Jennie Sloan Pet Photography

New Blog

2009-06-19T10:41:00.004-04:00

Okay everyone I finally have the new blog up and running!

http://jenniesloan.com/speak

I absolutely love the new look of it, and it is MUCH more efficient. Make sure you check it out and either this weekend or Monday I plan on doing a new contest for something TOTALLY fab.

Update your readers and bookmarks!

Goodbye blogspot!

Jennie

Piper-- Bernese Mountain Dog

2009-06-15T22:16:00.004-04:00

I first met Piper at the Animal Welfare Association's Paws and Feet Walk. Piper ended up being one of the winners, and I was so excited to set up our session. Sue (her mommy) and I both wanted to find a location where Piper would be comfortable. You see, as many women will tell you, we suffer for our beauty and Piper gets hot pretty easy. We settled on a gorgeous farm location in Cherry Hill, NJ and after being rained out once finally got together.

Piper was such a refreshing and lovely dog. I enjoyed her session so much. She always seems happy and has that fantastic doggy smile on her face. Piper also has Lyme's disease. Sue isn't going to let that get Piper down though, and is even taking her to water therapy once a week. You would never know it with this sweet girl.

Not that she told me or anything, but I'm pretty sure Piper's philosophy on life would be- Don't get the tough things in life get you down; just keep smiling. And hope for some yummy hot dogs.

Thanks for having me Sue and Piper! I hope you like your photos!

Super model on the bridge.

Showing off those beautiful brown eyes

Working it in the Herb Garden.

Look at that inquisitve look! This was the only photo I have of her without that big smile, but doesn't she look so darn cute?

We interrupt your regularly scheduled program...

2009-06-15T19:54:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to share this video that my BFF showed me when she used to do color guard and she went to the finals. Whether she was 17 and tossin that crazy flag in the air or a mommy and a wife, tell me she isn't one hot Mama!

So if you tweek this video on to 1:40 you'll see her! WOOOOO STEPH!

Quick message

2009-06-12T10:05:00.004-04:00

I just wanted to post a quick message to say that my e-mail is down and I am working to resolve the issues right now. From my knowledge it has been down for about the last 72 hours, but the issue should be fixed by the end of the day.

I will be moving my e-mail to a new address sometime within the next month or so (and am kicking myself for not doing it sooner) so keep an eye out for news on that.

Pics of Piper, the gorgeous Bermese Mountain Dog up soon!

it's been crazy

2009-06-08T14:10:00.004-04:00

Whiskers

remodeling the bedroom, sick, broken finger, sleeping on couches/floors. Interesting is one of the words that comes to mind.

Hey Jennie, did you make Carl paint the bedroom two colors last week, and then walk in and scream that you don't like it?

Yes, yes I did. But I definitely helped paint.

Did you also go to the paint store and pick out two completely different colors? On the opposite end of the color spectrum?

Yes, I did that also.

Did you receive less than three hours of sleep each night, due to your spoiled rotten dog waking up every hour because he wasn't touching someone?

Yes. But that isn't my fault.

Do you seriously not have curtains on your bedroom windows?

No. I don't. And here's a better one, for four days I didn't have blinds up either.

Do you have a cat sneezing on your newly painted walls/duvet cover?

Yes. That isn't normal?

Did you break the tip of your finger opening a window?

The window had it out for me.

I have to ask, does anyone else find that they can never complete any type of project without being completely covered in the materials? Whether I'm cooking (hah like that happens often), painting, etc, I always seem to find myself dripping in paint or with cheese down my shirt. When I went to college I would leave the darkroom with brown stains covering my clothes from the fix. My professor asked if I was bathing in it. Last week I was covered in five (yes, because I couldn't pick a color, remember?) different paint colors. I had a streak stretching from my ankle to my upper thigh. And I have no idea how it got there.

I was very, very cranky last week. Let me preface this story by saying I didn't want Bear sleeping in the bed. Yes, I know, it's unbelievable that the crazy dog lady didn't want the dog in the bed. Now, before you judge me and say "ugggh, she totally doesn't like dogs as much as she says," I will continue on with: my dog is giant. Carl is 6'2. Our bed is not giant. So as the dog has grown larger, the space in the bed has become nonexistent. Usually after I accidentally elbow Carl in the face because the dog owns 3/4 of the bed I hiss "SEEE? I TOLD you that he was going to take up the whole bed and that we ALL would be uncomfortable." That really isn't the major problem. We've learned to deal with that.

The major problem now is Bear typically can't sleep without touching someone. Even if his paw is brushing slightly against your foot, he's happy. So due to this anxiety, I was up with him, trying to calm the pacing. Every Hour. I did this in between unsuccessful attempts at waking Carl up (by doing things such as chucking my phone at the base of his couch) because if I WAS UP then damn it he should be too. And once I gave up on that I was off the uncomfortable couch onto the more uncomfortable floor. So the dog could be touching me. And that's when I woke Carl up and told him that if the bed wasn't back where it belonged by the end of business day I'd beat him with a paint roller.

The bedroom is almost done. I'm going to go buy new curtain rods today. I have no headboard but I think I'm going to make a mounted fabric one, so that could be a while. The shelving system Carl and Noah (thnx for letting me borrow your Husband again Steph.... who can fix it? NOAH CAN!) are building should be finished tomm.... and then I'll post pictures.

Unless I walk in the room and scream "ohmigosh I HATE IT."

Because then I'll never take another picture. Because Carl will kill me.

