Holly & Mickey, what an adorable pair!

I am so far behind with my blogging it is embarrassing! I am going to try to catch up with client photo sessions, along with other informative blogs.I photographed this pair of King Cavalier Spaniels last November at one of my favorite locations, Kubota Garden in Renton.Both Holly and Mickey are rescues and I'll include their stories along some photos that I didn't share on Facebook.Molly gives the camera a big Cavalier grin!Hey Mickey you're so fine!I love capturing the special bond between dogs and their people.

Here is what Holly's mom told me about Holly..."We took Holly in July from Cavalier Rescue USA after a breeder set her free. The regional director who fostered our Mickey knew that he needed a quiet female (he does best with female dogs) and suggested her to us as she knew we wanted two dogs (well I want like 7 but our lease only allows 2). She had a heart murmur as most Cavaliers do, but she was not medicated. The week we were to adopt her she started to cough. They took her to the vet and they could not conclude but felt that she was most likely heading into congestive heart failure.We took her to the cardiologist and it was confirmed that she was in CHF and needed to start medication immediately.But once you meet Holly you will understand why we could not say no, and so we take on the heart break and financial devastation of having a dog in congestive heart failure. She is a gentle and happy spirit. Her tail is almost always wagging and everything is exciting. Which is amazing considering she lived in a crate the first 8 years of her life. A little shy but in true Cavalier spirit she loves everyone she meets. And everyone that meets her loves her too.She is a daddy’s girl but when dad’s not around mom is suitable substitute. She enjoys little walks and is a total bird dog.”

 

Here is what Mickey's mom wrote me about this cutie pie..."Mickey came to us right after our beloved rescue cocker of 15 years passed of cancer. We knew we wanted another dog right away. We also knew that having gone through what we did with our cocker that we had the patience and ability to take in special needs dogs as well as send them over the bridge when the time was needed.We already knew we wanted older dogs since we are big contributors to Old Dog Haven. I had been searching before our cocker had passed and seen no dog that “spoke” to me. Then the day after our cocker crossed the rainbow bridge there Mickey popped up on Cavalier Rescue USA and ironically was being fostered by a friend of a friend. He looked so sad and his eyes looked soulful and they spoke to me. I knew that he was the one without even meeting him. He was a behavior issue (he isn’t big on men and has resource guarding issues when in our house) as well as having quite a few medical issues (Syringomyelia, CMOS, deaf, his C1 overrides his C2 causing spinal compression).We met him and became smitten. They discovered his medical issues while in rescue, which he had his since he was a pup but was never really treated for it. So his whole life he was in pain and it explained a lot about his expression as the photos for the website were taken before he went on medication.Mickey is a grump most of the time and we like to call him Mr. Fredrickson (from the movie UP). He has a kind heart but has just had so much bad that he would just rather not deal. He is a 100% a mama’s boy. His owner (who passed) was a single older woman. He was then put in a shelter and adopted but due to him being in pain and everyone trying to touch him since he looks like a teddy bear he was not accepting of that and barked and lunged at people that went to touch him. So back to the shelter. Cavalier Rescue USA said that they would take him but they said too late already adopted out but they passed on the info to the new adopters. They called within two days to come get him for the same reasons the first people brought him back. In foster care he went to a family in Oregon but he needed to not be with kids since they kept trying to touch him. Finally, he made it to his foster home where they realized he was hurting. It was a long road for him and not a good one.The only time he’s not a grump is if he is eating, walking (loves walks), or laying on his mama. "

Our session was so much fun!  Their mom is Peabody Johanson, a well known foo blogger.  Check out her website Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.  Her recipes looks DELICIOUS!

Cheers!

Julie