shine pet photos | modern pet photography http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog the adventures of los angeles pet photographer Grace Chon Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:14:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5 en my foster dog harry - an update! http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=338 http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=338#comments Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:03:28 +0000 shine pet photos http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=338 Those of you who read the blog regularly and follow me on facebook probably remember that I started fostering my first foster dog Harry back in January. The poor guy came to us so abused and broken - when I looked at him I literally felt like I was staring at a vacant shell of a dog. The passion and joy that you always see in the eyes of happy dogs was completely extinguished, and he just looked so very sad all the time. After weeks of working with him, I finally started to see small glimmers of happiness in his eyes.

We fostered Harry for 3 months, without any applications coming in for the sweet guy. I finally decided to tweet Denise Richards to see if she might be able to help - she’s a huge supporter of dog rescue and Best Friends Los Angeles, who I was fostering Harry for. To my utter surprise and happiness she retweeted my message to her millions of followers!

Literally within an hour, we had several promising emails, with one that really stood out from the pack! Harry had found his forever home - one with a dad that would stay home with him all day long, and a mom that would spoil him to pieces with new matching leashes, collars, and bowls.

By April, Harry was ready to go to his new home. These photos were taken in our last hours together.

(^ He’s smiling! I swear I didn’t photoshop this!)

I won’t lie - I was a complete and utter wreck that morning. When Robin from Best Friends came to get him, I was bawling so hysterically that she actually said “Grace! He doesn’t have to go! He can stay here with you!” But I knew he had found his perfect family, and I tearfully said bye to Harry that morning.

A good friend told me that the pain of parting with a foster dog goes away as soon as you get your first update, and she was right. Harry’s new mom and dad have done such an amazing job with Harry since April and I’m so excited to share their update:

We wanted to give you a status report on our Bichon-Poo “Harry”.  He has gained at least 5 lbs since we got him from you, and has become very protective of us.  The only time he barks is when someone rings the doorbell or comes to the front door.  Other than that, he’s very quiet (which we appreciate).  He just started a basic obedience class at Petco, with one session down and five more to go.  There are two other dogs in the class - a lab mix and a great dane-something mix (HUGE).  Harry was quite intimidated at first, but eventually came out from behind our chairs and got brave enough to venture into the “common” area.  We are very proud of him.  He has come a long way since April.  He is still skittish sometimes, but really enjoys our affection, and wants nothing more than to sit with us on the couch and cuddle up.  Rhonda has had to move him over from “second” to “third” position to get the pecking order straight, but he’s ok with that, as long as he still gets attention.

We love Harry very much.  He has grown to more than a “lap dog” - he’s more of a “two-lap” dog in size.  I wish there was a way to keep him clean all the time, because he’s so soft and cuddly right after a bath, so he gets a bath every week.  He still is very ready for the next one every time!
Here’s three pictures of him.  The first has him “begging” (waving his front paws in the air up and down) which is very cute.  In the second and third, he’s just standing looking at the camera - almost posing. Hope that helps you know he is loved.
And there you have it. Harry is home. And Harry will live happily ever after! Harry was my first foster dog, but I know he won’t be my last.

]]> http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=338 kristin bauer true blood; los angeles dog photography http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=337 http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=337#comments Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:53:10 +0000 shine pet photos http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=337 I had the pleasure of meeting Kristin Bauer, her husband Abri and their 2 gorgeous dogs Asher and Ozmand in April. Kristin is an extremely talented actress most well known for her role as Pam on the HBO hit series True Blood. I loooooove her character on the show - she’s so deadpan and delicious and villainous and gorgeous all in one. And that wardrobe! If you haven’t seen True Blood yet, you should seriously consider devoting an entire weekend to catching up on seasons one and two - yes, it’s that good and no surprise that it’s HBO’s most popular show since The Sopranos!

I know Kristin is really, ridiculously good at acting because in real life, she’s truly nothing like Pam. AT ALL! You know you’ve had a good session when after 2 hours of photographing, you still want to sit and chit chat over coffee- which is exactly what we did. I love her dedication to her husband, her dogs, to rescue, to the environment, and to the world we all share. What a beautiful person, inside and out. And did I mention her husband Abri is an fabulously talented musician?

Thanks for a great photoshoot Kristin and Abri. Kristin, I look forward to seeing more of your fangastic ways on True Blood this season!

*Note: These photos may not be reposted anywhere without the EXPRESS WRITTEN CONSENT of Grace Chon. Please email info @ shinepetphotos dot com if you want to post these.

]]> http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=337 congratulations to the 2010 World’s Ugliest Dog! http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=336 http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=336#comments Sat, 26 Jun 2010 16:58:11 +0000 shine pet photos http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=336 Meet Princess Abby, the winner of the 2010 World’s Ugliest Dog contest!

She loves dancing for treats!

]]> http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=336 thank you! http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=335 http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=335#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 01:09:18 +0000 shine pet photos http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=335

Thank you to everyone who came out on Saturday for our “Portraits for Puppies” fundraiser! Thanks to everyone’s generosity, the Dawg Squad has another $875 to help with their medical bills.

