Mr Maverick traveled all the way down from Delaware for his photo shoot in Central Park. He was adopted by Geoff and Brandi at 7 weeks old, to help heal their broken hearts after loosing their precious Pug to old age, very recently. His constant happy personality and and wagging tail brings so much joy to them and everyone he meets.

He is a such a baby in so many ways, he loves to bite toes and get ups to typical puppy mischief. He even fell asleep during our portrait session and when he yawns, he shakes his head from side to side and whistles.  Soooooo CUTE!

The power of a portrait… Photography is a powerful tool. A good photo documents, explains, entices, incriminates, inspires, and even has the power to saves lives.

It’s not easy seeing these beautiful, innocent creatures caged in underfunded, understaffed conditions and knowing the stories of how they ended up here. Its physically hard and emotionally hard to be able to capture their true personalities in such a short amount of time, but it’s not about me or my emotions and challenges. It’s about giving each of these special dogs a better chance at finding loving homes. Its about doing what we can to make sure any kind of abuse or neglect will never EVER happen again. I am always blown away by a dogs capacity to love humans the way they do, even after they were not shown the same kindness. Its such an admirable trait they have to love unconditionally, all animals deserve to be protected and cared for.

Within 2 weeks of these images being posted on social media, 7 out the 12 were adopted and a few went to breed specific rescue shelters. So all the sad feeling and occasional tears are totally worth it.

Please consider donating what you can to a local rescue, that you are passionate about, whether its with time, talents, money or food, blankets, towels and beds.

” The kindness one does for one animal may not change the world,… but it WILL change the world of that one animal.”

This big beautiful boy is only 6 months and will probably end up weighing around 170 pounds. Newfoundlands were originally bred and used as working dog for fishermen in the Dominion of Newfoundland. Newfoundland dogs excel at water rescue / lifesaving because of their muscular build, thick double coat, webbed feet, and innate swimming abilities. So it’s no surprise that Charlie is obsessed with the water already. He loves going to the beach and even tries swimming in the comunal water bowl at the dog park.

This is the 4 th time I have photographed Gussy and his family. I first met him when he came to the studio in 2010, with is older Boston Terrier sister Penny and younger human brother Oli. He now also has a younger human sister called Maddy, who he loves just as madly. It has been a joy and privilege to capture the Lee family over the years. Sadly Penny has passed away, but seeing the kids grow and Gussy get grumpier and grayer, over the years, is what I love the most about being a portrait photographer.

Miss Pepper, only arrived 1 week ago and already LOVES her family fiercely. She chases the kids around the house, steals their toys and then snuggles up on the couch for cuddles when she tired. This little girl is the right amount of cheeky and sweet. ❤

Baby Boru is already 40 pounds at only 3 months. He comes from a long line of show dog champions and is the grandson of Guinness, a black Wolfhound the family owned before Boru. Guinness weighed 180 pounds fully grown. So we think Boru will get that big as well, if not bigger. Boru will most likely loose the dark hairs he has, including the funky Mohawk I am obsessed with. He is super affectionate and wanted to stop for cuddle breaks a few times during his shoot. Then fell on to a heap on the floor once he had had enough!

I can’t wait to see this beautiful boy grow into a campion next year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Fall is my favorite time of the year to do locations shoots in the city. Miss Penny and her owner Wendy also love spending time in Central Park this time of year. Every time Penny hears the word park and outside, she does her little head tilt. She loves to play with sticks and chase the squirrels. She even loves the Winter time in the park as she likes strolling and digging in the snow.

Wendy said, I had read about Jack Russell Terriers and found out that they are loyal and intelligent animals. I started to ask myself, what if I found the perfect name that matches that? When I went to pick up Penny at Pennsylvania, I didn’t have a name for her. That’s sad I know because I feel like that was the first thing I needed to have. Anyways, once I arrived at my destination, I remember her cute little wrinkly puppy face. I held her and loved the way she cuddled between my arms. Penny had this small brown circle on her head that looked like a penny but without Lincoln in it. But then I thought, Penny sounds like a nickname. It must be short for something. When I got home I looked online to define Penny. It had said it was short for Penelope. And there it was, her name. Penelope is a Greek name that defines a loyal, capable and intelligent person. And that is how she got her name. There is never a boring moment with Penny. She will brighten your day and make you smile or laugh. Penelope is a very loyal dog. She will follow you and be there in the good times or bad. She will cheer you up if she sees you crying. You will always have best friend walking beside you. ❤

I met this little bear when he was just 6 weeks old, he was still being bottle feed and relying on his human momma Julia, for everything. Due to very unfortunate reasons he could not stay with his dog momma and Julia had to care from him 24 – 7 in the beginning.

This is why they have such a strong bond, Julia says… Bear bear doesn’t like to be cuddled or touched too much, though he can’t stand it if I am out of his sight. He’s my own personal stalker. He also loves laying on top of my car when we are getting gas. (Most of his life has been spent driving from NYC to LA). As Barry and I have gotten to know each other I’ve concluded that he is a bit of a drama king. But in a very mellow dramatic way. I liken him to what I imagine a southern founding father with a propensity for complaining and good hygiene would be like. He likes to quietly disapprove and loved the finer things in life. He acts like he hates it when I groom him but when I stop he whines. He’s s very particular boy and I love that he is his own personality and that when its all said and done he will always come to my rescue and be there for me when it counts.

I think next photo session we do id like him to wear a powdered wig! ❤

Last night was The Doggy Olympics, hosted by Puppy Parties NYC. We gathered once again at the D Pet Chelsea Hotel in New York for a night of puppy dog fun and laughs.

We had team France that was mostly made up of French Bulldogs, team USA was very multicultural, as well as Germany and China. The events included a Marathon that took place on a treadmill, not all pups were that keen on this event. Mainly because it resembled a nail cutting bench. haha! There were also hurdles, balance beams and slides. Then the finale was the diving event and the teams choose one member each to represent the country. None of the athletes were really excited about this event either, except for Clover in team America. Even she needed a bit of a treat incentive to take the plunge!

Team France took out the overall event and the 3 individual winners were…..

1st place Teddy!

2nd place Bee Bee!

3rd place Clover!

Congratulations to the winners and all the pups for being sooo darn cute! ❤