, Cumbe is just about the cuddliest, friendliest dog that I have met but she does have those beautiful wolf eyes that make her unique. Matt and Laura, her owners, met Cumbe when they went to the shelter to pick out their first dog together. Cumbe came right up to them and it was a match well made. They think she is a Husky/Terrier mix and in my opinion, it's an amazing combination. I photographed them in Flenview, Illinois when I was on my midwestern tour in July (I visited St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chicago in 10 days and had a lot of good times).

I've been on the road and I'm hitting the road again. I'll be in Costa Rica for 10 days and I'm hoping to photograph some of the monkeys that live in the jungle trees along the ocean. When I get back I am going to be launching a new blog which combines my pet photography work with my human photography work in an attempt to streamline my online world and post pictures more often. I have a lot of great pictures stored up from these past few months so expect to see some of them soon. In the meantime, I hope all of you enjoy the last few months of summer.

Also, I wanted to mention that Willy, of Willy and Shakes the therapeutic bunnies, has to have surgery to remove a cancerous tumor that is threatening his life. The surgery is $3,000 and their handler Sherri is asking that everyone donate $10 to help cover his bills. These furry guys have brought a lot of joy to the people they visit and Sherri works tirelessly to spread their bunny therapy. If you can help, please make a donation to the address below. Make sure to mention "Save Willy" if you are paying with a credit card or write "Save Willy" on your check.

VCA Veterinary Referral Associates
500 Perry Parkway
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
(301) 926-3300

Attn: Melody / Accounting
(For Willy The Angora Rabbit !!)

Shark whispering and a few good links.

This is incredible! I'm not quite sure what to think about there being a whisper for each animal group, but it's visually stunning.

Also, reading this amazing story about a bear who helped the allied forces in WWII.

And click here to see a picture of human-induced animal obesity and this cheetah cub is out of control cute.

Pop quiz--which of these baby animals isn't real?

Sara, TJ and Co

Going for a walk.

Juda and Nola have beautiful smiles.

Keyser is coy in front of the camera.

Siren was an unexpectedly good model.

I had such a nice Saturday morning photographing Sara, TJ and their crew of adorable pets at their lovely home in Fairfax, VA. I had met Sara and TJ before while photographing Juda at a Wylie Wagg photoshoot. This time it was nice to catch Juda in his natural environment and around the rest of his pack.

bless you!

Wally, Willy and Shakes

Remember Willy and Shakes, the therapeutic bunnies that made the cover of Rabbits, USA? Well, they continue to get themselves into even more interesting situations. In honor of their first story book, their owner Sherri invited Wally Amos (Founder of Famous Amos cookies in 1975) to come in from Hawaii and record an audiobook version of the story at MLK Library downtown. The entire library staff came out to welcome Wally, Willy, and Shakes and by the end of our time together, everyone was laughing with the crew's infectious good cheer. The bunnies continue to find themselves in exciting opportunities, so I will keep you all updated of their future activities of making the world a more cuddly place.

Adopt Chester!

Chester posing for the camera.

My friends Adam and Cassandra are fostering this fine-looking dog named Chester and looking for a great home for him. Cassandra writes:

Chester is a lovely 4-year-old Tennessee boy. A perfect balance between a couch potato and a playful partner, Chester loves to cuddle with anyone who would give him attention. Other than being uniquely beautiful (our guess is some sort of Wire Fox Terrier mix), Chester is quiet and very intelligent. He knows "stay" and "sit", though sit usually turns into a "I'll just lie down so that you can rub my belly". He would love to spend time learning tricks (for food and/or love of course). Some other unique features are his natural mohawk (I know, how cool is that?) and his little puffy tail.

This bundle of hair and joy unconditionally loves humans and dogs of all ages. After just a couple of hours he was already sleeping and cuddling with his pit bull mix foster sister - a sweet and funny sight considering the fact that he's only 30 pounds while his sister is almost 60. His only Achilles' heel are cats. It's not that this Southern gentleman doesn't like them, he probably likes them too much: all in all he's a Terrier mix (and you might want to agree with him that they can be mistaken for big squirrels and who can resist big squirrels??).

Chester is now living in DC and can be seen playing around in both the Adams Mill and the 11th and Park dog parks. If you'd like to learn more about him and adopt him :) please contact Lara of K-9 lifesavers at lara.loveman@gmail.com. To see more pictures of Chester, please click here.

Thanks for that awesome write-up Cassandra!

Also, in a bit of pet and military theme, check out this comparison of baby seals and Navy Seals and this awesome series of dogs in combat (I especially love the first one).