Sunday, June 22, 2014
Athena the Barn Owl

This week I made it over to the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History. Although I was especially looking forward to the Butterflies Alive exhibit, on the way to the pavillion we bumped into this beautiful creature. (You may have noticed, she's not a butterfly!) This is Athena, a beautiful barn owl who was rescued after being hit by a car left her with limited eyesight. With limited depth perception she has trouble landing on perches and would not be able to catch food in the wild. Athena and her friends (a group of seven raptors, including Max a great horned owl and several falcons) were adopted by the Santa Barbara Autobon Society when it was determined for various reasons they could not be released back to the wild. You can learn more about them at their website http://www.eyesinthesky.org/ And you can meet them at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History most afternoons (check their online calendar for times... http://www.sbnature.org/ ).

Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Puppy Teething on a Photography Backdrop

Mmmmff - what do you mean backdrop?

This is my new toy!Someone said I could have it!

Basset Hound Puppy saved with her family by Daphneyland in Acton, California

Sunday, January 13, 2013
Bridgette the Beautiful Basset

This weekend we had the pleasure of visiting the hounds of Daphneyland out in Acton. This is Bridgette one of the senior girls at the ranch and she is absolutely adorable.

Monday, July 30, 2012
Penelope the Basset

Yesterday we had the wonderful opportunity to cheauffer this lovely lady out to Daphneyland in Acton. She was found in Lompoc, so it was quite a trip for her. She was very scared, but once we got close she was a real sweetie.

Thursday, September 15, 2011
Pet Photography Tip Number One

Give the puppy something to focus her attention, perhaps a chew toy. The photographer's hand works nicely.

Saturday, August 6, 2011
Sleeping Basset puppy

A couple of weekends ago we had the great pleasure of escorting this little girl, her four siblings, mom and aunt to the Daphneyland Ranch from the Camarillo shelter. It seems mom and two other bassets (auntie, and dad) came in as strays, and one day later the puppies showed up. The shelter is no place for such a sweet little thing. Fortunately the Basset Hound rescue knows just how to take care of them. It was a rough start, mom was not able to take care of the puppies at first, and aunt Zoe (named after our own wonderful hound) stepped in to nurse the pups for the first few days.

I'll be going back soon to get some updated photos of the pups.

Saturday, May 16, 2009
Cooper Cool

Today we went to the 12th Annual Basset Spring Games. The games are a fund raiser for the Basset Hound Rescue of Southern California. We do their newsletter, the Basseteer so we took the opportunity to get some nice photos for the next issue. But really I just wanted to go to play with the hounds!

This is Cooper, he was looking extremely cool just enjoying a nice day in the park. Aside from just being around a bunch of other hounds and the crazy hound people that love them. The dogs and their food slaves could compete in a number of fun competitions including drooling contests, synchronized swimming, kissing contests and Marathon Napping.

It's hard to take a bad picture of a Basset Hound, and I have about 18 gigabytes of photos to prove it. It was a really nice day!

Monday, March 23, 2009
Charlie the Hound

This is one of the reasons I have been a little behind lately. His name is Charlie. Through a really bad chain of events he ended up in the Ventura animal shelter with no hope of adoption. It was our job to go pick him up and take him to one of the Basset Hound Rescues that we volunteer at. As always happens on these trips I was totally attached to him by the time we got there.

They said he was five or six years old, but he played like a puppy. I work really hard at a lot of different things, but I can't help feeling that this is one of the few things I do on a regular basis that really matters.

Thursday, October 27, 2005
Vinnie

Another shot of Vincent (see yesterday's post). He is an extremely happy creature, he was excited to be on an adventure with us and he wagged most of the way.

When we picked Vincent up at the shelter, he was the only dog up for adoption in his section. Since we had been there on Monday they had needed to make some room. And new animals had already moved into the surrounding kennels. This made the paperwork on his kennel stand out since his was the only one labeled "ready for adoption." In the notes section someone from the shelter had written "SWEET DOG!" I was relieved he was actually still there but I was sad for all the other sweet dogs that were not.

We were very glad to get him out of there!

After a long drive we arrived at the Rescue's veterinarian. Vincent got a quick exam, and four shots which he took like he did not even feel them, even the one the vet said would really hurt.

After a pretty clean bill of health, especially for a dog that was supposed to be a stray, we were off to the rescue. We did have to make one stop, however. On the way home from the same shelter with Zoe, about a year and a half ago, we made a stop at McDonalds and shared a box of Chicken McNuggets. With Vincent, we decided to make this a tradition.

Of course, when it came time to drop him off we could tell that he had already bonded with us (and we already knew we loved him). We found out yesterday that we would make terrible foster parents, if we were so attached after a few hours how would we be after years?

Vincent is now resting safely at the Basset Rescue Connection. If you are looking for a wonderful and loyal dog please contact them, or me and we will introduce you to a good friend of ours.

Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Vincent

This week was an incredibly busy week. One of the more important things we did this week was meet Vincent.

Over the weekend we found a listing on the Ventura Animal Shelter for a male Basset Hound. My best friend and I watch the shelter for the Basset Rescues in the area and it looked like this guy might be falling through the cracks. After talking to the shelter we found out that they were packed and Monday was to be his last day. The last hound we found there in that much trouble is now named Zoe, and she lives with us.

So, knowing the breed and how wonderful they are, and the fact that an older dog had almost no chance in the shelter, we took off on Monday for the 45 mile drive to meet this hound. In typical Basset fashion he was extremely happy to meet us. We promised him and the shelter we would be back for him. So they said they would keep him for another day or two.

After my best friend made quite a few calls to everyone at the local rescues, we found that the Basset Rescue Connection would make room in their already full kennels for him. BRC is the rescue that covers this area and would normally be contacted when there is a hound in need. But, due to a change of employees at the shelter and some strange new laws in place thanks to our crazy state government that call had never been made. So, today we made the trek to the shelter and this is one of the first images of Vincent after he, quite happily, jumped into my Jeep.

Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Birthday Girl!!

Well I can't believe it has been a year! One year ago today, we brought Zoe home from the Ventura animal shelter. That would have been her last day, instead here she is, happy and healthy, a year later!

I have to tell you it was the smartest way to go if you want a dog. She was housebroken, and well trained. She did not chew on the furniture. She did not bark or whine all hours of the night. In fact, being a Basset Hound, she is about as close to the cartoon image of a dog you can imagine!

Don't get me wrong, I think we were exceptionally fortunate to find such a wonderful friend waiting for us. Most dogs will need an adjustment period moving into a new home. Although she was a great dog from the start, we are still seeing Zoe's personality blossom as she realizes she is no longer going to be hit or punished for everything she does. But getting a dog from a rescue can really help reduce the trauma on you, the dog and your favorite shoes. There are rescues for all types of breeds. We were watching the Shelter for hounds for the Basset Hound Rescue of Southern California when Zoe popped up.

You can see more pictures of Zoe here and you can read about her antics on her site and in the Newsletter of the BHRSC.

• Ventura Shelter
  This is where we found the hound!
• Basset Hound Rescue of Southern California
  The rescue where I volunteer, A good place to find dogs that have been tested in a more natural environment than a shelter. Many of their dogs are in foster homes and they can tell you a lot more about what you would be getting into with any particular dog.
• PetFinder.com
  Bassets not your breed? Not in Southern CA? This is the best place to find a rescue, and even a specific dog, near you!