Some more Oni!

2009-06-01T14:58:00.004-04:00

Sorry I've been a little absent. We have 1,900,654.32 things going on right now, including trying to find the perfect paint color. Ugh. Thank you so much to those of you who have left me comments, also. They truly brighten my day.

But to brighten up everyone's day, here's some more of the super happy ONI!

The above is Oni playing with her CUZ ball that every doggie gets during a shoot.

Also, if everyone could shoot some thoughts and prayers out, we are taking Llana to the vet today. She's having a bit of a back slide and is coughing again.

Fingers crossed.

I needed more Teddy in my life

2009-05-28T13:20:00.004-04:00

Some more Teddy pics from our session on Saturday. Here's a secret I'll share with you, but brace yourself: Teddy is ELEVEN! His mom actually took out his birth certificate because she knew I wouldn't believe her. He is so spunky and has such a spark about him no one ever thinks he is as old as he is.

Here's to many more years with your wonderful Mommy and Daddy. Thank you for having me!

Sneak Peak:

2009-05-26T21:28:00.002-04:00

Meet Oni, the happiest, bounciest red Labradoode I've ever met. Her Mommy and Daddy Sarah and Terry mentioned that they were thinking about getting another Labradoodle puppy. And that's when I melted into a puddle on the ground.

Teddy sneak peak:

2009-05-24T14:57:00.003-04:00

Teddy, the Harley riding Pomeranian :)

Look for a longer post soon!

Hump Day

2009-05-20T10:19:00.006-04:00

Happy Wednesday.

This has been a weird week. There's no other way I can describe it. For instance I'm pretty sure Llana is in heat. And before you toss me in the street and run me over for not having her spayed, remember she's sick! She's immune deficient! We haven't yet determined when it will be safe to do surgery on her, if ever. In the meantime I get to deal with incessant meowing. Like all evening, and at 2:30am, and all morning. Did I mention it was incessant? I've tried letting her in the room, out of the room, giving her food again, giving her new water, cleaning the litter box. Nothing. Nada. Except meoooooow. meeoooow. mowww?

Yesterday I went home downright miserable, and then felt bad for dragging Carl into my misery with me. What can I say, I feel awful that we struggle, and it's mostly because of me. Starting your own business isn't easy. I could have made it okay on both of us and just gone to school to be a brain surgeon or something. You know, easy money. Just kidddding. Some days, after I tell him I'm going to spend some more money on something glorious like a canvas or a lens, I know he wants to just toss his hands in the air and sacrifice himself to The Federal Reserve or The Credit Reporting Agencies. We capitlize those in our house. Their big players.

Also huge huge huge shout out to my Mommy (yes I still call her Mommy) for all of her help on Saturday. Those of you who were there may have noticed her hanging out with me and going above and beyond to make sure my table was noticed, that people entered the drawing, and that people know HOW PROUD SHE IS of me. Thank you Mommy. I couldn't do any of this without you. Not only did she come with me on Saturday, but she also helped me get multiple frames for basically like a dollar from yard sales, and then painted them black. That's because she's awesome. I also receive text messages from her frequently with ideas and questions such as: why don't you have this this and this picture in your gallery on the new website? You need to put it on there. Now. And she reads my blog. Almost every day.

Also, for those of you that received my e-mail after the walk, apparently there was a misspelling in the subject line. What I don't understand is that it's spelled correctly in my outbox. Go figure. It makes me get a pain in my lower back to think of people going jeez, she doesn't have spell check? I promise it was spelled correctly, but just in case: announcement! LOL.
edited to add: For those of you who don't think typos are hereditary, check out the comments under this post from Mommy. Love you Ma;)

I have some sessions I'm really looking forward to in the next few weeks. I know its going to be a great time :)

Anyway, here is Bear saying HAPPY HUMP DAY
and letting you know he has a huge head.

I know when Carl and his mom read that their going to beat me with a pillowcase full of bars of soap. BRING IT!

little does she know, I'm only testing her to see if she reads my blog. Like when I call her cat the Devil (which, seriously, she is).

ROXANNE!

2009-05-18T11:33:00.006-04:00

Hello meet ROXANNE! She is currently up for adoption at the wonderful Animal Welfare Association, and if you think you would be a good match for her and vice versa, you should go adopt her, because she's pretty cool.

ROXANNE! is a two year old Sheppard mix. Let's get the rough stuff out of the way: ROXANNE! prefers to be an only pet. She also should be a home without young children, as she can be mouthy on occasion. Now lets get the stuff that I am downright impressed with out of the way: ROXANNE! can pretty much clear a six foot fence from a standstill. The first time I saw it I was like "nuhhhh uh." So to say the least she needs to be leashed when outside. She is VERY smart and loves to learn. Stuffed toys are her favorite, along with chew bones. ROXANNE! is also drop dead gorgeous. Her favorite volunteer is working very very hard to help her be the best she can be. Can you come and pick up where he leaves off?

Why am I obnoxious and saying ROXANNE! ? Because anyone who even knows The Police song will sing that to her, or at least say her name in that manner. Unfortunatly without uploading a soundbyte of me singing (trust me, your better off) this is as close as I can get. And if your crazy like me, you'll continue on with:

ROXANNE!

You don't have to put on the red light

I loved you since I knew you

I wouldn't talk down to you

I have to tell you just how I feel

I won't share you with another boy

And I'm lucky if I make it that far cause I really don't know the lyrics that well.

