A few days ago we spent some time in Caesarea, specifically amongst the ancient ruins that date from King Herod’s time. The views of the Mediterranean Sea were stunning and it was somewhat overwhelming to stand on the remains of what was, at one time, the busiest port and to imagine what life was like. Today, Caesarea has been revitalized with art and jewellery stores together with some amazing restaurants where you can sit and enjoy the view.
One thing we did notice as soon as we got there was that there seemed to be a lot of cats enjoying the view (and the friendly pats from the tourists!) as well. The first one we met was Tommy, as the staff told us. A seemingly homeless cat who had a name and looked as good as he did…well, we knew that there had to be someone caring for him. A little while later, we noticed a sign with an arrow saying, “Cat’s Corner”. We couldn’t resist and so off we went to explore a bit. We came upon a little shop named Cat’s Corner just as it was evidently supper time. For there was the shop keeper banging a spoon on a table and feeding a group of cats.
In speaking with her, she told me the story. She currently cares for approximately 30 cats who have all come from abusive environments. Caesarea has become somewhat of a refuge for these homeless kitties. Sometimes people just abandon them on the property for her to care for. Which is a better option than what others do. She has an arrangement with a kindly veterinarian who comes once a week, on a volunteer basis, to check up on them and to ensure that everyone is happy and healthy. And she tries to educate people that cats are loving creatures who should be treated kindly. Unfortunately, she explained, Israeli children seem to “come out from the womb kicking cats” and thus, most cats are scared of people.
Her store has all kinds of cat-related items and she uses 10% of her profits toward the upkeep of her growing brood. She also gladly takes donations which one can place in a little basket. Although, for a time, they thought someone was stealing the money as some would go missing every day. It wasn’t until they made a point of watching very carefully that they found out who the thief was…the very same Tommy that we met!
So, should you ever be in Israel, be sure to take in the views of Caesarea and visit Cat’s Corner…there will probably be more than 30 cats by then!
Here is the famous Tommy…
This beautiful boy has a bit of a bald line on his flank. The reason? Someone wanted him away from their restaurant and so threw hot oil on him! He was in agony, but has been nursed back to health in Caesarea and continues to seek out cuddles and gentle pets from people.
This is Tiger who is still a bit shy of people but will watch you with great interest from afar.
This post is long overdue! It was back on June 16, 2012 that Posh Pets had the pleasure of participating in Pet Valu’s (located at King & Dufferin) Grand Re-Opening. We had so much fun photographing these lovely furry faces that day! We (and the dogs and the one cat!) were especially thankful to be inside as it really got hot outside…!
Everyone who came out received a complimentary gorgeous 5×7 print of the chosen image, courtesy of Marilyn & David of Pet Valu. We sincerely hope that you enjoy them for years to come!
I’ve managed to place the final images into a little video slide-show, although I must apologize for the colour being overly saturated. As a photographer, I am very new to the video world and it would seem that the video-processing software I used seems to deepen the colours quite a bit. I will have to figure this part out. You can, however, see all of the images over on the Posh Pets Facebook page if you like.
It can be very rewarding to see your images in the hands of an awesome graphic designer – especially when it supports adopting homeless pets! So, we at Posh Pets were thrilled to see this latest ad on just how rewarding it is to adopt a kitty from the Toronto Animal Services. Take a look!
Having just returned from Jordan last week, we, at Posh Pets, are finally adjusting to the Toronto time zone. Getting over jetlag can be so brutal!
Jordan was truly wonderful! My husband and I love traveling because it gives us an opportunity to see new things and experience exotic places. And, of course, I always love to photograph the little furry creatures that live overseas. In Part 1, I was able to share the images of the cats and dogs we met during our travels across Jordan. In this post, I am happy to showcase some more unusual animals – ones we rarely come in contact with in Toronto.
This little guy with the blue eyes was part of a flock with his shepherd near Mount Nebo. He looks alone here, but I can assure you that he had many other family members with him.
On the other side of the same road was this young donkey with his momma, who was working. The little colt or foal was so cute and it was sweet how he stuck so closely to her. I love his white and grey coat!Transportation within Petra consists of the following options: a donkey, a camel, a horse or…your feet! The animals are affectionately called Petra taxis, and the guides will call out, “Taxi available – air conditioned!”. This is *my* iconic image of Petra. It is how I will always remember it! Lastly, I just fell in love with this young foal who we met in Jerash. Layla, as I heard she had been named, had been born just 20 days previously and was learning to take her first steps. Thanks for taking this little trip with us! Happy travels!
