Pets in Focus

06/16/2026

I cannot wait to see who else is in! A fun new twist: you can sponsor a Dirty Paws Agape Haven resident to have their very own feature in the book!! 🥰

🐾✨ Spots are filling up fast to give your favorite four-legged friend a forever spot in a beautiful book!
What a sweet and thoughtful gift this would make for a family member or special friend! 💝
Please check out the site — all profits will be donated straight to us at Dirty Paws Agape Haven, and we’re so grateful! These pups eat like an entire pro football team 🏈😲😂
Bonus: If there’s a special dog at Dirty Paws you’d love to sponsor and see in the book, the author said she’d make that happen too!
Do you have a favorite who deserves their own page? Let us know and go check it out! 🐶💕

06/12/2026

I want to introduce you to Styrone, long-time client, owner of the best natural eyeliner I have ever seen, and a dog who has absolutely no idea what the last year has put his family through.

In October 2024, Styrone's mom and dad noticed he was favoring his back leg. X-rays, a ​scary visit to MSU, and an agonizing wait later, a cancer diagnosis was delivered just ​in time for Christmas. Based on how aggressively the bone density loss was progressing, they were told he would be lucky to make it another 6-12 months.

Well, Styrone is still herding his mom and dad ​as they leave for work! Still demanding the cheese tax​, and ​still only giving butt-wiggles to the people he deems worthy​, which does not include either of his parents​ but does include his photographer, for the record. ​An enormous personality in a very small dog.

​As his mom says: "To Styrone, he just has a weird walk. There's nothing else wrong. Just a lack of Chickie Nuggies.​"

At his session, he rode to Hidden Lake Gardens in the front seat while dad sat in the back. ​In spite of that, dad​ still carried him everywhere so he wouldn't get too tired. It was ​a great session​, and I am so excited to welcome Styrone to A Life Well Loved. You've more than earned it​, buddy​! 🐾

If you've been thinking about applying, ​a few spots are​ (shockingly!) still open. Check out my website under "giving back" for the application. 💜

06/01/2026

June’s Feature: Cookie 🍪

Cookie is 10 and still acts like the party just started.

Toledo Mud Hens games, ice cream at the park, keeping the neighbor dogs on their toes up and down the fence: she shows up for all of it. Every single day. Glass City Dog Park is a standing appointment.

There's something about a dog who is still that present, that enthusiastic about Tuesday morning, that makes you stop and appreciate what you've got right in front of you.

Cookie is part of this year's Toledo Humane Society calendar, which I have the honor of contributing to annually. These dogs (and the families who love them) are why this project matters to me.

05/20/2026

Some dogs are just "woven into everything."

That's exactly the phrase Alice's mom, Kate, used in her application for A Life Well Loved. Alice volunteers at Arbor Hospice as a pet visitor, where she instigates smiles every visit! During her session, she would drink her water exclusively from an adorable old lady glass dish picked up at a garage sale, because she has standards. She is smart, friendly, and (her mom's word) a little bossy.

During COVID, Alice learned Kate's entire daily routine while she worked from home, and now that routine is just her life. Office days included! That's actually when I first met Alice as a puppy, not long after COVID restrictions lifted. Seeing how she has grown into the dog she is now made this session feel like a beautiful reunion.

Welcome to A Life Well Loved, Alice. You are an absolute pleasure! 🐾

If you've been thinking about applying, spots are still open. Link in bio! 💜

05/15/2026

Some of you might recognize Ellie - she was a star of Long Story Short. Her best friend Malcolm was her silent session partner in crime last year, but this year he stole the show!

Malcolm is, it turns out, a natural. Full model energy - absolutely no notes. His sister had one job and he did it better. (Ellie, I still love you forever.)

These two come from one of the kindest, most rescue-focused families I've had the pleasure of knowing. I was introduced to them last year by a fellow photographer, and I've been grateful for that introduction ever since.

They drove from Cleveland for this session, which tells you everything you need to know about how seriously they take their dogs!

Welcome to A Life Well Loved, Ellie and Malcolm. Malcolm, THIS IS YOUR YEAR! 🐾

If you've been thinking about applying, spots are still open. Link on my website under "Giving Back." 💜

05/05/2026

I want to introduce you to Hattie, Abby, and Joe. Their family drove from Colorado to be part of A Life Well Loved. Colorado!!​

We had ​2 handlers, ​1 puppy hound who had ideas about the afternoon, ​2 dachshunds who also had their own (very different) ideas about the afternoon, direct sun, and exactly ZERO moments where anyone stood still on purpose. 😆​ It was ​A LOT. ​But ​it was also ​a wonderful memory full of laughter and smiles for all of us.

Welcome to A Life Well Loved, you three. I'm so glad you're in it!​ 🐾

If you've been thinking about applying and you're waiting for a sign - a family that drove ​in from Colorado ​says a lot. Spots are still open​! ​Check out my website under "Giving Back" to apply. 💜

05/01/2026

May's Feature: Ryder!

Ryder was chained in a backyard by owners who moved and left him behind with no food, no water, and no one coming back. Toledo Humane Society seized him and gave him a second chance at everything.

When I photographed Ryder, none of that was visible anymore. He has a family who learned that chicken, fresh fruit, and vegetables are his love languages, with long walks and dog park mornings that have become part of his routine. He has the kind of ease that only comes when a dog finally knows he is home for good.

I think about dogs like Ryder when people say their dog is "just a rescue." There is no such thing.

Ryder is one of 13 dogs featured in the 2026 Toledo Humane Society calendar, each one a reminder of what a second chance can look like. 🐾

04/14/2026

A question I get a lot: what if my dog won't cooperate?

Here's the honest answer: I don't need them to cooperate. I need YOU to cooperate. 😆 I need your dog to just be themselves!

Those looking-away moments, the zoomies, and the sudden intense interest in something off camera are the portraits that people love the most, not the posed ones where they’re sitting still.

I spent years photographing dogs in agility and sports. When the zoomies hit, I am ready for it!

Your dog can't ruin this. That's a promise. 🐾

04/03/2026

Have you checked out the application page for A Life Well Loved, my 2026 book project in support of ? The link is in my bio! 🌷

04/01/2026

April Feature: Bean 🫛

Bean may be small, but he arrived at his session with the confidence of a dog who has never once doubted himself.

Car rides, fetch, cuddling with mom, long walks: he's in for all of it. Hot dogs are his favorite food. His sworn enemies are the mailman and bath time. Both of them, in his words, can "kick rocks."

If your dog has a personality that fills a room despite technically being a tiny dog, you already know exactly what I'm talking about.

Bean is part of the 2026 Toledo Humane Society calendar: a project I'm proud to be part of every year, celebrating rescue dogs and the families who chose them.