Come meet ROXANNE! She's as special as her song :D Plus check out that gorgeous smile.

The WALK!

2009-05-16T16:56:00.009-04:00

As I blogged before I attended the Paws and Feet Walk for the Animal Welfare Association today as a vendor. Big shout out to Sue the AWA's awesome director for the awesome photo above!

I HAD SUCH A WONDERFUL TIME!

Overall, I was pretty happy with how my table came out, although I did want another easel in the back, but we wont get into why that didn't happen. Besides the picture frames frequently blowing over (at one point they were in a completely different arrangement), everything was great. I also had my easels in completely different areas at one point, but apparently the wind was much stronger in that exact spot? I have no idea.

I saw SO many amazing dogs, and their owners of course. I'm sure the sounds of squeals followed by "ohmigosharen'tyoujustthecutestEVER?!" was heard from my table so many times the vendors next to me wanted earplugs but I just can't help myself.

It made me think, WOW I want another dog. And then I came home, and there was a CHAIR completely turned over in the living room, along with another massacre in the family room. I looked at that big, wagging tail of death and said, "Maybe just one is enough for a while."

I really enjoyed being around so many people who loved animals as much as I do, and holding conversations about our fur babies.

Excuse the picture heavy post, but I couldn't choose between these ones. At least I didn't upload the whole album, right? If any of the pet owners below are interested in a print, shoot me an e-mail at jenniesloan@comcast.net

And lastly I would like to announce the winners of the free photo session. I was originally only doing one session but I couldn't help myself and decided to do two. Drum roll please.......
Susan S and Sarah M! I'll be shooting you both e-mails a little later!!!

Update: Piper, the Burmese Mountain Dog below is one of the winners! Congratulations Piper and Sue!

Llana update

2009-05-13T10:28:00.005-04:00

This is Llana's new favorite place. Someone had moved a chair in the hallway and threw a blanket on it, and she's now claimed it as HER spot. I moved the blanket the other day and she was all you must be kidding. Sorry kiddo. A wonderful friend of my mom's Jane gave us a window perch that her cat wasn't using anymore and she's starting to really love it. Her chunky butt was not fitting on that windowsill alone anymore.

She's officially off of antibiotics. She had three rounds of them and we determined we should give her a break, even though she is still sneezing. Honestly I can't tell if she's doing better, worse, or what. All of that wonderful snot seemed a little bloodier the other day, but I think I was just stressing. She isn't the type of cat that I can really tell if she's having a good day or bad day. With Bear I can tell when he doesn't feel good because he isn't doing the typical BOUNCING OFF OF THE WALLS or shoving something he shouldn't have in the first place in my lap to throw. With her she lays around most of the time anyway so what am I supposed to base this off of? Carl asked if we could take her temperature the other day, and I was like yeah sure but your putting the thermometer in. To say the least once I explained where it went he was past that idea.

We've also started this awesome routine of spraying a saline mixture down her nose. It's great. Really. If anyone wants to come over and experience this miracle themselves, shoot me an e-mail. It would be hard to give this responsibility to anyone else, but I guess I could let go for one round. I tried explaining to her, after I basically tackled her so I could prevent her escape, that this was to HELP HER and she should be HAPPY that someone will take the time to shove this bottle in her face and spray stuff down her nose. No dice.

I mean heck she only gets Interferon and Lysine everyday, what's a little saline four or five times a day?

If we could get some good thoughts sent her way that would be great. I need to get her over this last hurtle. The saline is hopefully going to help heal the burst blood vessels in her nasal cavity. We also have a cool air humidifier going to help keep it moist in there. Her eye looked goopy yesterday too so I'm praying she isn't getting a situation in her eye too. She has enough situations.
Some days I stare at them and think, if I worry about you two this much, how am I ever going to have a human baby?

There is SOME progress. She can actually meow now, versus when she would just open her mouth and nothing would come out. She is using this to her advantage to let me know it's time for breakfast at 5:00AM.

We also worked on fixing Bear's food issue some more. He wasn't doing any better on the dry food with the canned wet food mixed in. Thank you so much everyone who offered suggestions, it was a huge help. On a suggestion from someone I know who works at PetCo, we started mixing in half of a pouch of the Nutro with his food. Did it make a difference? A little. This morning I made the mistake of moving from where I was sitting on the bed to the closet to put laundry away, and that was it, he wasn't eating anymore. He HAD TO KNOW what I was doing. I could be getting ready to do something much more fun than eating. I told him he could always hang clothes and I'll go eat.

I think our next move is to try the fish kibble recipe that Nutro offers. I mean he loves to eat the cat food. And the cat treats. And THE CATNIP!?!?!

5-11-09

2009-05-11T07:31:00.002-04:00

Bear would like everyone to have a beautiful Monday.

Lagging

2009-05-07T13:43:00.003-04:00

So sorry for being absent. I've been super busy and then as Murphy's law would have it starting having migraines again. They are usually very well controlled with a daily medication and injections for when I have the onset of one, but nothing was helping this past week. It doesn't help that its been raining for about a week now. Hopefully that's over with (the migraine part at least), and I'm pushing forward.

Some news: My new website is up and running! It is still at http://www.jenniesloan.com/ but, in my opinion, looks a lot better! I'm still doing some tweaking, and working on getting the galleries where I want them but overall I'm pretty happy with it. I actually did it myself using a flash template. If you'd like a link to the service I used please shoot me an e-mail.