It feels good to be home! The Posh Pets family just returned from visiting Jordan (yes, the country in amongst Israel, Syria, Iraq, Iran in case you were wondering…) and while travelling is a lot of fun, there is nothing quite like sleeping in your own bed. One of the highlights was the opportunity to walk through the famed Petra, now a “Wonder of the World”. It was truly incredible!
However, as a pet photographer, I am always drawn to photographing the animals I meet in my travels. Some are working animals owned by their employer, some are pets, and some are strays, but the place animals hold within a people does give you insight into a country and its culture. I believe it was Gandhi who said, “The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”, and in my personal experience that is true.
I am happy to say that Jordan does not have nearly as many strays as other countries I have had the pleasure to visit. Those that were, were generally cats who did not look thin and emaciated like so many other animals who live on the street. So, kudos to Jordan!
There is a funny thing about the cats that live in Petra and, for the most part, the rest of Jordan – they are all orange tabbies! In Petra, you can see that they could potentially all be related, but everywhere in the country? We did meet the occasional brown tabby (3, I think), but the rest were all orange. Even stranger is that I have heard that orange tabbies are predominantly male, so who is the busy mom of this brood? I don’t think we will ever know…
The good thing is that in Petra, I believe they are all taken care of by the tourists. They are friendly, used to strangers and have come to learn that these visiting humans cannot resist a cute face and give them food. One orange guy we met walking around a castle ruin in the middle of the wilderness is fed by the staff who work there. So, it seems that the Jordanian kitties have found their place in the tourism industry.
We did meet these two adorable puppies in Petra. I nearly took this little guy home – he literally sat in my arms like this for 10 minutes and looked into my eyes as I talked to him. It was soooo hard to put him down and walk away.
I was somewhat comforted by the fact that he had this little friend to spend his days with. And the fact that the Bedouin who work there seemed to know them and petted them nicely when they approached.
Well, that is it for this instalment! Stay tuned as I will post some images of working animals in Part 2.
Today, I am really excited to feature something that is a little different for the Posh Pets blog – crazy cartoons! Let me explain…
Daniela Easter is an award winning artist and personal friend of mine. Apart from her private commissions, she founded and, for the past 8 years has run, Progressive Art for Progressive Kids in Brampton. This is an art school that helps young people develop their skills and exposes them to the various mediums and forms of art. For the past few weeks, her students, ages 8-12, have been learning how to cartoon!
Daniela approached me to see if I could lend a hand by providing some images of animals, which of course, I was only too happy to do. The students were encouraged to analyze the image and determine the dog’s personality. They could then determine how to draw him in such a way that their cartoon would come to life. And, here are the awesome results:
The original image:
And the cartoon renditions! This one is by Kaitlin:
And this one is by Hemel:
Another original image:
And some awesome cartoon versions of this guy too. (I think he became the antagonist of the story…look at those teeth!)
From Sesa:
And from Nicole:
The students loved the original photos (apparently there were lots of “awwws”) and had a ball turning them into their own creations. I hear that in the next week or so, they will be tackling the kitty photos I sent and I will certainly feature those in a future blog post as well.
Impressed? Well, if you have a young artist who would want to participate, Daniela conducts various classes in Brampton. These include 6 week curriculums and intensives for the March and Summer school breaks. Find all of the details here.
Wow! The year has simply passed by in what was a banner year for Posh Pets Photography. I had the opportunity to meet so many awesome furry faces and their humans which is what makes this job such a joy to do. There were also some “firsts” for Posh Pets this year and and some really happy events – some I had not even remembered until I sat down to write this post. I think it is always a good exercise to look back and see how far you have come, so please join me on this trip down memory lane.
As of December 2011, the Posh Pets Blog is officially one year old! Hard to believe that this was begun on December 19, 2010 with one small post that said we had gone live. At the time, I had no idea what I would find to write about for the whole year, but it really has come together for me. I find that sometimes I simply cannot get all the ideas I have written quickly enough!
Posh Pets joined the Beautiful Beasties Project 52 in March 2011. That has been an awesome project that allows me to shoot images just for me. For an artist, it is vitally important that we get an opportunity to stretch and push ourselves to try different things and also to explore ideas and concepts that we would not otherwise do. I really have enjoyed seeing how each member interprets one theme – I hope you have too!
