Sep 7, 2016
Have you ever taken a break from something you never really wanted a break from? When we adopted Gracie Lou we went on a mandatory foster break… we just didn’t have the room. Now we’re renting a house from the best landlords in the world and we’ve got a dedicated foster room that’s currently crawling with kittens! So glad this break is finally over!
A skinny, super-friendly tabby was found wandering the parking lot at Mid Hudson Animal Aid, her five kittens were left on the side of the road nearby, all closed up in a plastic bin with some air holes cut out of the lid. The shelter staff estimated the kittens were only two days old, and that their mother was barely an adult cat herself at only one year old. All six of them were covered in fleas.
Momma cat was named Quinoa, and the kittens were dubbed Wheat, Spelt, Rye, Millet, and Barley. I’ve taken to calling them The Grainy Bunch.
Quinoa was treated with an oral medication that would safely rid her of the fleas without harming her babies. The kittens were all given baths in Dawn dish soap, which is the only safe option for such young kittens.
I got the email on a Friday morning. I’d been craving kittens for so long, but we weren’t planning on fostering until September. Nick and I had a trip planned for the last week in August and our crew of four is enough for my friend/pet sitter to handle. The shelter was already overflowing with cats because of an emergency situation that brought them 50 cats on top of their usual residents, so despite the inconvenience of our trip we’d still be buying them some time to find another foster parent. I was thrilled to go pick them up later that same day.
As the time for our vacation drew nearer I was getting sad about leaving them… I assumed the next foster parent would want to keep them through adoption. When I found out I was getting them back, I’d never been happier to be wrong!
The Grainy Bunch came back this past Sunday and kitten growth never ceases to amaze me; I swear they’ve doubled in size since last week!
All the photos here are at 3 weeks old, and it’s impossible to keep up. If you want to see their newborn photos, I posted them in the notes for one of my recent podcast episodes. If you’re into kittens you’ll probably like my podcast too, so check it out.
It’ll still be a few weeks before Quinoa and the rest of the grainy crew go up for adoption, but kittens go quick, so if you’re interested in adopting get your applications in at Mid Hudson Animal Aid ASAP. It takes time for applications to get processed and pre-approved adopters will get first pick.
P.S. Please feel free to share this post or any of the photos on your social media feeds. Thanks for any help you can give in finding these cutie patooties a home!
Aug 16, 2013 |
I didn’t really plan to do my caption contest for so long, but here I am a year (and one month!) later with 13 silly and cute animal photos made even sillier and cuter by your awesome captions!
I figured you would get a kick out of seeing these again and I wanted to share some of the stories behind my pet photography. Kitties, and doggies, and birdies oh my!
This is my cat George. He loves all things shiny, but he is particularly attracted to bottle caps. Whenever he hears the hiss of a freshly opened bottle he comes running, and you better throw that bottle cap so he can chase it. Then he will grab it, carry it right into the bathroom, into the tub, and proceed to bat that thing around until his paws get tired. I call it kitty air hockey. Anyway, I caught him in the tub one day and got this photo.
This is Amiga, a Blue and Gold Macaw at Wilton Parrot Rescue. This was the first day I started volunteering my photography to animal rescues. The founder of Wilton Parrot, Liz, was telling me how Amiga had this really silly habit of scratching her head. “I wish she would do it,” Liz said as she walked away. Not 5 minutes later Amiga was doing it! She was quite an animated character and I’m happy to report that she has just recently been adopted! Go Amiga!!!
I was taking some before and after photos Shay’s beautiful work at Flawless Paws Grooming salon. Gizmo had just been beautified and Shay asked me if I wouldn’t mind trying to capture her Great Dane next to the little Pekingese. Well it didn’t end up being a best friends type of portrait, but Gizmo sure did show this boy who’s boss haha!
This is Caesar, one of the first few dogs I photographed at Pets Alive in Middletown. He was the only one I could get to even look at this ball. Who would have thought he would be giving it the nah-nah nah-nah tongue? He really made me laugh. Caesar has long since found his forever home =).
Tracey, a wonderful volunteer at Pets Alive in Middletown, brought her foster puppies to the facility for the first time ever to show them off to potential adopters. This is Randy, one of six pibble puppies. I tried to wake him up, believe me! Finally I gave up, and Anna, one of Pets Alive’s youngest volunteers, decided the toy would make a cute prop and popped it in between his paws. I’ll have to hire her as a my stylist when she’s all grown up!
Rajah is one of the most tolerant cats I’ve ever met. I got several santa hat shots of this boy, but this was the best choice for a square crop. I tried to dress up my cats, George and Callie, with this hat and an elf hat and they were just not having it! Yes he is definitely glaring at me in this photo… I’m pretty sure I woke him up :-O
Treats are my main source of attention grabbing for dogs, but sometimes a treat turns into a prop and a tool for getting silly shots of cross-eyed German Shepherd puppies. Kodiak had had enough sitting and staying in his little ADD, 4-month old body and he was ready to get the reward he so rightfully deserved. NOM!
These are my 3 all time favorite birds from Wilton Parrot Rescue. They were around the first time I visited the rescue, and they were adopted soon after. Then, a few months later, they were returned. I couldn’t believe it, I don’t even remember the reason, but I remember feeling so lucky that I would get to hang with them again! From left to right this is Baby, Applejack, and Petrie, the friendliest trio of parrots I ever had the opportunity to meet. In fact, they were so friendly that I had to constantly stop to pick them up and catch them because they kept flying to me when I would back away. Of course they found a home before I got a chance to return.