I will have a table at the AWA Paws and Feet Walk on May 16th at Cooper River Park. Come out and walk for the animals and come see me! I will be doing a drawing for a free photo session and some free prints so be sure to toss your name in!

I am now on Twitter! Lets be buddies and "tweet" about our day to day activities. As before I am still on Myspace.

Llana is doing very well. We are learning all of the rewards, trials, and tribulations that go along with owning an immune deficient cat. She is still improving, and it is like night and day from when I first brought her home. No more coughing, and only sneezing. She likes to aim it right at my pillows or walls so there has been a lot of laundry to do.

I had my own little breakdown this morning. It has been tough having the four of us basically living in that little room (by four I mean Carl, Bear, Llana and myself. And for those of you that are just joining Llana is a cat, not a third person. It gets cramped, and I am constantly battling the smells of the litter box and cat food. Our whole schedule recently changed, as in an effort to get Bear to start eating more regularly we started mixing wet food in with his dry.

I own a weird dog. Bear does not care about eating. There have been many times where I've said "You know Bear there are dogs in Africa who don't have anything to eat." It didn't get through to him though. He does not eat unless someone is with him, and has on occasion gone over a day without touching his food because someone wasn't near the food bowl long enough. In an effort to get him to eat we had dog food bowls on both levels of the house. He also went on a hunger strike the last time we tried to change his food. This lead to the ringworm epidemic in the house, because his immune system wasn't on the same level as usual when I brought home Satan Kitty aka Sophie who was the original Typhoid Mary.

Anyway to make this long story even longer, I woke up to start my morning feeding, which includes mixing Lysine into the grosses smelling cat food EVER, mixing dog food into kibble, microwaving all of it which makes the aroma even better, and wrestling with Llana to give her her Clavamox and Interferon. She thanked me by sneezing in my face. I used to stay in bed for another hour and half after Carl left in the morning before this all started and decided to drag my butt back into bed to try to catch another hour. No dice, because ALL of these animals eat in our bedroom all I heard was chewing, and all I smelled was animal food. I was exhausted from being sick yesterday and decided to have my own little fit, but just as the first tear rolled (I know, uncharacteristically dramatic for me) Bear jumped in bed to spoon with me and Llana curled up on the other side to purr. My lovable lab turned to look into my eyes and breathed a deep sigh right in my face. It was like he was saying "Stop whining buddy, your animals are (for the most part) healthy and happy and so are you." Everything was wonderful and completely worth it.

To make this complete, here is a picture of my very happy Bear Bear standing in his pool. This was before the rain started. Last week.

4-29-09

2009-04-29T11:44:00.002-04:00

You know, Bear is a really handsome guy. I wonder if our children will be this gorgeous?

Llana Update

2009-04-28T18:25:00.003-04:00

First thing: I FINALLY GOT MY NEW SITE UP AND RUNNING! I'm so excited. It's not *exactly* how I want it, but it looks a heck of alot better! Sweet!

Llana is doing soooo much better. Still sneezing, but it's not as bloody, and she is barely coughing now. I talked to Dr. Stull who generously donates some of his time to the AWA and he agrees with me ten fold that as long as Llana is happy and not extremely symptomatic that we are doing the right thing. We are going to retest her for FeLV, as he confirmed that the test is often not reliable. He is also going to bring in some Interferon for us to give her. This medication has shown alot of promise with helping cats with her diseases.

Here is a picture of her in her new favorite place, which is right next to (if not on top of) the air conditioning vent. I couldn't figure out why it was so incredibly hot in our room the other day, and don't you know there she is, right on top of it. What a goof. Anyway, keep your fingers crossed for when we retest her. Getting rid of that FeLV diagnosis would really improve her prognosis.

Ms Mocha, more than a bag of bones.

2009-04-26T00:03:00.005-04:00

This is Mocha. She is less than one year old and looks like this. I don't know her whole story because she came from another shelter, but I do know that she is like this because someone didn't take proper care of her. I wanted to take her home and cuddle with her. She deserves it. Those eyes only show half of how sweet she is.

This beautiful girl is up for adoption at the Animal Welfare Associaton

Dose of Cuteness

2009-04-25T23:39:00.004-04:00

Poochie is currently up for adoption at the Animal Welfare Association. This cutie shouldn't last long!!

What...

2009-04-25T16:57:00.003-04:00

A wonderful day I'm having.... (Happy Birthday to me... Happy Birthday to me.....)

Weird

2009-04-23T12:34:00.002-04:00

So this is just another example of how weird things always happen to me:

I'm at my 9-5 when someone starts screaming. Now I work at a bank so someone screaming is never a good thing. I go running and what do I find? A baby bunny. They thought it was a rat.

He was just chillin on the top of the stairs looking at us like "What?" So I chased him down, which took forever, and called the Wildlife Rehabilitator in my area.

She thought I was out of my mind. She goes "So wait... you found a baby bunny. In a bank?"

I hope your in much greener pastures than this asphalt wonderland little guy.

Hi my name is Bear.

2009-04-23T07:57:00.003-04:00

And I'm a cat food addict.

Llana update

2009-04-21T21:07:00.009-04:00

Well, Llana seems to be steadily improving. Knock on wood, she didn't cough at all yesterday. There was some coughing last night, but maybe it's just like humans; it settles in your chest at night and makes it harder. She seems to be sneezing alot (really chunky ones that she likes to aim right at my walls and entertainment center; aren't you glad I shared?) but I think that it's a sign she's getting all of that gunk out of her. She's brighter and more active, and seems happy. She seems to be a very lazy girl, and has no interest in toys, but maybe that will change once she's feeling 100 percent.