Posh Pets was featured in the Toronto Star on November 12, 2011 alongside one of my mentors, the very talented Teresa Berg. That was something that I could not have even dreamed of at the beginning of 2011. It was a complete surprise to be recognized for my work.
Posh Pets began photographing the Toronto Animal Services Adoptables on November 2, 2011. I began with Greta, a beautiful brown tabby and ended the year with Pete, a gorgeous husky. In between, there were a total of 76 animals who posed for my lens – that is a lot of furry faces in just 2 months! I am so happy to report that Greta has since found her forever home along with 57 of her fellow adoptables and I hope Pete and his friends are not far behind.
Of course, I know that I could not have done this all by myself. So, I want to take a few lines to thank all of the people who have helped me during 2011.
♥ Thank you to all of my clients who trusted me to capture the beauty and grace of their beloved pets for I could not be working at something I absolutely love without you! I have enjoyed meeting you, snuggling with your furry family members and presenting you with final images you can treasure for years to come.
♥ Thank you to Kathy and her staff at Toronto Animal Services – North Region. Every week I go in to meet the newest group of adoptables, I am amazed by the hard work and dedication they display towards these animals who have no home, no protection and no voice. They really do care!
♥ Thank you to my family who have shown me such support during this last year. My Mom and Dad and sister have always been there, encouraging me to do what they know is a dream for me. I hope you know how much I love you guys!
♥ It would be hard to have missed the many stories on the blog of the kitties my husband and I share our home with. Ripley and Lady Jane are the best models, patiently putting up with my never ending requests for photography time. Ripley is now 17 years old and Lady Jane is 15, so they have many long hours of napping in between, but I would be remiss not to thank them too!
♥ Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my dear husband. Dean has always believed in me, even when I did not believe in myself. He is honest to a fault and I can always count on him to tell me the truth about any of my ideas, business or my photography. At the same time, he knows exactly what to say and do when I am feeling frustrated or down. I truly do love you honey!
I will leave you with an image of one of our success stories from 2011 – this is Hank, who found his forever home last week. I do hope you will all stick around for all the Posh Pets’ excitement in 2012!
This week we have a whole gaggle of new doggies and two little tortoise shell kittens. Please check them out and contact Toronto Animal Services – North Region if you see a future family member in the bunch! You can also check out the Posh Pets Photography Facebook page for a little detail about each of them.
First, we have two little kittens. They are both a bit shy, but they do love to play!
Next are the beautiful dogs…
Look at the gorgeous smile on Chevy! He wants everyone to know that he is waiting right here for his forever family.
These two labrador puppies are so calm for being only 6 months of age and they are almost impossible to tell apart.
Nothing like the stunning blue eyes of a siberian husky!
I absolutely loved this guy’s colour – what an amazing red coat he has!
And here is lovely Rubix – his eyes are so soulful.
This week’s theme was to capture the primary colours of Red, Blue or Green. Well, here is an image that has all three – the red of the barn roof, the blue of the sky and the remaining green of the trees and grass. As we say good-bye to Fall in Southern Ontario, here is a reminder of how truly beautiful the season is…
Now, please check out Scott Robinson of Aussie Dog Photography! It’s all yours Scott!
This week’s image was to be something that reminds us of summer. If you live around here, you know that weather in Toronto this week was crazy! We had a fearsome windstorm and downpour on Sunday, felt the after effects of an earthquake on Tuesday and an amazing “light show” from a thunderstorm with tornado watch on Wednesday evening. What a way to end the summer!
But that is not how I remember summer. Living in Canada where we enjoy a true snowy winter, my memories of summer are simple. And so I present to you my image for this week – sunlight playing on lovely, green grass.
As families in Ontario and Alberta celebrate Family Day today, some are celebrating with their pets. Ripley is our beautiful orange tabby and the original Posh Pet. While he is also known as “Ripley Cat”, “Purr Face”, “Baby”, make no mistake…he is definitely one cool and classy kitty! I think he considers the other names we call him as his “aliases” that he uses when he goes on his secret missions. He’s a debonaire, James Bond type of a cat. However, February 13 marked a milestone in Ripley’s life, for he has been an important part of ours for 15 years.