I met so many beautiful dogs and their owners on Saturday and I’m just sorry I couldn’t fit you all on the blog.

You are all amazing and thank you so much for the support. I know the puppies thank you too!

]]> http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=335 scott & max; los angeles commercial dog photography http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=334 http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=334#comments Mon, 14 Jun 2010 21:34:12 +0000 shine pet photos http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=334 I had a really wonderful photoshoot back in April with Scott and Max. Scott adopted Max almost 14 years ago through Best Friends Animal Society (you can read more about the two at the Best Friends website) and we met on this gorgeous April day to get a shot for a new Best Friends print ad promoting their “No More Homeless Pets” campaign. You can see the finished ad at the end of this blog post, but here are some outtakes that I particularly loved. When I get the opportunity to photograph such an amazing pair and chronicle their bond, I feel so at home, and know I have the best job in the world.

The ad made it’s debut in Frontiers magazine and can now be seen larger than life at the Grove!

Thank you to everyone who helped make this shoot possible (you know who you are!!!), to Eric at Best Friends for creating a beautiful layout, to Claudia for keeping me in the loop on this project, and of course to Scott and Max for being such beautiful photography subjects.

]]> http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=334 portraits for puppies! http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=332 http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=332#comments Tue, 01 Jun 2010 19:18:37 +0000 shine pet photos http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=332 I’ll be doing fun dog headshots on Saturday June 19th at the Centinela Pet and Feed in Westchester. 100% of proceeds will be donated to The Dawg Squad to help them treat a litter of very sick puppies that were recently saved from the streets of Compton! The Dawg Squad has racked up almost $10,000 in debt to help treat these little babies and now need our help.

Portraits will be taken on a first come, first serve basis, so just show up with your dogs! My personal goal is to raise at least $1,000 for the puppies so please help us by sharing the flier with friends on your twitter, facebook, and blogs if you can.

Puppies should NOT be in the world as skinny and malnourished as these babies were, but thanks to the wonderful people at Dawg Squad who are well-known for taking in sick dogs and rehabilitating them, these babies will get a second chance at life. Remember Jeffrey? He’s completely healed and well loved now, thanks to this wonderful rescue group!

Thanks in advance to all for your help and support, and hope to see you on Saturday June 19th! And if you’re not in LA but still want to help, you can always make a much appreciated donation.

Click on flier to enlarge. Or download.

PS: If you plan on stopping by, please RSVP so we can start to get a headcount. Thank you!

]]> http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=332 kiki the pug; los angeles dog photography http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=331 http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=331#comments Wed, 26 May 2010 22:32:11 +0000 shine pet photos http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=331 Could there be anything cuter than a really cute, expressive pug named Kiki? I mean come on!

(click on small photos to enlarge)

One of my new fave shots:

]]> http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=331 calling all las vegas rescue dogs! http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=330 http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=330#comments Wed, 26 May 2010 02:18:28 +0000 shine pet photos http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=330 It’s time for another Shine Pet Photos casting call - this time in Las Vegas! All the deets are on the flier below. Please email us if you’re interested. The shoot date is coming fast! If you’re from Vegas or have ties to rescue groups could you please help us spread the word?

We will also be holding additional casting calls for San Francisco (late June), Houston and New Orleans (sometime in July) so if you have a rescue dog in these cities please feel free to send us an email. Exact dates TBD.

Thank you in advance and look forward to hearing all your stories!

(Click the flier for a higher-res version)

]]> http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=330 rose knows! http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=329 http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=329#comments Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:55:42 +0000 shine pet photos http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=329 Check out the latest issue of Los Angeles Confidential Magazine -

The gorgeous and talented Rose McGowan wrote a piece on her favorite doggie things in Los Angeles and gave Shine Pet Photos a shout:

Since you’re probably curious, let me answer some questions: Yes, Rose is gorgeous in person. I would die for her skin. The Gods are sometimes very unfair. Yes, she is totally awesome, kind, and sweet in person. Meeting really nice, generous celebs in person is always such a treat. And yes, Rose is a huge dog lover and absolutely dotes on her Boston Terriers, as she is famously known for.

Thank you Rose for the lovely article on life in Los Angeles with your dogs, and for mentioning me in the piece. And thanks to all the special people behind the scenes who made this all possible (you know who you are!)

The shot from the article:

The shot from the table of contents:

Pick up the latest issue of Los Angeles Confidential Magazine on news stands now, or read Rose’s piece online!

]]> http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=329 kobe & buddy; santa monica dog photography http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=328 http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=328#comments Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:02:49 +0000 shine pet photos http://www.shinepetphotos.com/blog/?p=328 I met Koby and Buddy back in December and we had such a fun photoshoot in Santa Monica. I don’t know if I’ll ever get sick of LA’s temperate weather and just love that these were taken in the dead of “winter!”

Buddy and Kobe have since moved to Asia with their mom and dad so I’m so glad we had the chance to meet this beautiful morning.

(Click on small photos to enlarge)

My clients got this last shot as a huuuuuuuuuuuge canvas! In this case, bigger is definitely better.

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