One of her other favorite activities besides laying on the bed is laying on the windowsill (are you seeing a trend here?). I think I'm going to have to invest on one of those windowsill perches so she isn't hanging off. I also would looove to get one of these to hang on my closet door. How cool is this? We've also invested in some claw covers (great humane alternative to declawing, http://www.softpaws.com/) because she's smacked Bear around a few times, and I'm terrified she'll catch him in the eye. Looks like she has tips doesn't it? She has clear on right now, because that's all they had for the store brand, but I'm going to get her red for next time. I put them on my mom in law's cat Sophie (Satan Kitty, take that Rena!) and man was that an experience. She howled and tried to take a chunk out of me the whole time like I was killing her. She's forgotten they're there already, and the furniture is much safer. Llana just sat there and looked at me.
She's a BIG kneader. She loves to lay on our chests and knead right below our neck. The only problem is she doesn't tend to know it's bed time. I woke up at about 3:00am the other night to her kneading the back of my head.

I've run across a few sites that suggest high protein diets are helpful to FIV+ cats and have put her on a high protein food from Blue Buffalo (awesome holistic food) called the Wilderness formula. She eats it like a champ and I think I'm seeing an improvement since we switched. The wet food stiiiiinks though, but it is literally straight up seafood in a can so no wonder. Gag. I looked into a raw diet for all of 10 minutes before I realized my vegetarian self was never going to make it through that process.

Here's a picture of her in her favorite spot. Not a bad improvement from last week.

Tumbles

2009-04-21T20:49:00.004-04:00

We took Bear swimming for the first time this year. To say the least he was thrilled. There is a beautiful park about 20 minutes from us called Freedom Park (in Medford for any of you Jersey people looking for a sweet DP). It has huge open fields for the dogs to run in and a creek that you can walk along and the dogs can swim in. Bear takes advantage of the creek more than anything else. What usually happens is as soon as we let him off leash at the entrance he takes off running to the path through the woods. We'll get halfway across the field when we hear a huge splash. He then will come running back out, soaking wet, so he can show us how proud he is of himself. We don't typically know anyone at this park because we aren't there often, but did see one Dog Mommy who had six (I'm pretty sure it was six) dogs, two of which were three legged. One of her super cuties is pictured above. Carl smirked at me and said "yeah, that's us in five years." At least he knows there's nothing he can do about it right?

Now I was sitting on a ledge that overlooks the creek for the first 20 or so minutes. Then I got this really bright idea that I needed to go down to the creek bank so I could get a better view. I was kind of out of it (at least that's my excuse) and decided that instead of getting up and walking down the really easy incline about 15 feet away, I was going to climb down the steep incline in front of me. Now, the *wet* dogs run up and down this constantly so it's really muddy + I'm in flip flops. I think you know where this is going.

This is how Carl retells this story: All I heard was EEEP and turned to see you sliding down in the mud right towards the water. Your right arm was stretched to the max above your head so your camera wasn't in the line of fire. (this story is usually followed by alot of laughter, and has been told multiple times to embarrass me.)

Do you think the jerk came over to help me? No, he couldn't stop laughing long enough. I just stood in the creek for the rest of the time we were there. I figured I was wet anyway.

The picture below, of the border collie in almost parallel position, is the incline I slid down. Cute, huh? Let me tell you what, I didn't care what happened, my camera was NOT hitting that mud/water.

Well I'm off to bed. Actually to lay in bed, because it is entirely too hot in our room for any normal human being to sleep. Ugh. Look for an update on Llana tomorrow. No worries, it's good news.

Final kitten update

2009-04-18T09:37:00.005-04:00

It is with a heavy heart that I have to post an update like this. Yesterday afternoon, after a two day battle, we let the kittens go. We tried everything... I was bottle feeding them every three hours, they were on medication, had their own heating pad. It was when the wonderful Dr. Corbett at the AWA said we could keep trying fluids with them that I knew we had to let them go. I heard the kittens the first time they received fluids, and couldn't continually put them through that with the odds stacked against them in such a way.

What I hadn't posted was that Llana (mama cat) had posted positive for both FIV and FeLV. Both are immune deficiency disorders that are transmitted from cat to cat. We found this out on Tuesday when she seemed to be getting worse. I knew in my gut something was wrong, but didn't expect such a blow. Odds are that the kittens had at least one, if not both of these diseases. Most kittens do not survive that diagnosis.

We are working on getting Mama cat well now. Getting her over this URI is going to be the major step on the ladder. Adult cats with these diagnosis can often live a fairly normal life for at least a couple of years. Dr. Corbett has allowed me to keep working with her despite the diagnosis. Most shelters would have euthanized on spot. As long as we can get her over her current URI we are going to keep her. Carl and I agree that she deserves a chance, a life in a home, love, and comfort. You can read more about FIV here and FeLV here.

