Coming soon, I promise!

The last two weeks have been tough for our family and extended family. Late last night, we said good bye to our dear Bromley.

Adopted 12 years ago in Vermont, Bromley has been by my side through life in Vermont, Boston and Cape Cod. His stunning good looks turned heads everywhere he went, but his sweet personality also melted every single heart he came across. I’d like to say he was the best dog ever on earth, but I also enjoy that we all feel that way about our own dogs. They’re so easy to love.

Twelve days ago, Bromley was rushed into surgery for a ruptured tumor on his spleen. The spleen was removed, but more cancerous tumors were found on his liver. At his age and having lost so much blood, our only option was to close him back up and help him heal. At this point, Bromley had been the most healthiest of dogs, and we felt whacked with too sudden of a change in fate.

Bromley received so much love and care for the next week. We are incredibly grateful to be bestest friends with our vets, and to have their support, love and knowledge through every stage. The entire staff at Hyannis Animal Hospital was amazing with us and with Bromley. We were also so amazed to have one of the staff offer her Mastiff as our double blood donor during Bromley’s surgery – we’ll forever be grateful, and I hope you soon meet her and her dogs here on my site.

Bromley’s transfusion started to wear off a week later, and his body wasn’t catching up in regenerating its own blood. He grew tired and weak, but with encouraging test results, we decided to give his body more time by tracking down another matching blood donor – thanks so much to my parents and their golden retriever, Rigley!

We had the most amazing weekend. It was Bromley’s 12th birthday and he was full of spunk. We laid in the grass and sunshine for hours each day – Bromley’s favorite passtime. I sniffed his fur, and sniffed and sniffed and sniffed. He enjoyed steak and chicken, and even a little birthday ice cream. We lounged with neighbors who stopped for a belly rub, and we captured some family photos of ourselves with my parents’ help. We soaked up your wonderful comments via Facebook and Twitter. Our young pup, Brewer, remained delicate and loving with his big brother.

And then it was Monday. Bromley was quickly giving out again, and we knew that we wouldn’t push any further. Our goal was to keep him comfortable and let him go in peace. A few more friends surrounded us, our vets even bringing a bottle of Llama-brand wine – Bromley’s most common nickname (short for the elongated “Bramallama”)! We toasted, shared memories and let this incredible chapter in our lives come to a close.

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I wanted to share a couple of things. One, you shouldn’t be afraid to read books about dogs because of the eventual subject of death. I credit Merle’s Door and The Art of Racing in the Rain as HUGELY helpful in getting me through this time. If you want to borrow one of my copies, just let me know.

Two, the next time you go in for a vet appointment, please consider asking about your local blood donor list. I assumed this kind of thing was taken care of by big city hospitals, but when it comes down to a dog on the operating table, your vet often relies on a local list to find a matching blood donor. Bromley’s second transfusion – thankfully not an emergency – came a day late because we could not find a match and the emergency facilities were out of stock. This is a free test if you are willing to be a donor.

Thank you so much for your love, energy and thoughts. It has been wonderful to be part of such a supportive dog-loving community at a time like this.

XO

So I didn’t quite make it to an as-promised LIFE post this past Friday, but I wanted to make sure I came back to share a little more with you!

I’ve been knitting! I picked up the hobby again over Thanksgiving when stumbling upon the most adorable yarn store near my in-laws’ home in Dorset, Vermont. It was one of the few times we’ve arrived in town after dark, yet early enough to see the warm lights glowing through the shop windows of Manchester Center. I quickly spotted the inviting shelves full of color and thought how in the world have I not seen that place before? I grabbed both moms and returned to the scene immediately. Thus spawned a four-day binge of all the women in the family chatting over our handiwork.

Dare I say we returned to the store two more times that weekend, and I found the alpaca in these photos at the local West Craft Fair. It’s the 2009 blend of ten alpacas who reside at the Bromley View Inn (Sound familiar? Bromley is a mountain, and also the name of my husky mix).

Like many of my peers, I first learned to knit and crochet from my grandmother. I’ve never finished much, because just as I get things moving it always seems to turn spring again and the yarn gets tossed aside. A hat or two, some easy scarves, pieces to afghans that never had a vision anyway. I have a small book – more of a pamphlet really – that I pull out each time I’m motivated to re-learn the craft. After knitting three skeins of yellow into a long, miscellaneously-stitched scarf over the holidays, however, I think I can actually say that I “get” knitting. I understand how what I do affects the outcome of my patterns. My hands move smoothly, consistently, and I may not actually forget how to do it this time (eek, I hope!).

The coolest thing about having something to do with your hands is the fact that you’re always accomplishing something. Even on New Years Day, when a bunch of us sat around in our jammies watching parades and football all day, I still came out with almost this entire scarf! This has been good for me, because I’m not very good at sitting still (understatement). Also, as I’m working, there is an incredible flow of thought buzzing in my head. With nothing to think about, there is so much to think about!

Here are some of the sites I have found or that have been recommended to me in the last month:

• Ravelry.com (the most incredible community, started here in MA! click through to find me)
• KnittingHelp.com (quick and easy videos you can watch as many times as you need! also based in MA)
• VogueKnitting.com (such clear photos in the Knitting 101 section!)

“The brown one” is feeling quite dehydrated these days, after eating a dead creature in the woods and landing himself a few days at the animal hospital. He hopped the fence one night last week (who are we kidding, he hopped the fence like five times last week), and came back smelling so bad. Within a day or two, he was lethargic and having a lot of stomach issues.

