When I was first asked to be on the planning committee for Dog Days of Summer, I had NO IDEA what a huge event and ridiculous amount of fun it would turn out to be! (Plus, all the planning meetings at La Hacienda Mexican restaurant were pretty delicious/wonderful too.) We designed the day to be similar to the Gulf Breeze Pet Fest or Pensacola’s huge Barktoberfest, but with one big difference: all proceeds would benefit the American Cancer Society. Human & canine cancer is so prevalent and any donation we could make would be worth the effort – so after several months of planning, August 18 was the big day! And guess what: the results are in, and we raised over $1000 for the American Cancer Society! YAY!

This post is full of just a few dogs from that day who stopped by to say hello! These photos will also be used to make a 2013 calendar, the proceeds from which will also benefit the American Cancer Society. (If you keep scrolling down, you’ll see some of the funny themes and props we put together for each month!) Stay tuned to the blog and the Facebook page for more info on how to get your copy!

Let’s start with a photo of the head organizer’s dog! This is Rusty, Becky’s boy, and he’s only about a year old – but I photographed him when he was a tiny puppy! It was so much fun to see him “all grown up” and much bigger than I remember!

This pomeranian is appropriately-named Bear.

This is cute little Dixie the basset hound!

Serious contender for cutest puppy at the event: Fiona the shepherd mix. I think she looks a bit like my Bailey! And WHAT a smile!

Rocky is another one of the organizer’s dogs – you really should check out Premier Pet Grooming if you’re in Milton!

Here are two Boston terriers, Odie & Charley. Adorable!

Conway is a chug (chihuahua/pug mix), don’t you love that underbite? And Sonny the lab mix will help us introduce the many props and costumes for each month…

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Ha!

Stiff competition to win the month of May is Bitsy the chihuahua, and at 17 years old this little trooper is also one of my past clients!

For October/Halloween we have Dozer the Therapy Dog, who has a super-busy Facebook page! He’s pretty famous!

Oliver helps represent the month of July…

Bear is Becky’s grand-dog, and he let us wrap him up in red tulle for December/Christmas! Look at that sweet face. That’s a rottweiler stocking to the right of him.

Easter/April brings us to Briana the shepherd…

and also Goose! Can you believe this puppy-faced Golden retriever mix is actually 10 years old?

One of my personal favorites: Georgie may just have a lock on March/St. Patty’s Day!

Mardi Gras beads look great on Rascal… I love the little bit of tongue!

Whew, there are a TON of photos in this post! But if you can’t get enough, check out the full day’s gallery here: http://proofs.allisonshamrell.com. More importantly, a HUGE thank-you goes out to everyone that came on the 18th, whether it was for several hours or just a short time! We really appreciate your support, and 100% of your donation went to the American Cancer Society! Thank you so much – and be on the lookout for more info about next year’s event!

Tags: basset hound, Boston terrier, chihuahua, contest, dogs, event, events, Florida, golden retriever, great dane, labrador, Milton, mixed breed, on the job, park, pet photography, pets, photography, pomeranian, puppy, rottweiler, senior