I try to keep my strong points of view about animal care and rescue, etc, from this blog but please. Learn from what I have just seen. While this was not my unspayed, free roaming cat, it was heartbreak just the same. Spay/Neuter your animal. Keep your cats inside. Llana was someone's pet once, she had to be. Feral cats as a rule do not sit in your lap, purr, and rub their face against yours. My thoughts are she was tossed outside like trash, but any cat that roams outside, whether it be at night only or not, is much more susceptible to these diseases. All it takes is one bad fight and your cat could be exposed. Spay and neuter, because there are enough animals dying every day. It also makes for a much healthier pet. I just spoke to a woman who's 9 year old dog succumbed to pyometra, which is a serious infection of the uterus. She said the one thing she regrets most is never spaying her beloved pet. If she had, it never would have happened, but she always thought about breeding her, and then once she got too old to breed, she just never got around to it.

I also wanted to share the one thing that got me through the day yesterday. I often cruise other blogs throughout the day and happened across the most inspiring one I have ever seen. She is 22 years old and has brick by brick built a children's home for children in Nepal. She currently has 20+ children with her in Kopila Valley Children's Home, and has helped 60+ more children get enrolled in school. The home she has for these beautiful children is amazing, but hasn't come without a struggle. Read her blog here. I spent every spare minute I had yesterday (at work, hah) reading as much as I could. On one of her pages she says "We are all truly limitless."

I'm going to relax with my furbabies and try to eventually get out in the weather. It looks beautiful out.

Kitten update..

2009-04-15T06:35:00.002-04:00

Small kitten update.... I don't really want to get into it right now. It's been a long day and night, but these guys and mom could really use your thoughts/prayers. Thanks so much.

Yin and Yang

2009-04-14T07:45:00.004-04:00

Kitty update

2009-04-13T19:08:00.004-04:00

Thought I'd toss up a quick kitten update.

The wee ones are still doing good. The little orange one's (Mario) eyes are almost open. The black one (Luigi) is still working on it. They both seem to be breathing well and still have full tummies every time I check them so I think their doing well.

Mama cat doesn't seem any better today. I hate to seem negative but she seems worse. She's having a really rough time of it breathing. We've tried taking her in the shower with the steam going, but it wasn't any help. Her coughing fits have us really nervous. We're going to give her one more day on the Clavamox and if she isn't doing any better she's going back to see Dr. Corbett. Cross your fingers for her, I don't want to move her and the kittens when she isn't feeling good. She is such a love bug and great mommy.

Okay, here they are...

2009-04-12T11:07:00.006-04:00

Meet Mommy Llana, Mario, and Luigi. I don't know if the kittens names are sticking for sure haha. They were Humptey and Dumptey but Carl changed them already.

I am fostering them through my shelter, the Animal Welfare Association. For any of those who have some spare room, please look into fostering through your local organization. You are truly saving a life.

Anyway, Mommy is a beautiful and unbelievably sweet torti (believe it or not Cass), and the two babies are both boys, about two-three weeks old. They are working on opening their eyes. I'll be keeping updated pictures on the blog so everyone can keep up with their progress. If everyone could cross your fingers or say a prayer, please do so for this little family. Llana has a rough upper respiratory infection that we are treating. The kittens so far are okay, and we have them on Clavamox to keep it that way.

Please excuse the quality of the pictures. I have them in a nice quiet area, but it is majorly lacking in light.

Happy Easter,

No picture today...

2009-04-11T16:27:00.003-04:00

but check back tomorrow. I have something that is beyond cute to share. It's worth the extra clicks!

My only hint is there is no picture today because I wanted to let them settle in.

What?

2009-04-10T14:43:00.002-04:00

What? Do I have something on my face?

Dog Park

2009-04-10T10:30:00.003-04:00

Here are some pictures from yesterday's Dog Park. Little Max the Pug had me trying to convince Carl that we need one. And how CUTE is Gizmo, the little grey poodle mix? I just love the joy on the little terrier mix's face below. Isn't dog park great?

If any of these dog's owners are interested in prints or looking at any additional photos I have, shoot me an e-mail at jenniesloan@comcast.net

Spring Day

2009-04-09T21:22:00.008-04:00

Today we had lots of fun. Fun included:

Car Rides
Dog Park
Fetch
Stick chewing

Not fun:

Choking

I don't think he actually couldn't breath, but still scary. I tried to dislodge the culprit while having a heart attack. Now the dog thinks I'm nuts, the fiance (he doesn't get a name. gr) says I overreact, and an acquaintance tried to tell me dogs can't choke. What?

By the way, this blog exemplifies reason 532 of why I shouldn't have two legged children.

These are my people....

2009-04-09T13:10:00.004-04:00

I try to keep my posts strictly animal related but I can't resist sharing these. Meet my best friend Steph and my nephew Noah Jr. We finally had time to do a photo session with her newest baby Neko. Aren't they all beautiful? You can't ask for much better than a beautiful Spring evening, your best friend, and your amazing nephew.

Poppet

2009-04-08T15:27:00.003-04:00

We had a Mommy and Bear Bear day. I noticed after our walk that he has alot of dandruff. I thought the battle with dry skin was over. Feel free to send any ideas over.

Tuesday hello

2009-04-07T20:15:00.006-04:00

I spent the morning at the shelter. There was tons of fun to be had... puppies pooping, kitties biting (yay benadryl), and doing a cat series for the front lobby...

I was off to do the dog pictures and took this guy out. How stinkin' cute is he?! Meet Marco!

