Twin Cities Pet Photography

karinnewstrom.com

Minneapolis, St. Paul Pet Photography

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Azure, Ruff Start Rescue Founder | St. Cloud Pet and Portrait Photographer

As some of you may recall, I recently ventured out into the country to photograph the pets of Ruff Start Rescue founder and director Azure Davis.  Her dogs Taz, Ole, and Emma were each featured individually in their own posts, and now it’s Azure’s turn.  She is one of the most gorgeous people I’ve ever met, both inside and out, and her dedication and passion for helping animals is inspiring.

A little about Ruff Start Rescue from their website:

Ruff Start Rescue is dedicated to saving all animals whose lives are at risk. Located in Princeton, MN, we are determined to educate the community about the importance of animal rescue and safety. We rescue animals from high kill facilities, rehabilitate the sick, love the unsocialized pets and maintain a 100% spay/neuter program. Ruff Start Rescue strives to end pet overpopulation and safely place all animals in loving homes.

Bulldog smiles get me every time.

Ole being a creeper — a great example of a doggie “photobomb.”

Emma’s newest trick is giving kisses on the lips:

Taz and Ole are older gentlemen, so by this time in the session they were very happy to take it easy on the porch.

In addition to the three pups, Azure and her family also have five cats.  Franklin, another rescued animal, met us out by the pine trees and followed us for the rest of the session.  He is a Norwegian Forest Cat (a new breed to me!), acts like a dog, and LOVES cardboard boxes.

My last stop was inside to meet the other kitties — here are Freckles and Martin, ages 16 and 14, respectively.  Nice kitties!

Thank you, Azure, for inviting me to the country for such a fun session!  If you are interested in volunteering, fostering, donating, or adopting from Ruff Start Rescue, please check them out and help save a life!

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Taz the Olde English Bulldogge | St. Cloud Pet Photography

Regular readers of my blog have recently met Emma and Ole, and now it’s Taz’s turn!  Taz (Tazwell, formally) is an Olde English Bulldogge with a happy-go-lucky attitude.  He, at the golden age of 10.5 years old, is a typical bulldog — there was burping, drooling, flappy lips, and snorting.  Unfortunately, he was found to have either prostatitis or prostate cancer, recently, but Azure swears he will be the most spoiled bulldog until his last day. 🙂  He had a ball romping around during the session and was practically asleep by the end of it!

It’s easy to tell Taz and Emma are siblings, because their modeling poses are so similar (Emma is more serious though). 🙂  I LOVE his big smile!

We had some quality close-up time in the pine trees.

The porch was our last stop — Taz was so tired from the excitement at this point, his eyes were closing and his head was bobbing. 🙂

Good boy, Tazzy!

Next (and last) in the series is Azure with her pups (and maybe a few kitties, too!).

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Ole the Rottweiler x Retriever | St. Cloud Pet Photographer

This is part 2 of the 4 part blog series on Ruff Start Rescue founder and director Azure Davis.  I recently visited her home out in the country to photograph her “children” and had an amazing time.  Part 1 with Emma the Pitbull girl can be seen here.

Next up is Ole, Azure’s family’s dog they got when she was 12-years-old.  He looks like a super Lab, but actually is a Rottweiler x Golden Retriever they got from a neighbor as a puppy, 12 years ago.  He has a beautiful, shiny coat and the happiest smile.

In the spring of 2010, Ole was diagnosed with cancer and they were told he likely wouldn’t make it past that Christmas.  I am happy to say that Ole seemed in great health and spirits.  Azure isn’t sure how long he has left with her, which was the main motivator for her to have a session.  He has some difficulty in moving around and has some lumps, but Ole hammed it up for the camera and we had a great time. 🙂

When we were in the field, Emma the Pitbull was playing fetch, Taz the Bulldog was watching, and Ole was doing his thing… which is digging.  Well, not digging.  Rather, eating away at the earth.  He was very intent on his task and toiled away at grasping huge mouthfuls of dirt and weeds and dumping them to the side — I have never seen anything like it!

Muddy gums!

Ole had a nice long drink to wash his mouth out, then we headed into the pine trees.

Since Ole is Azure’s family’s dog, her younger sister wanted a quick picture with him.  I love this sweet, tender moment between them.

Even though it was my first time meeting him, I could clearly tell Ole has lived a long, happy life filled with unforgettable memories and lots of love.

Next up: Taz the Olde English Bulldogge.

 

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Emma | St. Cloud Pet Photography

I recently had the pleasure of traveling to Princeton to photograph the “children” of Ruff Start Rescue‘s amazing founder and director, Azure Davis.  I had such an amazing time with her canine and feline crew out in the country!  I’ve decided to break up her session into four (yes, four!) blog posts, the first three featuring each of her dogs individually and the final featuring Azure and her pets, together.

First up is Emma, the pit bull.  She is an intelligent, playful, and athletic dog who Azure first met as an 8-month-old puppy.  She was rescued from a very abusive situation where she was kept in a kennel for up to 13 hours a day.  It took a while for Azure to gain her trust, but now they are extremely close.  Azure told me she no longer has any separation anxiety issues and is a great advocate for pit bulls.  She’s a total “momma’s girl” and has to sit on Azure’s lap every time she goes to the vet. 🙂

Emma LOVES playing with her tennis ball and had a blast showing off her fetching prowess.  What determination!

I think every dog has a modeling pose — that’s Emma’s on the right:

Azure lives in such an awesome location for pictures — there was a great big field out back, barns, and some pine trees in the front.  We took advantage of all three. 🙂

Next up: Ole the Rottweiler x Golden Retriever.  I can’t wait for you to meet the rest of Azure’s kids!