Aly, Trey & Willow - Rescued with Love

Aly, Trey & Willow are three special dogs rescued by two very special people. I want to tell you their stories, even though it may be dififcult to hear. It was an honor to photograph them and so beautiful to see how happy they are in their new forever home!

Aly  (tan greyound) - (Racing Name:  Tyville Sing It) Aly was a grade A racer and won many of her races.  Unfortunately, Aly was one of a few survivors in an abuse case:

Washington County, Florida, is home to a greyhound racing track, Ebro Greyhound Park. 

When trainer Ronald Williams surrendered 8 severely underweight dogs to the Emerald Coast chapter of Greyhound Pets of America, GPAEC notified officials from Florida Department of Pari-Mutuel Waging.  An inspection by officials on October 29, 2010 found 32 dead greyhounds at the track [other news sources say 37 dogs], and 5 live dogs in horrific condition with duct tape around their throats.  The decomposed bodies of 8 additional greyhounds were found November 1, 2010, dumped below a bridge along Highway 20 in Walton County, just west of Ebro and only yards from Williams' residence.

Aly was one of the 5 live dogs found with duct tape.  She was completely emaciated.  On her way from Florida to Alabama to Michigan, the truck broke down and Aly had to live in the truck.  When she finally came to Michigan, she was very scared.  We went to adopt Trey and when we saw her (she had only arrived a few days before), scared with big bright eyes, we knew we had to take her.  She is now a happy, healthy dog who continuously wags her tail and smiles.

Trey (Black and White Greyhound) - (Racing Name: Ale Trey's Choice) Upon Trey's "Retirement," i.e. she was not fast enough on the track, Trey was placed into the "Second Chance At Life" Prison Obedience Program and lived for 8 weeks with prisoners who trained her.  This program let Trey develop more socialization skills and helped the prisoners learn love and care.


Willow (Afghan Hound) - She was found as a stray and turned into a high-kill shelter.  Right before she was put down, she was adopted by the Indiana Rescue group Homeward Bound.  The rescue group hesitated about adopting her out since she was emaciated at 25 lbs (and should be about 55 lbs) with hook worms and ear infections.  Though, we adopted her and now she is 55 lbs, healthy and happy.

Aly - Happy, Grateful, Beautiful, Inspirational

Willow enjoying the breeze at the beach

Aly's tremendous athletic ability

Trey the explorer

Trey and I playing hide-and-seek

Chloe and Comet - Chicago Dog Photography

I was hired to photograph Chloe and Comet underwater. Here's the conversation:
Client: I'd like to hire you to photograph my dogs Chloe and Comet underwater.
Seth: Ooh! That sounds good.Will they actually go underwater?
Client: I'm not sure.
Seth: Hmm. Have they ever been in a swimming pool before?
Client: No.
Seth: This should be interesting!

Photos of dogs in the water and underwater are special, but to capture these moments, the dogs have to be part of the team. Not all dogs enjoy the water and it's even more rare for a dog to go UNDER the water. Going into the Chloe & Comet shoot, I wasn't sure what to expect. I was told they enjoyed the lake, but have never been in a pool. To play it safe, we spent some time shooting photos out of the pool, and then it was splash-time. To my surprise, both Chloe and Comet had an outstanding level of confidence. They were unsure about the stairs leading into the pool, but after several minutes of explaining the concept, they got the hang of it!

I am a pretty flower, too!

"Oh, haayy"

Conquering the steps!

"Cheeeese!"

Two hams

Maggie

What's not to love about labs! They are some of the sweetest, goofiest, hug-able dogs out there and Maggie of the Windy City is no exception!

Alfred Hitchcock

Off-leash down at the on-leash beach

My kind of town

Best Friends

Hi! Welcome to Chicago!

ABE

Abe is a shelter dog with a new home. My good friend, Fredi, adopted him not long ago and it's clear that Abe is already livin' the good life in Los Angeles. He was a little timid about my camera at first, but then we both ate some peanut butter and became buddies. Thanks for putting up with me, Abe-meister!

Loungin' Abe

Grinnin' Abe

Radio Flyin' Abe

Mysterious Abe

D-E-R-E-K Z-O-O-L-A-N-D-E-R

Moisture is the essence of wetness. And wetness is the essence of beauty.