Something I wanted to mention about my "cat series." For those photogs out there that volunteer at their local shelter, here's an idea if you'd like to share. A few months ago I was brainstorming on how to get the long timers out. For us that is mostly cats. I sat down and made a list of the cats that had been there the longest (which for some was over one year). Then I begged for help from someone at the shelter, and after a very long day had beautiful images of all of those cats. At the time what I did was shoot each cat under studio lighting with a black background. I then printed each in an 8X10 and hung them in our lobby. Within a week, the two cats that had been there longest, Chloe (--who had been with us for fourteen months) and Sprite a beautiful girl who had cerebellar hypoplasia (I believe she was about fourteen months also) both went home. Within roughly a month, every cat on the wall (except one) went home. I

I decided to nix the studio lighting this time, as for one I can't stand doing it, and two I didn't have anyone to help me. So I took the kitties outside for some really nice natural light. Here's some of my results:

Tammy, who has feline leukemia

Snow-- such a beauty. She has some problems with anemia, but should have a nice life ahead of her.

And Tom :)

I'll let you know how this series works out. Cross your fingers that everyone goes home quickly. These are all really sweet cats who deserve their forever home.

Two Heartbreakers

2009-04-06T10:18:00.002-04:00

Happy Sunday

2009-04-05T10:24:00.001-04:00

Bear Bear wishes you a nice, relaxing Sunday.

-J

Finally!

2009-04-04T16:02:00.005-04:00

I'm back in action!

I'm back online, back editing, and about 90% caught up. Of course my e-mail has been down all day, but there's always more time. I made a new watermark, as I haven't had a chance to get my old files yet. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

I thought I'd share pictures from the dog park this week. Our BearBear was a little out of control and acted out a bit when we were there. I couldn't believe it. I'm not sure if he's just rammy from being shut in for the winter or what. Dogs are hard enough to figure out, I bow down to people who have human children.

Here's a couple of the cuties we met....

So did I have you fooled? That chocolate lab in the first shot isn't mine. The one behind her is. I was constantly doing double takes, it was a riot.

Don't worry

2009-03-31T09:55:00.004-04:00

I haven't disappeared...

Unfortunately my laptop has left for greener pastures. I'm going out on Friday to go purchase my new one, but in the meantime I'm relying on my 9-5 computer to communicate.

And yes, I really cried. I sat on the floor and shed shameless tears. What was going to be my shiny new lens will now be a shiny new laptop.

Such is life I guess.

See you Friday.

-J

Meet....

2009-03-24T21:50:00.004-04:00

Maya

Likes:

Kongs stuffed with peanut butter
Nice relaxing walks with new friends

Dislikes:

Cats

This affectionate girl is ready to share all of her love with a great new family.

Leonardo

2009-03-23T22:27:00.004-04:00

How about the eyes on this dream boat?

Happy Monday :)

AWFNJ Conference

2009-03-22T20:44:00.003-04:00

I spent a wonderful weekend in New Brunswick at the Animal Welfare Federation of New Jersey Conference (http://www.awfnj.org/) I was so grateful to be asked to speak, and of course was so excited to spend the weekend with people who are as passionate about saving animals as I am. I met some really amazing people who I am looking forward to hearing from (about their WONDERFUL photographs!) and a few wonderful animals. I also was fortunate enough to be able to sit in on some other workshops and brought home quite a bit of knowledge with me.

I'll be posting a blog later this week that includes most of the information from my workshop. We were a bit pressed for time so I didn't get to cover everything I wanted to. As I said to everyone who attended, please feel free to e-mail me with any questions or just to let me know how your doing!

Well, I'm off to bed. While wonderful, it was a tiring weekend. Before I go here are a few of the friends I made. The awful part of this is, I am awful with human names, but I remember almost every animal I met. If I'm wrong with any of these names, please correct me!

This is Bubba, a cancer survivor.

This is Llana
And Sadie

Princess Bella

2009-03-18T22:13:00.004-04:00

Meet Princess Pomeranian Bella. Bella knows she is a princess and demands a quota of attention and belly rubs every day. Her session was a surprise for her Mommy from her son and his girlfriend, who informed me she had not been eating her treats. I whipped out my trusty bag of organic salmon treats and she couldn't get enough. Perhaps the others weren't just to up to Princess Bella's standards that day?

After our session we had a nice time on the couch where we played with her new Cuz squeaky toy and I gave her some nice belly rubs. I think its safe to say I made a new friend. Try to tell me I don't have a great job.

If you'd like to see the rest of Bella's gallery visit:

http://jenniesloan.smugmug.com/gallery/7651208_yTszE

Margine

2009-03-18T07:38:00.005-04:00

How pretty are her eyes?

Happy Wednesday? It's almost Friday!

Did you know....

2009-03-15T22:47:00.004-04:00

That you can adopt many of the small animals that can be purchased at a pet store? I often see bunnies, ferrets, birds, hamsters, guinea pigs, rats, reptiles, and more for adoption at your local animal shelter. If you can't find what your looking for at the shelter, there is often a specialized rescue available. To make this even better, the animals are usually spayed/neutered (if they can be), vaccinated, and sexed beforehand.

For instance, this is Shamrock and Patrick, two adorable bunnies available for adoption at the AWA. Don't they look like twins? They are actually brothers. They were from an accidental litter of bunnies. Their mother and father were actually supposed to both be of the same gender, which is actually a common mistake made at pet stores. Patrick and Shamrock enjoy being brushed, eating carrots, and digging in the dirt outside. Come meet these cuties today!

Armani:

2009-03-12T20:05:00.007-04:00

"When the smile of a lovely dog is seen, the mind is healed." -Author Unknown

Spring is here!

