I’m so excited to share this fun photo session of Levi and Aura with you all!

Levi the border collie was adopted a couple of years ago, back when he was a little puppy. After he & his mom got to know each other, she later learned that he is actually deaf in one of his ears. As some of you may know (I didn’t!) the way that dogs’ ears work is basically by each ear “covering” 180 degrees of where sounds are coming from, so as you can guess, dogs really rely on being able to use each of their ears. Since he wasn’t able to hear that well, as a puppy it often seemed to Levi that people were “sneaking up on him” – poor thing! – which understandably led to some trust issues. And as a puppy he often wasn’t too sure of himself, most likely as a result of his hearing issue, but his mom took the time to really work with him, build trust, and help him flourish! With lots of love and training, he has made TREMENDOUS strides in his journey. He’s a much more confident dog now, I’m told – and he & his mom have a beautiful relationship built on a solid foundation of trust. He absolutely adores her, and it was beautiful to see their bond.

Fast forward two years – and we have an exciting new addition to the family! Levi and his mom recently adopted a border collie puppy named Aura! She is simply precious, and has really brought out the “puppy” in Levi as well. Aura is a silly, squirmy girl and is the confident yin to Levi’s cautious yang. She is SO playful, cute, energetic, spunky…the list goes on! The two pups have an amazing sibling bond as well; Levi has helped teach her things like sit and stay on command. So what’s funny about their relationship is that while Aura has learned tricks and good behavior from her big brother, he has learned how to loosen up and play because of her. Their mom has also spent a lot of time training with Aura, and I was truly impressed with her obedience. (It helps to be on “puppy maternity leave” and be able to truly focus on the two of them!)

Our location of choice was the Spanish Art Village in Balboa Park. The entire time we had people come up and say, “Oh look at those cute dogs!”, etc. – so I’m pretty sure their mom gets stopped alllllllll the time. We then headed to San Dieguito County Park and let the dogs stretch their legs and play fetch. Levi always wants to “work” and have a job to do, but when we got there he couldn’t help himself: he actually ran straight into the pond! He was definitely not supposed to do that, but we couldn’t help but laugh when he let loose! It was so much fun to see them play around, and see two very different personalities. This truly was an awesome photo session with a tight knit little family. They have such a beautiful life ahead of them, and I’m excited to see what’s to come!

This is Levi – isn’t he gorgeous?!

And this is little border collie puppy Aura. Such a sweetheart.

I haven’t had such a hard time picking out images for a sneak peek in a long time! You can’t tell me to just pick 3. I can’t do it!

Off to the park, to bask in the sunlight and relax…

… and a blooper, just for fun!

Hannah, thank you so much for introducing me to your wonderful dogs! I’m excited to share the rest of our photos with you very soon!