I have oodles and oodles of sittings to blog about! I wish I could share them all with you right now, but these darned blog posts take so much time! This was a crazy holiday season for me for sure, and I am working step by step to catch up. I want to thank all of my wonderfully understanding clients who are so supportive of my being a bit overwhelmingly busy!!

Needless to say, this post is one that I am very excited to be {finally} blogging about. Remember Cosmo? He was the Friday Face a few weeks back. Well, here he is with his whole family….Abby the bulldog, and the awesome Shiena and Jason. Who would have thought that taking an African Grey parrot and a stocky bulldog to a very public place for photographs could be so relaxing. It truly was! I have to say, it was an afternoon of complete enjoyment.

Shiena and Jason were winners of one of my expo contests, and I am so grateful to have met them…Abby and Cosmo. Thanks so much for a wonderful afternoon!

All images ©Susan Dodd

Thanks to everyone who visited my booth at the Greater Philadelphia Pet Expo!  I met so many wonderful folks and wish that everyone could win, but, we had to pick just one!  And that person is……(drumroll please)……Lauren N. and Micky!!  Sunday evening at the end of the expo, I was happy to surprise Pat at the United Against Puppy Mills booth with a generous donation!!

Congrats Lauren, please give me a call or drop me a line… susan@coolpets.us and we will get you all set up for your session!

Oh, and just because I hate to post without a photo…here’s the adorable Samson.

All images ©Susan Dodd

For the longest time, I have had a mission….a mission to find the batman door. I knew it was there, I’d seen it in a photo. But, I wasn’t quite sure if it was real. It could have been a fluke. Ya know, something that was there once and then gone. But, I held out hope. I dreamed of the day that I would stand in front of that door, camera in hand. The day that I would truly know that the batman door exists.

It had been a long planning process, almost a year. My subjects? The awesomely amazing Jen Molchan and three of her gorgeous Cane Corsos. Ron and Jen breed the most beautiful Cane Corsos I have ever seen, also the very first Cane Corsos I have ever seen! I love their dogs.

So, into the city we drove. Ron was our chauffeur, thank goodness, as I am not good at driving in the city. I told him the address – where I thought we would find the door. We made our way through crowded streets and really tiny alleys. Ron has no fear, he just plows right through. Finally we came to a stop. Ron said, “ok, Susan, we are here, do you see a door?” I think by this time he thought I was insane. Suddenly, Jen said, “There it is!” We all looked to the right and there, like a mirage in the desert, was my batman door. I swear I heard the angels sing. It was everything I could have hoped for.

Ok, ok. Enough. I’m sorry. I just really love this door. I promise I will post more from this photo adventure, but for now I give you…..Jen, Dorian, and, the one, the only Batman door!!!

Is that not the coolest thing you have ever seen?

All images ©Susan Dodd

Long overdue. That’s what this post is, very long overdue! I met Summer and her family a couple of months back and spent a lovely evening with them. The weather was iffy, but what else is new with this crazy weather? But, it turned out to be a beautiful evening, all around.

When Wendy contacted me to do some photographs for her, she explained that there might be some challenges because two of my subjects would be in wheelchairs. For me, that was not a problem. And, it turned out to be one of my most favorite sessions. A more loving family could not be found.

Here’s Summer…she’s so fluffy and sweet!

Danny and Summer like to roll around!

Gorgeous Michele.

Wendy and Peter…so beautiful.

And, this…all I can say is WOW!!

Thank you Wendy for inviting me to spend and evening creating photographs with you and your wonderful family!

This is Levi. He is being fostered by a wonderful client of mine, Cheryl. During our recent photo session, Levi joined in for a few photos with his foster brother and sister. Cheryl and her husband are caring for Levi until he finds his forever home. The years before he came to live with them were not the best, and Cheryl is really hoping to find him a kind, loving family who will treat him right.

She asked me if I might have a nice photo to show some potential adopters. Nice photo? Of Levi? Well, just look at that gorgeous face! How can I not have a nice photo of Levi! And, he is just as sweet as he is beautiful!

Good luck, dear sweet Levi! You deserve a perfect forever home!

All images copyright Susan Dodd

a brilliant combination!

All images ©Susan Dodd

…and I fell in love.

More to come from Lainey’s session with her much larger “brothers” and “sister!”

All images ©Susan Dodd

I loved meeting and photographing Piper, Nicholi, Lee and Stephanie.

The weather was very weird. At first we really thought we were going to get rained on. It was humid, sticky and dark. But, we persevered, and before we knew it, the sun was out! Weird.

Piper and Nicholi are polar opposites. Piper (the chocolatey brown one) has ADD. No, no, not really! She just moves very quickly from one thing to the next. She loves sticks, and chewing on sticks, and fetching sticks…pretty much anything having to do with sticks.

Nicholi on the other hand, likes to pose. He looks good and he knows it.

Lee and Stephanie provide the perfect balance. They are calm and loving with Piper and Nicholi, and with each other!

Stephanie and “Nick Nack”…GORGEOUS!

We laughed and romped in the Valley Forge fields. Stephanie giggled a lot!

Thank you Lee and Stephanie for a super fun morning!

All images ©Susan Dodd

And, if you like….
what you see…
please CLICK HERE,
and vote for me!!

This is Meena.  She is a 10 week old adorable little girl, who just happens to need a home!  Her foster mom, Julie, is a wonderful long time client and friend of mine.  

Meena was “dumped” in a shelter in Virginia when she was 5 weeks old. A friend of Julie’s, Rosemary Distefano – founder of Faith’s Hope Rescue, found her there and brought her to PA where Julie has taken her in. Meena is a Rottie Pitt mix and seems to have the best of both breeds. She is sweet, calm, playful and very social. Her name means “strong willed warrior” and Meena is just that.

Meena starts her obedience classes this week, but is already learning many valuable good dog lessons just by living in Julie’s home along with 4 adult cats, 2 foster kittens, 4 large dogs (60-95 lbs), 1 fish and a very busy little 2 3/4 year old boy!

Meena gets along wonderfully with all the members of her foster family; human, feline and canine, but Julie does see a bit of a dominant female personality developing. Meena likes to be top dog so she would do best as a single family dog, or with a more submissive male canine companion. Cats and kids are just fine…fish are cool too!

My observations. Meena is a very sweet, smart, girl who is eager to please and learn. She is not too mouthy at all. Did I mention that she is gorgeous?!! She really looks like a little Rottie with a bit of a designer splash of color on her legs and paws!!

But, really, the best part is that she is being fostered in a wonderful, loving home with someone who knows dogs inside and out. She will have an amazing foundation and will be a definite soul mate for someone. She seems like the kind of dog that will be right by your side, loving and protecting her family and sharing each and every wonderful moment.

Meena will make an incredible family dog, and is looking for her forever home. If you have any interest in learning more about her, please send me an email (susan@coolpets.us) and I’ll put you in contact with Julie!

Meet Meeeeeena!!!!

All images ©Susan Dodd

Yes, that’s snow on the ground you see there in the photo. Yes, I did this session a while ago. Yes, I’ve already posted a few of the Kingston & Crystal images on the blog. BUT, this is new. It’s the show, and I love it.

When I do a Cool Pets session, my main goal is not only to capture great images, but to really tell the story of my subjects. Kingston and Crystal were just starting out on their journey together when we did these photos. But, I could already see the strong bond between them. I hope to capture memories for my clients, but I really capture memories for me also. What a fun morning we had playing in the snow.

In fact, snow melted the very next day, and we don’t get much snow around here – usually just ice, so this was a special session indeed.

So, go below and CLICK!!!

All images ©Susan Dodd