About

Tag: ‘rescue’



Rocky, Prince, Homer & Roxy – a Family of Dachshunds & Miniature Schnauzers

Tuesday, October 27th, 2020

I recently had the pleasure of photographing the cutest dog pack! This family includes 2 dachshunds and 2 miniature schnauzers – a lot of little dogs with big personalities. :) Sometimes photographing multiple dogs can be a challenge from the photographer’s perspective, and that wasn’t untrue for us – but you know what? The more the merrier! We were able to created a ton of great portraits and had fun while doing so. We started out at Old Poway Park where we relaxed and played in the grass. We noticed a funny trend, too: if there was another dog that tried to come near our “spot”, these dogs would (loudly) let that dog know that this is obviously our territory! But if there was a dog that we walked by, that had already been in his own “spot”, they were totally cool with that and walked by without a peep. This group kept us on our toes and laughing, that’s for sure! I’d love to introduce you to the crew!


Let’s start with Homer, the elder miniature schnauzer! If the dogs are all outside playing, you can bet on him to be the one chasing a ball. Did you two just meet? Throw him a ball to run after and you might just become his new best friend. :) Might I add that he is super fast – he’s definitely the athlete of the group! He also cracked us up because he’s pretty tough and not afraid to join in on the barking at anyone who passes by.

schnauzer chasing ball


Next up is Roxy. She’s the newest addition to the family, a rescue, and the same breed as Homer. She’s such a sweetheart and even a little bit shy. Taking action shots with her was completely opposite of Homer’s style… she isn’t interested in chasing the ball whatsoever. She would just watch it roll on by… which, in contrast to her brother, was hilarious! But she was willing to run alongside her parents, which was very cute. She is people-oriented and so much fun to work with!

schnauzer running


Prince is the younger of the two dachshunds. He is a guard dog extraordinaire and was constantly on the lookout for anyone who dared to walk in our park. I’m pretty sure that if the dogs were all barking at any point, he was the instigator. If someone started to get close to us at the beach, he was the first one to sound the alarm and the other dogs followed. There is absolutely no sneaking up on this one, haha! Nevertheless, he was a good boy and such a cutie!

dachshund in the park


Lastly, this is Rocky, the old man of the bunch. He’s got some health issues, but when you get older I suppose that’s what happens to all of us. He’s the sweetest senior dog with selective hearing and vision. He does what he wants and that’s okay! No action shots for him – those days of running wild are past him, haha! He keeps the family grounded and reminds them to take their time. There’s no hurrying in his world, and as we walked around the park and the beach we would take regular breaks to let him catch up. He was an all around sweetheart!

dachshund


I really enjoyed this photo session with this amazing motley crew and their parents. It had its fair share of “incidents” – ahem – but I’m so excited to share their photos! Thanks for a great afternoon, Victoria, and I’ll see you soon!

Molly, the Rescue Puppy from Olivenhain!

Tuesday, March 26th, 2019

I’m so excited to introduce you to Molly! Not only because she’s one of the most adorable pups around, but she is also one of my first official “Puppy Plan” participants! Molly is a 2 month old Great Pyrenees, labrador, and (supposedly) Bassett hound mix who gives the cutest little head tilts for the camera. She is definitely in the puppy phase where everything needs to go in her mouth. Toys, food, leashes, collars, pant legs, shoes, my camera bag… nothing is safe from those puppy teeth!

We held her photo session at her parents’ gorgeous home in the Olivenhain neighborhood of Encinitas/Rancho Santa Fe. Her mom and dad have a beautiful setup in their backyard where we were able to get amazing portraits with plenty of natural light coming through the trees. A photographer’s dream! Molly had a lot of energy, so I think she had a pretty great time playing and posing for me. And get this: whenever she needed to take a break from all of her running around, she decided to quench her thirst by drinking the dew off of the grass! She reminded me of a little lawnmower as she cruised around, head down & searching out the wettest blades of grass, haha! She was too cute!

I’ll be seeing Molly and her parents again when she’s about 6-7 months old for the next stage of her Puppy Plan. I cannot wait to see how much she has changed by then! I bet she’ll have grown by leaps and bounds (especially if that Great Pyrenees in her heritage has any say in the matter). Which means even then, and for the rest of Molly’s life, these photos from when she’s only 2 months old will be awww-inspiring keepsakes. :)


Don’t be fooled by that cute head tilt. There’s a silly, rambunctious, mischievous puppy behind that innocent face!

rescue puppy


Ohhh that early morning light… I love it! And can you see the dew on Molly’s face that came from drinking the water off the grass?!

rescue puppy photo


Marilyn & Stan, I am so excited to capture Molly’s first year as a puppy with you! I look forward to seeing you again soon! :)

Sneak Peek: River ~ {Pensacola Pet Photography by Allison Shamrell}

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

Even though I’m a photographer, and I value images deeply and believe in their power, I simply can’t show you any pictures of River before telling you his story. It’s that incredible.

