LC is a drooler. I discovered this one afternoon on my front walkway.
Other than that, we don’t know much about the black little cat (LC, for now) who started showing up on our street back in September. Initially we thought the wandering feline was a missing house cat, whose owners had posted signs around our neighborhood. Their Moses was black and shy. So was our visitor. But this unknown kitty also had a serious problem with his right eye, which was clouded over.
For the first month or so, LC was real skittish, but hungry. We put out some food for him and he’d eat, but run away if we got too close. Then I got him to eat from my hand; eventually he let me pet him. He was way into the attention and that’s when I noticed the drooling.
Trapping LC, however, wasn’t so easy at first. Two different sized Havahart traps and a cat carrier we tried getting him into failed. Then the friendly folks at St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center (where I volunteer) suggested using a large dog crate (which they lent me).
On Black Friday, appropriately enough, we got LC in the dog crate. A trip to our local vet to have him checked out didn’t go so well − he climbed walls, bit a technician and was generally a crazed lunatic. Back in our spare bathroom, however, LC calmed down. We rubbed his head. He purred and rolled on his back for a chest scratch.
Yesterday, with the help of Cause 4 Paws, we had him neutered (sorry, buddy!) and vaccinated. Not sure whether we’re going to keep him (already have one semi-feral cat in our house) or try to get hm adopted, but at least he’s safe inside for now.
Any ideas for a name for him?
UPDATE, 12/4: Turns out, LC wanted to be back in the wild. We let him out of the cage and he took off without looking back, running like there was a pack of rabid dogs on his tail. Which, of course, he probably thought we were. Good luck, buddy!
LC hanging out in our bathroom. His right eye doesn't work.
LC looking for a belly rub
Coco and Odie: Add Terrier, Schnauzer and Some Basset Hound; Northern NJ Pet Photographer
Odie will do almost anything for treats. Dance around on two legs? Okay, treat please! Want me to leap off the back of the couch to chase down a flying pig? (Yep, they do fly in this house.) Umm, another treat please!
So what about the older and wiser Coco? What’s her go-to method for garnering snacks? She will lay on the couch and look cute. Treats please!
This past weekend, I headed over the spend time with Odie, Coco and their mom, the wonderful BeachMommy on Twitter. They got to munch on some very special Flying Fur treats while I captured some great images. No better way to work off some of that turkey (err, tofurky) and mashed potatoes.
Odie, waiting for a treat
Coco, off the couch for the time being
Odie showing off some of his moves
Coco, getting downright reflective
They're trying to get into the holiday spirit!
Here’s how it was supposed to work: Annie, the bigger of these two 11-month old sisters, would look out for Emma, the runt of the litter, as they made their way through this big world.
Here’s how it really works: Emma runs the show, gets the toys and does the exploring, while Annie falls in line.
On a crisp, cold morning this past weekend, I got to chase around these two furballs and even though they look almost identical, it soon became easy enough to tell them apart. Emma was all over the place; Annie was more cautious and mostly taking it all in from the sidelines.
Aside from freezing fingers, it was a fun session as the two wandered their way around a leaf-strewn play area. Alas, their little princess wading pool was packed away for the season, but it will be out again come springtime.
This is Emma, checking things out
This is Annie, with a white right shoulder
Of course, Emma is in the sun
And who has the ball? Emma
Another one of Emma
On most Sundays, you will not see a Yorkie in Spider-Man tights or a Weimaraner in a pink tutu wandering around Verona Park. (You might see some people wearing those outfits, but that’s an issue for another day.)
Today, however, was October Tails, a dog festival fund raiser for St. Barnabas Hospice, and that meant one thing — lots of dogs dressed up in costumes checking out other canines dressed up in costumes.
Flying Fur Pet Photography set up shop near a pathway intersection and got to see quite a parade of pooches in their finest Halloween regalia. There were dogs dressed as convicts in black and white stripes, cops (complete with handcuffs, radios and badges), bees, pumpkins, chefs, gladiators and an Italian greyhound with an Acme rocket strapped to its back.
This concept would never work with cats. It’s just too demeaning for them.
In any case, plenty of nice pups and humans stopped by Flying Fur’s table to chat, including Fritz the wolf hybrid, who was very calm but who also appeared to be eying some smaller dogs (actually, almost all of them were smaller) as potential snacks.
That certainly would have added some ghoulishness to the festivities.
Purebred dogs are fine. In fact, I’ve met many a wonderful canine with papers. (Although, do they have to give them such drawn out names, like Alexander Puffy Hair Dancing Bear?)
But there is something about mutts. No pretense. No putting on airs. And they’ve got short names, sometimes just one syllable. Names like Trey.
I had the pleasure of photographing a Trey on Friday, a friendly, likable mix of German Shepherd and Sharpei (check out the wrinkles on his head) who lives with two friendly and likable humans, who have no discernible wrinkles on their heads. We met at Barkfest, an event put on by St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in June and Trey spent the next two months waiting eagerly for his session. (At least that’s what he told me between scarfing down treats.)
Bonus points for anyone who can guess who Trey is named after.
Trey knows how to wait for treats.
And wait some more...
Dogs like Trey look cool wearing bandanas.
Trey going for the French sauve look.
He coulda been a contender. If he had been born a Greyhound.
Trey the dog with his cow momma toy.
When are they coming home, already!
You gotta love a cow named Larry.