Kuna, now known as June in her wonderful forever home, was being an awesome Valentine’s Day model the day I photographed this. She was posing with hearts, X’s and O’s, and little pink pillows with lovey dovey phrases embroidered on them. She had had enough probably 20 shots before I caught her yawning on camera. I can’t help it, I just want to capture every moment I can with my foster babies. This caption was a perfect match for this photo.
Shadow was my 1st foster kitten. He was with us for about 6 weeks, and he was one of the hardest fosters to let go of. It’s just so different when you know your foster is going into a great home; in Shadow’s case he didn’t get adopted while I had him, so once he was big enough to be neutered, back to the shelter he went. I don’t know for sure how long it took for him to get adopted, but I do know that kittens go fast. This little munchkin was literally my shadow. He would climb up my jeans just to be closer to me, crawl into my lap, and take a nap. He was my baby :*)
I have no idea what this boy’s name is, but I do remember that every time he was in the ring at Stockade Agility he was barking his head off at his dad. He sure did run like the wind though! This was a true outtake that I didn’t see until much later, when I was processing images. This was the caption that made me laugh the most this year, so thanks Debbie!
Little Munchie was hanging with his mom at Benmarl Winery during Woof N Wine this past April. He was such a well behaved little guy. Thanks for posing for me Munchie!
Riley was on a walk with one of the volunteers at Pets Alive West the first day I was there. There were so many volunteers walking dogs that day that I hopped from dog to dog the whole time I was there. This big fluffy teddy bear is still up for adoption, if you want to find out more or fill out an adoption application you can do it on his Petfinder Profile. (UPDATE – Riley was adopted!!!)
May 7, 2013 |
I’m really ashamed I’ve been so out of touch with this blog! It’s been nearly a year since my last post :-O
In that year I’ve been super busy with pet photography for private clients as well as for a few local rescues that have dogs, cats, and birds up for adoption! I’ve also managed to steal away a few hours to create some more fine art photography. Three more kittens and three more dogs have been through my home since my last post, and today I wanted to share some of their stories.
Mac, Looney, and Gizmo were semi-feral strays that needed socialization very badly. The three brothers were my first and, so far, only experience with such scared babies. For the first few days that I had them they stayed huddled up in the crevice between my tub and sink. They only peeked their heads out when I brought out the food. At every feeding I placed their food farther and farther away from their little cubby hole and closer and closer to me.
Mac was the big boy, he was the bravest, or the hungriest depending on how you looked at it. He was always the first one out to eat, and he was also the first to purr when I touched him.
Gizmo was my personal favorite. He was a tad more shy than his big brother, but he was the next one to come out and eat and play on any given day. They never really played with me directly, but if I rolled a jingly ball around Mac or Gizmo were sure to take chase. Many of you may have already seen this photo of Gizmo – many people assume this is a kitten with its mother, but that’s actually Mac that Gizmo is hiding behind.
Looney was truly terrified of people. When Nick and I discovered that Mac & Gizmo were boys we guessed our third kitten must be a girl, so Looney actually started out as Luna. He only came out to eat at every other feeding and he never played unless I was out of the room. (I would peek under the door when I heard bells and watch their fuzzy, little feet) The day before I had to return them to the shelter Looney purred in my lap, and I was satisfied with that.
The same day I returned the kittens to the SPCA of Westchester, I picked up JoJo. That was the only time I let go of foster pets without crying over them – I had someone else to focus my attention on right away!
JoJo was 1 year old and was suffering from really bad hip dysplasia. She had the ultimate wiggle butt, it was adorable yet sad at the same time. People who met JoJo in my neighborhood thought it was so precious how she would just plop down on the pavement and roll onto her back. I think initially she did this to avoid pain, but when she realized that falling at people’s feet resulted in belly rubs it became her signature move!
This girl has the happiest forever home story ever: JoJo ended up landing a doctor! He wasn’t just any old doctor either, he was the veterinarian who was doing her acupuncture every week. She is currently living happily ever after with Dr. Mike, his wife, and their 3 kids.
That brings me to Kuna. Poor girl was dumped in a shelter with her sister – later on I discovered the very same people abandoned Kuna’s father as well a few weeks later – and Ali Wazmer, a local trainer working in association with Karuna Bully Rescue, got her out of there!
I’m not gonna lie, Kuna was a wild child, plain and simple. It was obvious that her previous owners didn’t spend a minute doing anything with her, and she was just so starved for attention and love. We gave her love and she gave it right back, as you can plainly see!
Stephanie and Jason decided to give Kuna her forever home. She is now known as June and enjoys long hikes with her new mommy and daddy.
Well that brings us up to date on happy endings! Stay tuned for a write-up and photos of my current foster doggie Gracie Lou! In fact, why don’t you subscribe below to be sure you don’t miss out =)
May 17, 2012 |
The next round of foster pets has brought me yet another mommy, but this time I have the pleasure of taking care of her kitten too! Trixie is that beautiful calico, and that cute little fluff ball is Shadow. They were both rescued from a kill shelter in NYC. I had no idea animals were being murdered so close to home; how naive am I huh?
Trixie is a very sweet, vocal, and outgoing kitty. She will snuggle up next to anyone willing to pet her. Watching her with Shadow is so relaxing. He’ll latch onto her, ravenous, and then his head bobbles start to slow until he’s face flat in mom’s fur. Moments later he’ll awaken and realize he’s hungry again. I guess warm milk can make you sleepy… it’s a vicious cycle. 😛
Both Trixie and Shadow will be up for adoption soon. In another two weeks the kitten will be weaned and mommy will go to recover until she can be spayed. Please let me know if you are interested in adopting! Even if you can’t adopt you can help by sharing this post with your friends on all your social networks.