2009-03-08T21:40:00.007-04:00

I had a long, beautiful weekend. It was over 60 degrees, so I didn't wear more than a long sleeve shirt! I spent a lot of time at the shelter, so I'll share some of those pictures with you. We also took Bear to a new local dog park. It is a little different than what we're typically used to, because it seems to be more geared towards hiking towards the trail. The park is off leash, and is beautiful. They fenced what seems to be at least an acre in and it is all wooded. There are also many unfenced trails to hike through and explore. We had a really nice time.

While pping my images (which seemed to total about one million) from the weekend, I realized I was leaning towards B&W today. These are my three favorites. Enjoy, and try not to drool over that puppy cuteness. We have had some MAJOR cuties lately.

Today at the shelter....

2009-03-01T17:19:00.004-05:00

I fell in love... I'll let you in on a little secret. I usually don't go home unless I do. Tell me these two aren't heart breakers though. Meet Zoe (above) and Thumpkin (below). Thumpkin would have been the winner I think though. She pottys outside already ;) I must say, I am so glad Bear Bear can't read.

She's not loud.

2009-02-24T19:31:00.001-05:00

She just has alot to say!

Cookie has since gone home. Gosh I love hounds <3

Neko

2009-02-23T21:30:00.004-05:00

After a long trip from a high euthanasia shelter down South, Neko is now safe at home with the Boardman family: Noah, Stephanie, and Noah Jr. Unfortunatly the weather didn't hold out, but more images to come. It's faces like this that make me want to run out and give Bear a brother or sister. Kidding honey... kinda.

Well,

2009-02-10T22:12:00.005-05:00

Contrary to these pictures... the weather is starting to look up! I AM SO EXCITED.

I hate the winter. With a passion. I have a few sessions scheduled, some plans made and I'm very excited. I hope everyone likes the new site! Let me know what you think!

I am looking for some models for a few different shoots that I have brewing in my brain... Mostly young girls who own cute high heels. You will need to sign a model release. Please contact me if you think you'd be willing.

I know I know

2009-01-06T18:07:00.003-05:00

You can't handle the cuteness. I only wish it hadn't been sleeting outside so I could take this adorable little girl outside. I wanted a shot of her little puppy paws, her little puppy feet, her little puppy tail.....

Sorry I'll stop.

But who can resist a beagle puppy?

(PS Sphere is going home, but her mommy Laura is looking for a home!)

Just wanted......

2008-12-28T20:19:00.005-05:00

wanted to share. Carl and I went out scouting locations with the Bear Bear. Unfortunately the light has been AWFUL lately. It only seems to be nice out when I have to work at my 9-5. Bear loved our new spot. Plenty of room to run, a nice lake (which we somehow kept him out of), a gorgeous big field. There was also a mud puddle that he couldn't be dissuaded from jumping in. Ah labs. I thought this top shot was pretty great. Look for some BIG changes coming up in the next few months!
Oh what the heck, here's one of the mud shots. Those of you who are also owned by water dogs.. I mean who own water dogs will understand. And no, he didn't get a bath. We're crazy like that.

We just wanted to say

2008-12-24T07:39:00.004-05:00

Happy Holidays. From Jennie, Carl, Bear, and fungi Kitty Sophie.

Lastly..

2008-12-08T10:51:00.003-05:00

I just wanted to make everyone aware, I am going to be focusing mainly on pet photography. While I love what I have done and the people I've done it with, I have found my passion is taking pictures of animals and their people. While I'm doing all of this it might be a bit quiet so I apologize in advance. I promise there are only good things coming in the future. I am working on building my portfolio, so if you like to have an on location session, give me a shout! Treats, squeaky toys, great pictures, and an awesome time. 609-230-8404, or jenniesloan@comcast.net

I'm also looking for a website designer sometime in the future!

This...

2008-12-08T10:48:00.001-05:00

Is my guy. Bear loves the beach more than most I'm sure. Even when he gets rolled by a wave.

Autumn

2008-12-08T10:42:00.003-05:00

Autumn was a very sweet, loving senior chocolate lab that lost her home when she needed it most. Looking in her eyes made me think so much of my Bear. I gave her extra extra hugs.

Billy

2008-12-08T10:35:00.003-05:00

This great guy is Billy. Billy had awesome hush puppy eyes and that wonderful beagle bray. I have a real soft spot for beags. This guy was no exception.

Fred Astaire

2008-12-08T10:12:00.002-05:00

This little guy is Fred Astaire. Fred was one of seven or eight little poodles that were brought in from a hoarding situation. They luckily all found great homes, this guy included. This guy really captured my heart. He along with the rest were so shy, but as soon as we got a tennis ball out he was a different dog! Look at that smile!

Roxy

2008-12-08T10:03:00.002-05:00

This beautiful bully is Roxy. If I could have picked anyone out of the year to bring home, it would have been this sweet girl. Carl had a secret love affair going on with her, and she with him. She always was excited to see me during my twice weekly visits, but she really lit up when she saw him. We first met her in July and were happy to see her go home in a few weeks. Sadly she came back about a month later when her owners lost their home. We were so sad to see her back, but luckily about a month and a half later Roxy found a wonderful new Mommy. I hope she found her happily ever after.

My favorites.

2008-12-08T09:30:00.003-05:00

I figured I would put up some posts that included my 2008 favorites.

This little girl was at the shelter for a very short time. I realized while I was processing the photos they made her look a little crazy but then I realized that it was kind of fitting! She was a bit crazy but oh so much fun!