pittsburgh pet photographer goes to florida | the dane sessions!

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If you didn’t catch Part One of our adventures, go back and check that out now 🙂

I’m just going to pick up where I left off, but I also want to remind you of this:

Disclaimer: This blog post is a mixture of iPhone photos & ‘big girl camera’ photos 🙂 

We set out from Cape Coral to Port St. Lucie on Wednesday morning, with two sessions planned there and dinner out with friends. Here was the view from our roller skate car (and the second photo was on our way to dinner that night. I told you I couldn’t keep things in order).

Thursday was Daytona, and we had three sessions there. I’ll just go ahead and get the cell phone Great Dane photos out of the way now. I made it a personal goal to take a selfie with each dog from our trip, so here’s a fun compilation of those (with some repeats)!

One of the homes we visited had FIVE danes – I can’t imagine having almost 1,000 lbs of dog!

 We got to check out the Raising Danes Sanctuary, which was more awesome than I had imagined it would be! Paula set up a whole area of the property as “The Rainbow Bridge,” and there are memorials to many of the Danes our group has said goodbye to over the years. One particular boy who had stolen everybody’s hearts was Tank, who was taken by the Canine Influenza Virus at just under two years old back in 2012. He was only a month older than Emmet, so this sudden & unexpected illness killing him in less than a week had a huge impact on me as a dog owner. Of course I try to soak up every minute I have with my boy, but Tank’s passing really made me realize just how suddenly we can lose our otherwise healthy, happy furkids.

Oh, and on that note, let me just stop for a second and tell you how much seeing all of these Danes made me miss my own baby (as if I didn’t miss him enough already, ahem #crazydogmom, ahem). I love these screenshots, because pretty much every time I start FaceTime with my parents, E is sleeping until suddenly, he hears me and shoots right up to say hello 🙂 I love this boy.

Just look at that Crazy Dog Lady face. I told you 🙂 

And here are the images from the Port St. Lucie and Daytona sessions 🙂

From left to right above, we’ve got Beaumont, Houston, Dallas, Magnum, and Galveston.

Below, we’ve got Merlin, Tank, and Memphis. And then Tank again. Being a CLOWN.

Merlin (the merle) was recently adopted by this sweet family; he lost his previous momma during the holiday season this year and I’m so grateful for the perfect fit falling into his little Dane lap <3

Who wouldn’t want a sweet older sister like Grace? <3 

Off to the Daytona area, we stopped in to meet baby Aiden and his dane sisters (and cat!).

These girls were so well-behaved and wonderful.

I think every baby should have his/her own Dane 😉 

Below are the Raising Danes pups. Talk about amazing – these guys have 13 acres and a house that was basically custom built to suit them. I didn’t want to leave!

In the photo with Mom & Dad below, you’ve got Kota, Gabi, Rocko, and Sadie. 

Our last session was the perfect way to end our trip. Pongo & his awesome family are fostering Bindi, who is available for adoption through Great Dane Love in Central Florida. I can’t even recommend her enough if you’re looking to adopt. She was SO sweet despite her evidently rough past.

(Also, guys, if you ever find yourselves sick of Pongo, send him up to Pittsburgh, because I was smitten <3)

And below, the lovely Bindi herself 🙂

This boy could be an advertiser for Jolly Ball!

Jesse, get outta there, I called dibs on Pongo. 😉

Oh, and below: who looks more graceful? Don’t worry, Pongo, you have my vote.

Okay, so remember how I said this session was the perfect end to our trip? Well, anyone who knows me is aware of my goat obsession. Pongo’s family has a FIELD full of goats just outside of their backyard on a neighboring farm. I didn’t practice my goat call, but Pongo’s dad got them to run right over to us. This. Made. My. Life.

While we were away, I happened upon the following quote: “Jobs fill your pockets. Adventures fill your soul.” I am so lucky to have a job that is always an adventure. I’m so grateful for my career, my connections with amazing dog lovers, and my industry friends (specifically Jesse!) who make it all even more fun.

Here’s one more photo from our last day, and the “Reunited and it feels so good” photo of me and E when I got home.

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