Maggie and Snuggles

Maggie and Snuggles, originally uploaded by phaird.

Maggie and Snuggles are two new additions to the park on Sundays. Blue's parents adopted these two pups about a month ago. It wasn't really a planned adoption, it was more of lots of good things coming together. After Jake died, they had no plan on getting any new dogs. Blue is an older dog that doesn't take well to puppies so the idea of a new dog wasn't on the agenda right now.

The original owner of the dogs had 5 and was bringing them by the park to see if anyone was interested in buying them. No one ever did and he couldn't keep them. After some back and forth, Maggie and Snuggles came to stay for a week at Blue's house, with the cats and the goats. When the guy came back, Blue's parents said that they this was their new home and they were staying.

There was a few new members at the park on this busy sunny Sunday morning. I hope to see more each weekend.

Richard Olsenius book and video

When I first thought of this idea of doing a book project about dog parks, Many people pointed me Richard Olsenius as someone I had too look at. His book, Dog Stories, has become a major influence on my process and one of the main reasons I'm even perusing this process. Of all the books out about animals, pets or dogs, his is the one that closest reflects what I want my book aspires to.

While spending some down time this morning, I did some dog research and came across him again. Because of the cryptic way his site is created, it's not easy to find so I wanted to point out his site where he is promoting his book and Video. His background as a National Geographic photographer gives him some clout where he can create such a wonderful project. I think his book was created early in the boom of the pet industry and shows that very real bond between human and dogs. The stories are quite engaging and I will go back to his book when I want to read inspiring stories where these connection are very real.

With the holidays coming, for the people who's pets are part of their family, they would really enjoy this book or video. Check it out.

Loofah with St. Bernhard

Loofah with St. Bernhard, originally uploaded by phaird.

The time changed today but that doesn't mean anything to Toby and my boys. They don't agree that we should get an extra hour of sleep today. So be it. I got to get up early and went to the park early.

It was a cold fall day and I Geoffrey didn't really enjoy himself too much. Until there is snow to play with, I don't think he's going to want to come to the park anymore. That's okay. I'm just glad that Toby has been enjoying himself and being nice to all the other dogs.

I did get to meet Loofah, the little white dog on the table. If I'm right, he and the Saint Bernhard are both 7 months old. They each wanted to play but not the same way. Loofah wanted the ball and the Saint Bernhard wanted to run. They were very cute though at the bench by the water.

There has always been a big group of Aussies running around but there seems to be a growing number of St. Bernhards around the park the past few months. I was just looking through my old photos and even have pictures of some of them as puppies.

Next week I hope to photograph the two new Aussie's that just joined Jakes family. Geoffrey really wanted to leave so we had to go just as they were arriving today. They are SO CUTE. Keep checking in to see more pics.

Chaos at the park

Chaos at the park, originally uploaded by phaird.

This is Chaos. She was running around trying to keep up with all the other dogs this past weekend at the dog park. Super friendly and happy dog but I didn’t get to spend much time at the park this week.

We were at the park for maybe 10 minutes when I turn around to see Toby RUNNING for dear life back out to the parking lot. A couple seconds later, I could hear that the gun club, not far from the park was busy. Toby hates that sound and I found him under a car in the parking lot.

It was really nice and my son was still out in the park so I quickly put toby in the car and went back to the park. I though, well, at least my son will run around and play with the dogs. He was really animated about the dogs this week. But when I got back to him, he didn’t want to stay either. So even though the weather was nice, the dogs were playing and the lighting was good, I was out voted and I left the park.

Too bad because this was the first time I think I’ve talked with Chaos’s owner and got to take some pictures. There is always next week.

Chow with fall colors

Chow with fall colors, originally uploaded by phaird.

What a beautiful weekend at the park. The leaves around the pond are changing and the colors were perfect. This is such a short time of the year but I really enjoy it because I can still get out and enjoy the weather without worrying about my toes to freeze or over heating.

It was a busy day for puppies. One guy brought his 4 bernese mountain dogs puppies to the park. They were so cute but the crazy thing was they were carbon copies of each other. I couldn't tell the difference between 3 of them and the 4th difference was the minor coloring on the tip of his tail.

Now that I'm bringing my son, I've got to keep moving and keep him entertained. He's only 3 so everything is still about him and he doesn't understand that we come to the park for our dog Toby. He enjoys himself well enough and I really like socializing him around all the different dogs. He's learning there are so many different kids of dogs will all kinds of personalities. I think the next goal is to get him a soccer ball and let me run around the park with that. That should make for some more great photos of him and hopefully the dogs.

Fun for all at the park

Ron's love of kids and dogs, originally uploaded by phaird.

It was a beautiful fall day at the park this weekend. The sun was bright and the air was crisp. Geoffrey made a new friend this weekend with Ron who let Geoffrey play with him. Ron ended up getting more love from the dogs as well. When you get down the dogs level you are fair game for a kiss. He was a great sport though and Geoffrey is looking forward to next week.

Each week I've been seeing more and more new people. It's nice that a word of mouth event continues to grow. I hope more people continue to come.

Early day at the park.

weimaraner standing by, originally uploaded by phaird.

It was a crazy weekend. On Saturday, I photographed at a Rottweiler fundraiser in Hopkinton State Park. It was a lot of fun. The dogs were all so well behaved and the people were all as nice as can be. I had a great time and took some great photos.

Sunday, a friend from out of town was visiting so I took the boys (Both sons and Toby) to the park to get their energy out. I went early so there wasn't a lot of dogs there yet. I did get to see Sky and Jet but there were others as well I didn't know. My boys needed to get their energy out and are always a lot of fun but can be a handful. I barely had time to take any pictures but I liked this one of the weimaraner. There was a puppy vizsla that just loved Geoffrey and Isaac. He would run back and forth between the boys to give them kisses. Geoffrey got knocked down but they had fun.