Although I’m used to photographing slightly more house-friendly four-legged creatures, I branched out this past weekend when the family trekked to Watkins Glen, N.Y., to visit Farm Sanctuary.
For the uninitiated, Farm Sanctuary is a 175-acre shelter whose staff rescues and rehabs animals from factory farms, slaughterhouses and other places where you don’t want to be a goat or a pig. If you had never thought about vegetarianism before a tour of this place, you will afterward.
The animals there – cows, goats, pigs, sheep, rabbits, turkeys, chickens, ducks, geese and other critters – were generally quite social. There was the aforementioned Larry, saved from the meat grinder and Coco the goat who wanted to be in all my photos.
Then there was the sheep whose name I didn’t catch but who wandered up to me from behind in one of the barns and said, “Hi, will you be my friend?” Then s/he lightly leaned against my leg and stayed there while I did my best, “Who’s a good sheep?” routine.
All in all, it was a great visit and I haven’t had any meat since.
Larry getting some love at Farm Sanctuary
This little piggy did NOT go to market.
A little goat chillin'
A goat and our tour guide at Farm Sanctuary
The sheep who wanted to be friends
This hasn’t been a good year for old cats in my family. Back in February, my wife and I had to euthanize Judy, our 18-year-old cat who’d karate chopped half a dozen serious medical problems but couldn’t win when cancer challenged her to a rematch.
Then Friday, we had to euthanize Molly, our sweet tortoiseshell-calico mix who was 16 (or maybe 17, 18 – we never knew her actual age). Molly was a fighter, too, but not as brash as Judy. Her downfall, along with cancer, was the unfortunate reality that you can’t live without functioning kidneys.
Molly was easily identifiable, even if you were blind, because she had a raspy meow that sounded like she’d been a 2-pack-a-day smoker for 20 years. She liked to get on our bed at about 3 a.m., stand between our pillows and do her best Phyllis Diller impression before settling down to sleep.
Molly also had striking markings on her face, kind of the feline equivalent of what might happen if a woman from Sweden and a man from Turkmenistan were to produce a supermodel. Everyone from contractors who came to our house to strangers at the vet’s office would comment on how pretty she was.
But it was Molly’s willingness to take life’s knocks without protest that made her special. By the time she came to live with us about four years ago, Molly had had at least four different homes and I guess was glad at least someone wanted her, if only briefly.
I also think at least one of her prior homes was at a fire prevention department because when she was happy she’d often perform the drill every kid in America knows: stop, drop and roll. Molly would add her own twist to the routine and rub her face on the ground (which might also be appropriate for children depending on where the flames are).
A reflective moment
We knew she wasn’t doing well recently when she stopped coming up on our bed for her overnight performances. There were other signs as well and it wasn’t long before we were at the vet’s office for her final appointment, listening to her purr one last time.
As I sit at my desk writing this, I’m remembering how Molly liked to lay behind me on my chair, her paws pushing lightly against me until she had two-thirds of the seat and I had barely one cheek on it. It wasn’t the most comfortable position, but I’m sitting like that now, waiting to feel the paws.
Molly, in her favorite chair
Okay, so a little while ago I did a post on paws. Now it’s the nose’s turn. You might think cat and dog noses are all the same, at least for a particular breed. But there really are endless variations, from pink to black, big to small.
I like pet photos that are proboscis-focused. Not sure why the style hasn’t caught on with people portraits, although I know I wouldn’t want a picture focused solely on my honker.
Do I smell bacon?
Pink cat noses can change color with their mood.
Dogs don't need to worry about rhinoplasty.
Sunday was the latest installment of Barkfest, a festival to benefit St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in Madison, and it was great fun. Lots of dogs from Yorkies to Newfies and everything in between.
(Despite dire warnings of thunderstorms, high winds, hail and possible tornadoes (!) from the weather folks, the day ended up being brutally hot with some wind that nearly sent a vendor tent or two flying and also deposited frighteningly high levels of pollen directly into my eyes.)
This year the event was held at Upton Pyne Estates in Bernardsville and the first year Flying Fur Pet Photography put up a booth. I also did some volunteer work for the shelter , directing other vendors to spots where they could set up. (No, I didn’t put the other pet photographer there in a bad spot…it was first come, first serve.)
Lots of dogs and their parents stopped by to enter a drawing for a free pet photography session. And the winner is…..(stay tuned).
Flying Fur Pet Photography's little patch of Barkfest.
Forget about the life of Riley. How about the life of Penny, a 5-month-old Border Collie puppy?
Play all day, running around in a backyard bigger than some parks. Antagonize an older sibling by biting at her legs and coat. Herd bigger dogs at puppy kindergarten by staring them down. And the kicker? Penny almost didn’t have any life after a horse stepped on her in her prior owner’s barn, breaking her back and femur. That prior owner wasn’t interested in fixing her up, but an animal emergency hospital did and now she’s in puppy paradise with her current owners who adopted her.
Good news for Penny. As for Angel, their 9 1/2-year-old Sheltie? She’s still adjusting to the new scamp in her house.
Penny the puppy next to the fountain she likes drinking from.
Only 5 months old, but this dog knows how to smile for the camera.
Angel is trying to adapt to her new sister.
And even though she's a laid-back Sheltie, sometimes Penny the puppy just goes too far.
Why do dogs love pachysandra so much?
And running at puppy full speed?
This may be her sheep herding look.
Relaxing after an afternoon of puppy fun.
