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Yesterday I had a fabulous day. It was a day truly dedicated to dog photography.
First up, I went down to check out the Surf Dog Competition at Imperial Beach. What a blast! Expect some photos to make it onto A Dog A Day later this week.
In the afternoon I had the distinct pleasure of photographing my good friend Rebecca with her husband and new Puggle puppy Max. I can’t wait to show you some of these photos. This is one photogenic family.
Today is going to be spent doing some quality relaxing.
I’m going to go off on a little tangent today. So far I’ve been bringing mostly nice doggie pictures and happy stories to this blog. Today, I feel the need to remind myself and as many other people as I can that there are so many dogs in this world who do not live happy lives.
“Of the hundreds of millions of dogs and cats in the world, around 80% are thought to be strays. They are threatened by starvation, disease, traffic accidents, aggression from other animals, and abuse at the hands of humans. ” WSPA
Never was this more evident to me than in India. Of course they were great subjects for photography, but the reality is that every one of the dogs I photographed was living a tough existence. There is so much work that needs to be done to control the stray dog population and it seems to me that the most humane way to deal with overpopulation is the ABC (Animal Birth Control) method. The Visakha SPCA in Andhra Pradesh is doing some great work in this area.
And while the problem is very evident in India, unwanted and dumped dogs occur far too much in Western society as well. There are fantastic organisations working throughout the world to save dogs from death row every day, but we need to educate people that it is not ok to buy from puppy mills and it is not ok to buy from pet shops who are often supplied from puppy mills.
I personally feel like I should be doing more and I have some thoughts about how I can do that. I intend to do something with all my dog photos from India, and it will be something for good. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think I should do to raise awareness (and money) to put to this very important cause.
This shot was taken in Varanasi, India. In addition to the Taj Mahal, the ghats at Varanasi were one of the main things I wanted to see on my trip to India. There are number of temples on the bank of the Ganga river in Varanasi. It is believed that people are cleansed physically, mentally and spiritually at Ganga Ghats. For thousands of years people have been thronging these Ghats to offer their morning prayers to the rising sun. They come here to bathe in the holy waters. Brightly clothed ladies come here to wash their clothes and Hindus aspire to be cremated and scattered in the Ganges when they die. As you can imagine, there is a vast and interesting array of activities occuring in Varanasi, and my head was swimming with all the activity after a couple of days there.
I love that dogs are able to relax and have a sleep anywhere, at anytime. I think we have so much to learn. In fact, yesterday we were so tired by around 2pm from the early morning and 100 degree (35C) heat that we decided to find a nice park in Napa with some lovely shade trees, and have a short sleep. I really think we should make the afternoon siesta a regular part of our lives.
Here’s a list of other things we can learn from dogs.
FEATURED
I’m excited to say that A Dog A Day has been featured on Dog Art Today. It’s such a fabulous collection of dog art, so be sure to head on over there and read the write up on A Dog A Day.
TAGGED
I’ve also been tagged by the talented Angela Higgins, a lifestyle photographer from Western Australia who takes darn good doggy photos too! I must say I was excited to be tagged (it’s my first time), but this topic is a tough one for me.
Here are the rules!
1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 5 songs you are embarrassed to admit to others you like and tell why.
3. Tag 5 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.
Ok…given that I have a memory like a fish when it comes to music, it was hard for me to answer this one. But here goes….
Radiohead - Creep. I loved this as a teenager. I always thought of myself as a little bit weird (or unique) when I was younger, so I really identified with this song. When I was in high school I was friends with most people, but I felt like no-one really knew me. I hung out with the ‘cool’ kids, but while they were buying their designer clothes I bought all my clothes from the Op Shop and prided myself on finding funky clothes for 20c. It was liberating to be able to be so happy with my individuality. Too bad I quickly conformed to society in my late teens/early 20’s.
Toca’s Miracle - Fragma. I LOVE 90’s dance music. I can’t get enough of it and when home alone for a night I’ll grab a glass (or two) of red wine and dance around the house as if I were in a nightclub. I will NEVER get over 90’s dance music.
Don’t Leave Me Alone - Extreme. The first time I had my heart broken at the age of 16 I played this song over and over and over on my walkman while I wallowed in self pity. I played the tape (remember those days?) so much that it was pretty well ruined by the time I was over him. I don’t think you’ve lived until you’ve experienced teenage heart-break.
Rockefella Skank - Fatboy Slim. I have a secret obsession with High School or College romantic comedies. I watch them all, but usually have to wait until Brendan is away becuase he refuses to watch them with me. In the movie ‘She’s All That’ they dance to Rockefella Skank at the prom. I want to learn the moves. It’s very, very sad.
My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion. Ok, so I watched Titanic a million or so times and I cried all the way through it. At the time I really wished my life was as romantic as that movie.
Now I have to tag 5 others:
Rebecca Olsen
Jamie Pflughoeft
Matt Allen
Grace Chon
Emilee Fuss
This puppy very nearly made it into my backpack when I was visiting India last year. If I thought I could smuggle her onto the plane and then make it through Australian customs without getting caught by the sniffer dogs, I would have done it.
The last time I re-entered Australia I got pulled up by the Labrador for smelling like my dog, Zoe. The entire plane-load of people behind me had to wait patiently while the lab circled me a few times and had a really good sniff. Then while waiting for my luggage to come off the carousel, the customs beagle discovered a whiff of three day old banana in my carry-on, so I had another long discussion with customs officials. As you can imagine, bringing a flea infested (although very cute) puppy from India was impossible.
However, for the couple of days I was in Orchha I kept an eye out for this little one. This photo was taken at the top of the town’s holy temple and it’s almost as if the puppy is presiding over her subjects. I have another great shot of this one with a holy cow, which I’m sure will make it onto the blog one of these days.
