Minor Moments Pawtography. A Maine Dog Photographer

 Back in the summer of 2019, during the 4th of July weekend, I walked around Pemaquid Point Campground with my camera asking folks if I could photograph their dogs...after all...I had found my calling and it was time I shared my talents with the world...or at least with the folks staying at the campground that weekend...

I walked around the small campground with my friend Kathy who was carrying a pen and notebook to write down the dogs name and age, what breed they were, owners name and any other info the owners wanted to share about their furry love.  

When I returned home the usual everyday life responsibilities took priority...and my personal project took a ride in the back seat.  I've continued to document dogs at campgrounds and local events, I've continued to share my contact info...but unfortunately I've also continued to push off my personal projects...they are no longer in the back seat but honestly more like stuffed into the trunk.  I never forget about them completely but I must admit that if they are out of my sight they are usually out of my mind too.

A couple of months ago someone reached out to me via my business facebook page Minor Moments Photography.  This was the message:  "you took pictures of our dog at pemaquid point campground during July 4th week in 2019 I believe .. I never saw them posted and we lost Mosi this passed summer and I was just wondering if you ever did anything with those pictures?"

Well...there you have it. This note written to me two and a half years later was exactly what I needed to receive to know that I had made an impression. Yes, I should have know...and in actuality I do know...because I wouldn't have ventured out in the first place and asked total strangers to photograph their dogs if I didn't think there'd come a day that they would cherish the moments I captured for them...

So, a flicker of light is now a brightly shining beacon of hope that I will proceed on my personal dog photo projects that are so near and dear to my heart. I have photographed many dogs over the years and I'm prioritizing them to share with you in the coming months. I also have a brand new project, that has been in the front of my brain for the past ten years to honor the dogs that have crossed over the rainbow bridge, and I'm diving into that project also and hope to share with you all very soon!

Yes I did reach out to Mosi's "person" to share my condolences and my photos, and I thanked her for reminding me to share the photos of the very special fur babies in our lives that I have captured over the past few years. So without any further delay, here are the Pemaquid Point campground dogs I photographed over fourth of July in 2019. All info was documented in July of 2019, and by all means if you recognize someone's dog here please share it with them!!

Brud: 14 wks old, a lab mix from Booth Bay Rescue, proud parents Frank & Jeff

Cowboy:  boxer 6.5 yrs old and weighing in at 100 lbs

Sam Juan (Sammy):  One and a half year old terrier mix.  Depending on how accurate my notes are, both Cowboy and Sammy are from Waterville ME and live with Steve & Lauren.

Currituck:  12 years old.  This is my dear friend Kathy's dog, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 14.  I camped many times with Curri over the years and watched her grow up, this one is very personal, and the reason I do what I do.

Mosi (Tatupu):  9 yrs old, black lab/sheep dog, proud parents Michele & Steve, and the inspiration behind this post.  Thank you Michele for reaching out to me so I could share these photos with you and with all the other folks whos loves I photographed that weekend.

Reo:  3.5 year old Shepherd above and Dixie, 8.5 years old Australian Shepard below.  Both from Sanford ME my notes are a bit jumbled...proud parents Christine & John...  :)

If I have photographed your dog and you want more info from me or you wish to share some info with me please do not hesitate to reach out to me.  I love photographing dogs and will continue to do so...and am going to work toward sharing with you all much more too!  The following photograph was taken at the lighthouse, in the parking lot at sunrise, July 7th, 2019.  :) no further info available.

Birthday Puppies. A Maine Photographer in Puppy Love

Chloe's first litter, the one I called the Purple litter turned ONE years old on Sunday!
This is what they looked like last year, right before they went home with their forever families :)

Here is the link if you are interested in reading about the day these beauties went home.
Purple Litter goes Home

In the photo above, Beckett is on the left, Jaxson in the middle, and Violet is on the right.
I am so happy to share an update on each of these beautiful pups!
First, here are some things these siblings all have in common.
They are all very affectionate, love everyone they meet, and love other animals and want to play all day long. Oh my goodness...what is not too love!
Sweet.  That word describes all three pups.
Funny thing, they almost all hate to ride in the car...just like their Mama Chloe...so...no chance these dogs will be in any of those cute Subaru commercials.
Thank you to the families of Beckett and Jaxson for sharing this info about their pups and some photos too :)
Now, a little bit of individualism

Let's start with Beckett

 Beckett lives with her human family in New York.  I think it's safe to say she truly tried the patience of this young family in the beginning with at least two visits to the emergency vet for ingesting something not meant for consumption.  Today Beckett weighs 58 lbs and still has a fondness for consuming legos...but like most Snowypaw goldens, it is next to impossible to stay mad at her for more than a few hours.

