A Birthday Tale...

A couple of months ago, two of my friends in the building were celebrating their birthdays in the same week. For birthday gifts, I decided to kidnap (dognap?) their dogs for the afternoon, take them to the horticultural gardens at the college, and get some good pictures to blow up and frame. Sounds easy, eh? Aided by one of the roomates, I leashed up their pups and off we went with high hopes, a camera, and a pocket full of treats.

What a nightmare, I don't know how pet photographers do it.

To start with, Nikita and Kira, free from parental supervision, were TREMENDOUSLY boisterous and excited about our adventure. We found the perfect setting; a cozy bench tucked amongst the foliage, but the pups were too bouncy to sit still. There was a LOT of rearranging and yelling and yelping and leaping for freedom. Even with Kevin the Roomate helping, it was a mess. We did Nikita first, and I had Kira tied around my waist so I could have hands free for the camera. Kevin was in charge of treats and positioning, Nikita thought she was in charge of eating and rolling in the flowers. She did not want to look at the tantalizing treat Kevin was holding, she wanted to watch Kira struggling at the end of the leash tied to my hip. However, Nikita is a true princess, and knows the value of a good picture! After only a couple goofs, we got THE SHOT!

Note the flipped ear!

Rowf!!

Cut and print! That's a wrap!

Miss Kira's turn did not go so smoothly! Hahaha, she was so excited by the bench and the TREATS and the attention, she kept ducking the camera (on purpose, I know it!!) To make matters worse, I only got a few blurry shots before my camera died! Defeated, Kevin the Roomate and I packed up and took the pups home. One friends gift was all done, but the other was not. After a quick walk to pick up new batteries, I grabbed Kira again for another go. And (foolishly), I said to myself "what a nice spot, I'd love pictures of MY pups on the bench too. I'll bring all three. I'll be by myself this time, but how hard can it be??"

Oh. My. Lord.

It was a clusterfuck. Truly and utterly.

First, all three nearly pulled me out of my sandals in their joyous hurry to get there. Kira, as an old hand, led the way and encouraged her buddies to join her in self strangulation to get there FASTER! When we puffed into the gardens, I was dismayed to find that a very demure looking student had chosen the bench as a place to study. I asked her if I could borrow the bench for a few minutes. She looked up and saw a ragged girl being dragged around by three slavering hounds and gathered up her books in a hurry. I suspect I must have looked slightly insane. I tied Gryphon and Bruin to a nearby No Parking sign and got back to work with Kira. Bringing the other dogs was such a mistake, all she wanted to do was play with them. She fled the bench, ran to the boys, then turned tail and ran to the little river running alongside the gardens...SPLASH! Oh no! KIRA! She hopped back up on the bench, thoroughly soaking it and ensuring that no one else would be able to sit there for several hours. Sorry Homework Girl! The following is the result of our soggy photosession...

Bye! (see all the WATER?)

The evil eye, she was up to no good

Baroo?

Oh Hai!

Here is the picture I eventually blew up and framed. She's got a noble "looking off into the distance" expression, but she's really looking at Bruin (shhhh)

I've never met such a joyful and frustrating photo subject! Other than my own boys, that is. They were next...

Here they are running amok instead of getting on the bench. Note the wonderful girl in the background, still doing homework after I stole her seat and utterly destroyed the peace. And here's Bruin escaping into the river; if Kira could do it, HE could too!


So here we are finally on the bench. Whoops, wait! Maybe not...

A little closer maybe?

Boys! Over here!

Cookie?

COOKIE!!!!
Good boy, Gryphon

Keep in mind that while I'm photographing the boys, KiraBear is tied to a nearby No Parking sign. Now, Kira is a talker. A singer. In this case, a SCREAMER. Her outraged woowoowoo's could be heard all over the college at the indignity of being tied to a POLE while her friends were free. After a couple minutes, I kind of tuned her out, but other people must have thought she was having her throat cut. In FACT, I saw a woman with a leash coming down the path, and I thought she must have a loose dog. I went to Kira in case the woman's dog ran up to her. The woman saw me and turned around and walked away. There was no loose dog. The woman had been coming to take KIRA away. Dear Lord. I hustled after that.

My three models decided that since pulling all the way TO the gardens was so much fun, they would pull all the way home too. Shellshocked and dirty, I deposited Kira in her crate and took my own monsters home, vowing to never touch a camera again.

The pictures looked wonderful in their floating frames though. Happy Birthday girls :)