 

Sonia lives in Pensacola and loves outdoor activities, like hiking and canoeing. One day, she was out for a canoe trip and saw a ragged animal on the banks of the Yellow River. She fed it a bit of food, and continued on with her day. But she knew a thunderstorm was coming, and worried about the poor creature’s ability to find shelter. You see, Sonia’s a compassionate person – she had cats, at that point, and was generally very kind to animals. So after careful consideration, and a lot of worrying over what would happen to the animal if she did nothing, Sonia went back out to the Yellow River the next day on a  leap of faith and brought the dog back to her house, with the intentions of cleaning it up and getting him ready for adoption. Adoption by someone else, of course. Because, you see, she was really more of a “cat person”. Not a dog person. She had never owned a dog before. So it was to be a clean-him-up-and-get-him-adopted mission, just because she felt sorry for the poor thing. No dog should have to live its life alone and hungry in the wilderness, and Sonia stepped in to help.

 

She did so much more than help.

 

To begin with, the clean-him-up part of the process didn’t exactly go the way it was planned. This dog had problems on the inside and outside; his fur, stomach and intestines all had serious issues, and it’s so fortunate that Sonia didn’t wait a few more canoe trips later to take the dog home – he may not have been there. It took months – really, years – to clear up all his medical problems, of which heartworms were just the beginning. And since there’s no telling how he got to the Yellow River and what he’d been through there, he was, as Sonia kindly puts it, “a little crazy”, psychologically speaking. Even so, Sonia trained him! She went through several private classes (with Best Paw Forward!) with the river dog, all so that his future owner would have an easier time with him. Turns out, Sonia’s compassion doesn’t have a limit, even through enormous vet bills and obedience classes and the struggle of introducing a canine to a house of felines. All this for a dog she was going to give up to another person.

 

Of course, the last part of the plan – giving up the dog to someone else – failed miserably.

 

Today, the dog (who Sonia aptly named River) is happy, healthy, and downright beautiful. He has no psychological trauma to speak of, his obedience is impeccable, his insides are completely healthy, and his coat is luxuriously thick and smooth. You simply couldn’t ask for a more incredible turnaround. Today, Sonia is down to two cats and the dog that stole her heart. She’s now a proud “dog person” and never even saw it coming! I think it’s just incredible that she picked up a loving family member on the banks of the Yellow River.

 

If you ask her about it, Sonia references the Sea Star Parable. The lesson it teaches is that although there are many suffering creatures out there, and you can’t possibly save them all, you can save one. Save one, and it will make a world of difference for that animal. I can’t think of a better way to live.

 

So please enjoy these images of River – oh, and can you guess his breed? Sonia had a DNA test done, and the results were surprising. Hint: he doesn’t have ANY labrador!

 

What would a session of River be without going to the river?

 

 

 

We jumped and played around a bit…

 

And then went for a hike!

Look who greeted me at the window to his house! (I love all the nose-marks on the window!)

 

We also spent some fun time in the studio…

 

Okay, I admit it. We were a bit mean to River at times.

Yes, that’s a delicious treat in front of him. And yes, those spots on my backdrop are drool.

 

We also gave poor River a bath… aren’t we cruel? (wait till you see him shake off all that water!)

 

Sonia, thank you so much for introducing me to your handsome boy. I feel lucky to know you both.

 

~   Dog Photography by Allison Shamrell in Pensacola, Florida   ~

 

 

Sneak Peek: Farley & Dougal ~ {Pensacola Pet Photography by Allison Shamrell}

Monday, August 29th, 2011

I had a great time photographing brother-and-sister duo Farley and Dougal on Saturday! But I was kind of surprised that I was able to meet them at all: you see, there were several forces at work in the universe trying to stop this session from happening.

  1. Farley (the beautiful shepherd mix) and Dougal (the cream-colored terrier mix) live in Atlanta, Georgia. Very far away from Pensacola.
  2. Their mom and dad, Carey & Scott, only had about 24 hours’ notice that they were able to visit the Pensacola area – and they were staying in Gulf Shores, AL, not even Pensacola!
  3. I had an event scheduled for all-day Saturday. (It was cancelled at the last minute!)
  4. The Great Insect Infestation of 2011. Seriously – Bay Bluffs Park has never been so buggy. And the flies and ants followed us to Seville Park, too!
  5. A bunch of washed-up jellyfish freakishly appeared on the beach. I would blame that on Hurricane Irene if I could, but honestly I have no idea why they were all there. It was a little scary! I think they were trying to stop us too… although why the jellyfish population is angry at me, I have no idea.

But despite all the obstacles, we had a wonderful afternoon! Carey + Scott, I have a feeling your gallery is going to be supersized. Enjoy your Sneak Peek!

 

 

I’m pretty sure Farley is thinking, “come on lady, I want that treat!”

 

 

I had to leave you with one image of Farley’s incredible tongue! She is a goofball :)

 

 

 

~   Dog Photography by Allison Shamrell in Pensacola, Florida   ~

 

 

 

 

All Images Copyright | Blog Theme Created by LJP & SLR Lounge