Beckett is very affectionate, gives kisses and hugs on request, loves playing with other dogs, especially ones bigger than her, loves her neighborhood walks, playing fetch, swimming, her human boy Liam, and sitting on the stairs. (yes, that's a bit weird)

 Shari, Beckett's human Mom helped celebrate Beckett's birthday with a special birthday crown, "pupcakes" and a new dog bone.  ( Shari...judge you? ...please remember who you are talking with here...)  Happy Happy first birthday Beckett!!

Next we have Jaxson
Big boy Jaxson, who currently weighs 90 lbs.  This first photo is when he went home for the first time.  Happy Happy boy!

Big boy Jaxson loves being outdoors, doesn't mind the cold, and loves the snow.  Jaxson is one lucky dog who gets to accompany his human to work on a daily basis.  Jaxson loves meeting new people, especially new people who have kids or best yet dogs :)  He loves his toy stuffies, especially squeekers.  Jaxson is very quiet, he rarely barks, and even for a big guy appears to be afraid of the dark.  Jaxson has been spotted with his Mother Chloe's unique smile, but only on a few occasions.  Time will tell if he possesses this unique trait that both his Mom Chloe and his Grandmother Macy display.

and, rounding up the siblings is my very own Violet.

Violet weighs 55 lbs.  She has her human Dad completely wrapped, whipped, and enamored.  She does test our patience on a weekly basis, but she is forgiven within minutes.  She loves to chew sticks, but sticks do not like her...and usually after a stick chewing incident there is a loose bowel incident...needless to say we have a Bissell Spotbot that has become our favorite handy appliance.  Keep her away from sticks you might say?  We try that.  Even with 4 feet of snow, which she loves by the way, Violet still manages to fetch herself a stick...she either pulls one off our hurtin apple tree or steals one from the wood pile.  She's also been known to go lookin for her favorite cat treats too.

 
Violet was nicknamed "Chicken" out of her litter.  Whenever I went to visit the three of them Beckett was the spunky social one, Jaxson was the confident sweet one, and Violet would hide behind the other two like a little scaredy cat.  That changed the moment we brought her home.  She doesn't appear to be afraid of the normal things other dogs are afraid of...and she absolutely loves the vacuum...which is a good thing...because I use it often.  Unlike Jaxson, Violet is quite vocal.  We never picked up on her silent cues when she needed to go out...so...God bless her, she has learned to ask.  She has a pretty urgent sounding whine that she emits when she needs to go.  Unfortunately, we humans cannot yet decipher the difference between the urgency whine I-gatta-go with the urgency whine of I-wanna-go-outside-and-play...

 another unique to Violet trait...she drools.  It's pretty gross.  Someone's gonna fall.  Enough said.

Violet loves the snow.  She loves to play in the snow.  She loves to lay in the snow.
Guess she's a Snowypaw :)
Lastly, Violet loves her canine Mama, and I am just about one of the luckiest humans on the planet to get to have them both in my life.
Again.  Feeling Grateful :)

This was from the first day home when she was reunited with her Mama Chloe
(boy doesn't that grass look nice!)

A German Shepard Named Loki. A Maine Photographer

A few weeks back I photographed an 11 month old German Shepard named Loki.  Loki was one of my lucky Dog Wash Etc portrait winners...but I'm the lucky one!!  You see Loki was having a play date with one of his cousins, a 3 year old doberman named Maverick.  Out of all the dog portraits I have taken, I had not yet photographed a German Shepard or a doberman.  Both of these dogs were incredibly mellow, well behaved and gorgeous!