Rubber Ducky you're the one! (squeak squeak) You make bath time lots of fun! (squeak squeak)

Splish Splash I was takin' a bath! Long about a Saturday night!

Pip & The Baby

Today I had the pleasure of meeting Pip & "The Baby" - obviously two awesome names and two awesome cats.  Pip loves playing the fun game of "I am going to hide under the bed until the end of time", but Pip's family prefers to play "Let's just put Pip in the bathtub (no water) so we can keep Pip from hiding under the bed". Everybody played both games and everybody won and also lost. "The Baby" likes to play the game called "Take my photo now because I am a star", so naturally she appears in more of the photographs.

"The Baby" showing off her toned arms and dainty claws

"The Baby" - close-up and personal

Pip camping out in the bathtub.

"The Baby" - nothing but class and elegance.

Baby Ewoks - Little, but Tough

A photo from my trip to the forest moon of Endor.

Baby Ewoks are little, but tough

Two P's in a Pod

Petey and Pawla - BFFFs (Best Furry Friends Forever) have a wonderful life, spoiled rotten by their BHFR (Best Human Friend Forever), who is the owner of a lovely little pet boutique in Winnetka, IL called Noah's Ark. Talk about JACKPOT for Petey and Pawla - unlimited access to treats, toys and beyond! Thanks for a fun a shoot, little P's!

Petey - the first P, but certainly not the last

Pawla, the 2nd P, says "cheeeese"

Pawla with a more natural smile this time

Two P's in a Pod

Party of Five - Wednesdays at 9pm only on Fox

The hit TV show has returned, this time starring a brand new cast.

Nikki is the innocent, but not so innocent sibling.

Gemma, the aspiring model, secretly loves drama and people-food.

Figgy's mellow attitude balances out the wilder silbings.

Big Brother Harper, the pack leader, keeps the family moving in the right direction.

Sofie - the independent woman taking on the world.

"Turner and..."

Hooch? NOPE. Chapo! The Dogue de Bordeaux or French Mastiff was once upon a time used to guard castles of European high-rollers, but their new tasks include rolling around in the park and slobbering on passersby. :) And also appearing in smash-hit 80's films alongside Tom Hanks.

A Big Smiler

Who wants an autograph?

Titus - Underwater Explorer

Titus, a 5-year old Chocolate Lab, loves to explore the world below the surface. 

Daisy and Jr - Let's play Chicken!

Daisy and Jr are two Jack Russell Terriers who love to play in the pool. Sharks & Minnows, Marco Polo, or how about a friendly game of CHICKEN! Who remembers that one? And who still plays it? When it comes to people, you generally have two teams of two. One person climbs on top of the other's shoulders and then the teams battle it out, trying to knock each other into the water. These two pups aren't quite tall enough to touch the bottom while standing, so they just like to chase a rubber chicken instead.

Big orange feet is one of the keys signs of a chicken.

Chicken? is that you?

This doesn't look like a chicken?

LIGHTNING! - Chicago Lightning Photography

Going off-topic of little friends for a moment. Here in Chicago, I've seen some of the most spectactular lighting in my life. It's been an amazing experience photographing this phenomenon.

Spider-web lightning on July 23rd, 2011

Striking the Trump Tower in Chicago

Rocco the Dancing Terrier - Chicago Dog Photography

If you've ever seen "Dancing with the Stars", then you've never seen Rocco, because he is in fact, a dog. But if there was a show called "Dancing with the Terriers", then my new friend Rocco would surely be a finalist! Classically trained, Rocco has mastered both the smooth and latin dances and has been perfecting a new jig called the "Terrier Twist" (photo below).

Rocco demonstrating the "Terrier Twist".

A dramatic photograph of the Terrier Twist

Future cover of Newsweek?

Resting up for a big performance

Macie and Kedzie - the Dynamic Duo

If you see two dogs in the Wicker Park area, chances are it could be Macie and Kedzie. Macie the Maltese, weighing in at a whopping 5 EL BEES, enjoys wandering back and forth on the couch in search of treats, being miniature, and trying to find dogs smaller than her to bully around. Kedzie the Bernese Mountain dog has figured out that Chicago doesn't offer a lot of mountainous terrain, but she does enjoy a good game of fetch and loves tackling snow drifts in the winter.

Macie - small but tough

Kedzie on the move

Dynamic Duo

Self-Portrait

The five-pounder