shine pet photos | modern pet photography

I took an extended weekend trip to Big Bear with the BF and the dogs for some much needed R&R. We were totally unplugged and IT. WAS. FABULOUS!! We stayed at a place that had a great view of the lake with it’s own private beach, and hiked, watched movies, and ate like pigs. Pure awesomeness. Big Bear is also unbelievably dog friendly - there are a ton of hike trails, places to go shopping, and we even encountered restaurants that let doggies in.

I always struggle with whether I should bring my fancy shmancy camera or my regular point and shoot on trips. This time I opted for the point and shoot so I could really take a break from photography. (These were all taken with a Canon SD1000)

The view from our cabin:

Maeby & Zoey got their own bed! Ha ha.

The view on our 6 mile hike:

Some cool moss:

And wild flowers:

Hanging out at the lake:

And now I’m refreshed and ready to face this crazy month. I need to take trips more often!

My little baby Zoey turned 2 today. (Sob. They grow so fast!) It feels like just yesterday that I picked her up from LAX airport when she was only 4 months old!

We had a great birthday celebration - our friends from Best Bully Sticks were so kind and generous and sent us a huge sample of Bully Sticks just in time for Zoey’s big day! (Thank you Karen!!) I prefer giving my dogs Bully sticks instead of rawhide because they’re 100% digestible. I’ve read a lot of articles about the dangers of feeding rawhide and have been giving bully sticks to my dogs instead for years now. Except #1) They are SUPER SMELLY and #2) They are expensive! They’re around $4-$5 at pet stores in LA.

I was super impressed with the quality from Best Bully Sticks because they were thick yet much less smellier than usual, and the prices are REDONKULOUSLY affordable. And boy did Maeby and Zoey love their new treats. Shine Pet Photos clients will be receiving these treats with their print orders so be on the lookout! (As with any treats, just be sure to supervise while your doggies enjoy their snack). And thanks again Karen from Best Bully Sticks for the treats - Maeby and Zoey loved them and I know my clients will too!

Maeby says GET IN MY BELLY!

The birthday girl:

So delicious, Zoey had to quote a line from her favorite movie (2 thumbs up if you know what movie it’s from):

Brrr, it was cold and rainy in LA today. (And by cold, I mean like 60 degrees.)

But it was such a nice day to be inside, warm and cozy, with a hot drink and dogs laying by my feet.

And Maeby was totally ready for the chilly, rainy weather.

Here she is, modeling a scarf I made back in 2004. I had a month off from school in SF and decided to spend it with the boyfriend back when he was living in San Diego. I decided to teach myself how to knit during that month and here’s one of the fruits of my labor.

The little pink characters are made of felt and sewn on using embroidery thread. This was made waaaay before I ever had dogs and unfortunately for me, it was too short! Fast forward 5 years later — I have 2 dogs and it fits them perfectly.

Yes, I dress up my dogs for my own selfish amusement.

Today is my little pig beast Maeby’s 4th birthday!

I call her my little pig beast because Maeby is notoriously good at finding food ANYWHERE — especially our garbage can. She’s pulled off some really insane feats in search of food. I think she scavenges for food so much because she probably did a lot of that when she was a homeless street dog in Mexico.

We adopted her from a pet adoption fair outside a Petsmart in San Diego back in January 2007. A really nice lady had traveled to Mexico and brought back several dogs. I had been searching for a dog to adopt for months, but just hadn’t been able to find one in LA. And God, I was craving a dog to adopt like women probably crave babies. I had such extreme puppy envy the entire 3 years I lived in SF but I just couldn’t afford one. When I moved to LA in 2006 I just KNEW it was finally my time. So when we finally had Maeby in our lives, it was like the heavens parted. I HAD A DOG! She was sweet, she was healthy, and she was mine.

Only 2 days after I adopted Maeby, I took her to the vet for what I thought would be a routine physical exam. The doctor (Dr Natalie Mitescu, I will never forget you!) told me she was PERFECT and in great health. But I had suspicions about her back left leg and upon further inspection and X-rays, I found out that Maeby had major orthopedic problems in her hips and pelvis (probably due to getting hit by a car when she was in Mexico) in addition to a torn ACL that required a TPLO surgery. The rescue group I adopted her through said they had no idea there was anything wrong with her, and refused to give me back my adoption fee. There was no way I was going to return her to that person, but I couldn’t afford a $3500 surgery. You see, by the time we decided to proceed with the TPLO, I had already spent nearly $800 on her medical bills. As I had only had Maeby for 2 days, most people told us to just give her back! But we decided to fundraise for her surgery instead.

Through my personal blog and a website I set up for Maeby, our incredibly generous friends donated $1700. Her vet also gave us a huge courtesy discount and lowered her estimate from around $3500 to around $2500. United Animal Nations donated $300 in grant money, and Orthodogs’ Silver Lining contributed another incredible $500.

Her surgery was estimated somewhere between $2300-2800. We had fundraised an incredible $2417. Guess what her final surgery bill came to?

$2420

Yup, I paid $3. I truly believe in God’s good work, and in the power of prayer and miracles. I won’t call the final surgery amount a coincidence — I know it was truly a miracle! The TPLO is major surgery — it requires cutting bone, rotating a piece of it, and holding it together with screws and plates. Maeby couldn’t run, jump or play for 16 WEEKS. I kept a pretty detailed blog of our account to placate the psycho dog mommy in me, but it’s cool because it’s been useful to others who have gone through the same harrowing experience with their own dogs.

It’s been about a year and a half since Maeby’s crazy surgery, and has been exactly 2 years since we adopted our girl. I credit her for being such a good older sister to our second dog Zoey, and for being the inspiration behind my photography business. She is my forever dog and I love her.

So in honor of Maeby’s roots, I didn’t get her a birthday hat. I searched all over Olvera Street (the oldest neighborhood in LA and home of a big Mexican market) to find her the perfect hat.

(Click on small photos to enlarge)

By the way, when I took Maeby to the hospital for her first physical they asked me for her birthday. Since she’s a former street dog I had to make it up — so I gave her mine.

Feliz cumpleaños to us!