Today I contacted Loki's owner to let her know I would be putting photos up on my blog.  She shared some pretty scary info on an illness Loki has been battling.  She felt because I photograph a lot of dogs I could spread the word.  I'm so happy to do this for her, and for all of us dog owners, and I'm so grateful Loki is ok.  Here is what she told me.
" Loki is recovering from a very serious bout of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Erlichiosis, both caused by tick bites.   It was quite scary and we thought we might lose him but they finally figured out what it was, thank God.  He's lost a bit of weight so it's good you got pictures when you did. I know you deal with a lot of dogs and their owners, so people need to realize that while it's important to vaccinate your dog against Lyme disease, they don't prevent this type.  According to our Vet, the coast of Maine is is a hot spot for this type of tick and lots of dogs are getting sick.  I'm just passing this info along to everyone."

So let's keep a good eye on our pets health and thank you to Loki's owner for sharing.  Now, enjoy these photos of beautiful Loki and Maverick.

Coco the Dog. A Maine Photographer

I feel it's been awhile since I posted, and yet I have so much to say...well...there isn't a good enough reason for me to explain without making excuses...so here's  to a new strategy...post once a week...every Wednesday perhaps?...yes...I will try.

The photos I'm sharing with you today are of Coco.  I took them about a month ago, so of course I can't remember lots of the details...including that I can't remember if he was a she...but I'm pretty sure Coco is a he...I'm pretty sure he's 13 years old...and I'm pretty sure he's a chocolate lab...but I'm going to send this link to his Mom Julie, of Portland, and she will let me know if I need to update these simple but important things I've just stated.

I do remember my conversation with Julie over the phone, when I told her that she was the monthly dog portrait winner from Minor Moments Photography and the Dog Wash Etc and Julie told me that her daughter would be going into labor at any moment and that she was expecting her first grandchild...but that her dog was 13 years old and so I told her I was available RIGHT NOW because her daughter was not yet in labor, but that her dog was 13 and really, there was no time to waste!  Julie agreed to meet me at Jewel Falls just a few hours later so we could do a small photo shoot with Coco.

We met at Julie's house, and I got to meet her two cats also...yah yah....you guessed it...I don't remember their names either...but I think her kids call the black and white one cow?...Julie forgive me...and feel free to set me straight!  (heck...I'm assuming we have a baby name by now too...and I won't even venture a guess on name...or boy or girl for that matter...)  Yes, I'm pathetic when it comes to remembering certain things, but I truly do make up for it in the images I capture.  I am certain to capture a memory that will last your lifetime and beyond...because that is how important the "Coco's"and "Cows" of our lives are...it's their sweet faces and their eyes that we will look back and remember fondly how they filled our busy lives with love and joy.

 ...and lastly, I'm dedicating this blog post to one of my new friends, who already has become a dear friend...yet I didn't even know she had a dog...and she is currently dealing with the anguish of having had to say goodbye forever to her dog.  I'm not in the habit of asking my new friends if they have a dog and to please let me photograph their dog for them...so I'm putting it out there again...to all of you who have pets, please know that my business and pleasure is to capture forever moments for you.  I am honored...and blessed.  I was searching through my own blog, so I could share with my friend the words I put down when I grieved the death of my own beloved Tasha three years ago.  Tasha was the first and only dog I ever had.  In researching this morning I realized that I never did complete a blog post on losing Tasha.  I never shared some of the many photos I have of her...and I never eulogize her in my blog.  The pain was great, but I had also lost my big sister just three weeks earlier and I remember feeling torn of how to express my grief differently over a sibling and a pet.  Three and a half years later I have discovered that I must not have been able to do it, so I chose not too.  I believe I am ready now.  I have unfinished business to attend to, and it appears blogging material for next Wednesday...I hope you will visit again soon!

The photos below are of Coco and the cats...who shall for now remain nameless.

Homer

Hello Homer!  One adorable...fast growing four month old Newfoundland puppy!  When Homer's owner Meredith contacted me, we were in a two week stretch of rainy weather, and her biggest concern was the rate of speed that Homer was growing at.  Not really a big deal, unless you are me...and you really prefer photographing your subjects outside...but the weather forecast couldn't commit to a clear, non rainy day...so, I scheduled an indoor photo shoot, with the promise of meeting up again with Homer on the first available clear weather permitting day of the future.  We did catch a brake however, and were able to move our scheduled photo shoot outdoors during a break in the rain.  Our big bonus...bright green grass...and one beautiful Newfoundland puppy just itching to play outdoors!!
Click on the Homer title above to view a slide show of the photo shoot.