Dogs eat dead things all the time, but this time Brewer ended up with three full days and two overnights of tests and IV hydration at the hospital. The vets think it may have been a rabbit, because I guess they ferment into buggy grossness. Once able to keep things down, he came home with oral antibiotics, which it turns out, he’s allergic to. As in HUGE swelling ears and feet, along with bumps all over – on a dog who already has huge ears and feet. Finally he’s back to normal this morning, though feeling a bit “rubbery” and dehydrated still when you pet him.

This photo is from a better day, on our Thanksgiving morning hike in Vermont!

By the way, they’re both brown.

We had visitors in town from Vermont this past weekend, including brand new rescue pup, Otis! Rich & Sarah come from a very boxer-friendly family, and we were so excited to hear that Toro’s new little brother was coming through an adoption. Otis is about 10-months old and full of love. Eventually, I’m sure he’ll also gain some spacial awareness ;-)

Thankfully, the rain stopped at the exact moment that Otis stopped (it was a short moment), and I had my camera ready. The image on the right was given a color boost, just having fun with those wrinkles.

Another special guest showed up and thankfully is here to stay! My new Canon 70-200 f/2.8 IS camera lens! These shots are some of my first zoomy goodness from across the table at a familiar Brewer pose.

The lens was officially brought in for the huge task of photographing Border Collies at the New England Border Collie Rescue group’s Dog Dayz of Summer event in Stephentown, NY on August 1st – all breeds are welcome, so maybe I’ll see some of you there?! If you’ve never met one, Border Collies are highly active, and this event will call on frisbee, agility, dock-diving, herding skills and more!

Twist my arm – this new lens was necessary!

Today’s the day! Today marks one year since I registered the name Cold Nose Photo and launched this site! Wow!

Actually, it seems like it has been so much longer. In truth, it’s kind of been a bit shorter.

How did the idea of pet photography come about? I have loved dogs my entire life, but something I experienced as a small child left me feeling like I would never have the capacity to work with abused and neglected animals. I often struggled with the thought that there had to be something I could do. Last May, something clicked. I adore photography – always have. I grew up with SLR cameras always at the ready in our home, and I had just recently bought my first digital SLR camera. What if I could do something to combine the two?

First comes love, then comes Google. I didn’t know there was a growing community of pet photographers out there, but I quickly found them! And not just in the United States. How exciting to see that this was a viable career, and that there were other people to talk to and share with!

So, I launched this website one year ago. I dabbled with a few ideas here and there, but generally kicked back and figured out who I wanted to be and what I thought this new opportunity would bring. I photographed dogs of friends and family when I could, and continued to help out the American Lab Rescue group in Connecticut. I certainly had my camera with me everywhere to photograph life, but I had (and still have) a day-job that I was really enjoying as well.

As the new year rang in, however, so did my heightened goals for Cold Nose Photo. I started to set my sights on the Cape Cod spring. All the people who would soon arrive for the summer months, and all the dogs that would be dashing around in the salt and sand. I upped my digital processing skills and revamped my website. I launched the Facebook fan page, and I switched to using my Cold Nose Photo Twitter account as my primary account. I even kicked off a special photo project at Dogs of Cape Cod.

I finally ordered business cards, and lots of them.

And here we are. Momentum is building, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. I work longer and harder at this than any other job I’ve had, because it’s not just a job. It’s little ol’ me doing what I love, working with animals that I love, and meeting people who love many of the same things I love. Most importantly, I spend up to eight hours a month rolling around with dogs at the shelter, giving them a good belly rubbing and ball tossing in an otherwise drab day. The photos are posted to Petfinder, and I almost never see the same dogs when I return two weeks later. That’s a great thing.

I identify myself as a pet photographer, and I smile every single day about it.

Many exciting opportunities are coming up for the Cold Nose Photo community of pets and people, and I’m so excited that you’re joining me in the adventure!

I wish I had more access to cats, in order to build up my portfolio there. Particularly after spending some time with a rescue, Mia, and our friends’ cat Cucamunga over the past week… because WOW cats sure sit much more still than a dog!!

Cucamunga, from Moretown, Vermont, was feeling quite modelesque in the afternoon sunlight.

I mean really… are these not the eyes Tyra Banks is always talking about or what?

Oh sultry kitty… are you saying I don’t even have to squeak a toy, make funny noises or tempt you with a treat? I just have to click this little shutter-button-thingy?

While walking Church Street in Burlington, Vermont this weekend, I noticed this little three-month old pit bull playing with his twin [human] sisters. He was still so puppy-soft, and he was so excited to see everyone and everything in his path!

WARNING: this is how this “vicious” breed greets a stranger!

One of the best organizations I’ve seen in support of this historic breed is Love is the Pits.

And for a great Sports Illustrated slideshow on what Michael Vick’s dogs are up to now, definitely check out The Healing Touch!

Thanks for the licks, Kilgore!

Not to be outdone, we also got our PUPPY FIX on this weekend! Our friends just rescued an 8-week old bull/rat terrier mix they named Lady Elaine Fairchild. She seems to be going by the name “Ellie” for now.

I think she is quite possibly the smallest dog I have ever met.

She was a brave little girl, mixing with the four big dogs for a couple of hours one evening. We tried to keep her on a higher couch level, for the most part, but she did sneak down for a munch on Brewer’s tail.

We were up in Vermont this past weekend for an annual event at my husband’s fraternity. Lucky for us, our friends Mike & Peg came up to join us from Connecticut, and they brought their pup named Summit!

Have you ever heard a better dog name than that?!

Summit was a rescue, and it was obvious from when they first brought her home several years ago that she was mistreated on the streets. It still takes her some time to be able to relax around men, but her eyes are so warm and loving when she lets her guard down.

We had a great day walking around downtown Burlington one day, on the pedestrian-only Church Street. The sun was coming and going, but it was enough to get everyone out with their dogs!