Ripley was a rescue from the Toronto Humane Society all those years ago. My husband, Dean, and I had decided that we wanted a kitty in our lives. Okay, truth be told, I had decided that I wanted a pet in the home and my dear husband probably thought that there could be worse things I could want. He was rather ambivalent, having grown up in a decidedly pet-free home. However, in deciding to get a pet, I had also made another important decision – ours would come from a shelter. I have always had a soft spot in my heart for “unwanted” animals and yes, I am one of those who, on the rare times that I watch tv, can be turned into a puddle of tears should the donation appeal ads come on. All of this led us to set out on a cold February evening in 1996 in search of a new member of the family.
When we arrived at the THS, there were so many to choose from. Dean and I drifted away from each other as we read the notes posted outside their cages. Such a huge decision and big responsibility. After a period of time which left me feeling rather overwhelmed – I wanted to take them all – my husband came over quietly and said, “I think I have found him”. I was so surprised. Dean hadn’t been the impetus behind us getting a cat. But, he had found him. He took me over to Ripley who was sitting his cage looking up at us. I asked my husband why he thought he was the one. He simply said, “He reached out to me”. And so he had. Apparently, as my husband had been peering into each cage, Ripley took his front paw, put it through the cage and touched Dean on the hand. That connection was all it took.
After about half an hour in which we were interviewed to determine if we would be good adoptive parents (we were so nervous that they would reject us), we were handed a cardboard “crate” with Ripley inside and directed to the in-house pet store to pick up things like litter, food etc. We drove home and brought Ripley inside. I still vividly remember how, when we opened his crate, he very cautiously poked his head up like an antennae, looked around and then lithely jumped out to explore his new surroundings.
Today, Ripley is a contented 16-year old who has brought us so much joy. His initial abandonment issues – his former family simply moved on him and left him on the street – have all but disappeared. He is strictly an indoor cat and seems to be happy to spend his days and nights in the warmth of a home, lying on the softness of a bed or couch with a full tummy. He has since also acquired a sister (also from a shelter) and, while she can be a source of aggravation at times (aren’t all sisters?), he likes the fact that she is around. And we’re so happy that he is with us. As he enters his golden years, he has slowed down a little bit, but that has made him all the more cuddly and affectionate.
Happy Anniversary Ripley! We love you…you have truly found your forever home.
More often than not, people will tell me that the one thing they treasure most about their pets is that their animals seem to know how they are feeling. That innate sense of when something is wrong, and the ability to respond in their own small way to provide comfort, is what forges the bond between many humans and their animals. How do they “know”? There are many theories on the subject, but sometimes it is just a beauty to watch it happen. I was able to do that yesterday.
Police Sergeant Ryan Russell was killed in the line of duty on January 12, 2011, when he was hit by a stolen snowplow. Last Tuesday, amidst a reprieve from the cold temperatures, the City of Toronto came out to pay their respects. It was quite a sight to see as thousands of officers in dress uniform, as well as civilians associated with the Service, march as one group down University Avenue. They came from all over Canada and the US and filled the street with a sea of blue and red (I personally have never seen so many RCMP in one place) in advance of Sergeant Russell’s casket.
Included in this number were the members of the Mounted and Police Dog Services. Watching them, it seemed that these animal officers understood what they were there to do – to pay their respects to their fallen comrade. They too, marched – their paws and hoofs in line with the others. They looked ahead and and, in the case of the Mounted unit, set the pace for the rest. Dignified mourning in the face of tragedy.
Toronto is fortunate, for the city of 2.5 million (5.5 million if you count the GTA) has not had a police officer killed in the line of duty since 2002. It says a lot about the city I call my home. But for those that knew him, that statistic must seem rather insignificant now. My condolences to Sergeant Ryan Russell’s family, friends and colleagues.
On the other side of the same road was this young donkey with his momma, who was working. The little colt or foal was so cute and it was sweet how he stuck so closely to her. I love his white and grey coat!
Transportation within Petra consists of the following options: a donkey, a camel, a horse or…your feet! The animals are affectionately called Petra taxis, and the guides will call out, “Taxi available – air conditioned!”.
This is *my* iconic image of Petra. It is how I will always remember it!
Lastly, I just fell in love with this young foal who we met in Jerash. Layla, as I heard she had been named, had been born just 20 days previously and was learning to take her first steps.
Thanks for taking this little trip with us! Happy travels!
Nothing like the stunning blue eyes of a siberian husky!
And here is lovely Rubix – his eyes are so soulful.
Please come back and see us all next week!
