Category: events

adoptable, events, MSPCA, Uncategorized

So, who are you walkin’ for?…

kayleegreer

So, I have been working on a secret project with the MSPCA for the past few months now. And oh man, have I been having the hardest time keeping my lips zipped about it! But, I wanted to keep it under wraps until it was completely finished. And walah! That day is finally here and I am so excited to share with you!

As most of you may already know, the MSPCA hosts an incredible benefit event every year called the Walk For Animals. So that means that in three different locations throughout Massachusetts, people and their fuzzy companions will be walking for the best kind of cause – to raise funds for the Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The money that is raised will go towards kindness and care for animals throughout Massachusetts. On Sunday September 9th, you can come out and walk in one of three locations – at Spencer Pierce Little Farm in Newbury, at Aselton Park in Hyannis, or at the Boston Common Parade Grounds at the corner of Charles and Beacon Street in Boston. Last year, over 2,500 humans and 1,800 animals came out to show their support! (And had a blast while doing so, might I add.)

The annual Walk for Animals is so incredibly important as it is one of the MSPCA’s main sources for fundraising and outreach. And it is important to note that the MSPCA is solely powered by donations. They wouldn’t be able to perform daily miracles for homeless, sick and injured animals if it wasn’t for support from the community. As quoted from the MSPCA’s website: ‘The MSPCA-Angell is a private, nonprofit organization. We do not receive any government funding nor are we funded or operated by any national humane organization. The MSPCA-Angell relies solely on the support and contributions of individuals who care about animals.’

So, the question now remains – who are you walking for? Well, recently I’ve had the pleasure of spending time with a few fuzzy faces that wanted to tell you why you should walk for them…

So whether it’s for Joshua the sweet young pit bull who was locked in a basement and starved for the first part of his life (3rd photo down) or Sam the former thoroughbred racehorse who was abandoned on a farm for months while his owner was serving a prison sentence (6th photo down), or Buster the pig who has spent his whole life waiting patiently at Nevins Farm for his forever home (10th photo down), we invite you to walk in their honor. They all have a story – and they all need you.

*Feel free to share this blog post endlessly. We hope that the messages of these sweet shelter animals are spread far and wide. And we hope to see you all there.
(I’ll be at the Newbury walk behind the Dog Breath Photography booth! Please stop by and say hello! And I’ve donated a free photo session to the MSPCA to raffle off to one lucky winner. Maybe it will be you!) To read more details about the 2012 Walk For Animals event, check out the MSPCA’s website here. If you’re interested to read more about Sam the abandoned horse’s story, click here.
Warmly,
-Kaylee
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events, MSPCA, Uncategorized

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick Signs S. 2192!

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Yesterday morning, I had the privileged honor of photographing a piece of history. I was invited by the MSPCA to photograph Governor Deval Patrick as he signed S. 2192 into law. The air was hot and filled with an energy of joy and celebration as a crowd full of legislators, lawyers, senators and animal control officers waited outside of the Ashland Animal Control facility for Governor Patrick to arrive.

As I looked around at the faces in the expectant, smiling crowd – I realized that it would be impossible to be surrounded by better people. These are people who are selfless. People who have fought, day in and day out, against all odds for something that they believed in. These are people who are guardians for the helpless – voices for the voiceless. And yesterday, they were people who had won.

If you are unfamiliar with S. 2192, here is a summary of the main points of the bill, as quoted from http://www.mspca.org:

Summary of the bill:

  • Create a statewide spay/neuter program to reduce the number of homeless animals in the Commonwealth and would, in turn, also reduce the cost to cities and towns for housing and sheltering these animals. This would be funded by a voluntary tax check off.
  • Add enforcement provisions to section 139A (the spay/neuter deposit law for animals adopted from shelters and animal control facilities) to ensure these animals can’t reproduce.
  • Require animal control officers to receive training. People are often surprised to learn that their local animal control officer is not required to receive training for the complicated work they do to keep the people and animals in their community safe. This would be funded by the tax check off.
  • Prohibit carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gas as a means to “euthanize” dogs and cats.
  • Reduce dog bites by improving the dangerous dog law in a breed neutral manner.
  • Allow pets to be included in domestic violence protection orders to protect both animals and people.

 I am honored to have had the opportunity to be present at such an incredibly important turning point in the history of Massachusetts and it’s legislation in regards to animals.

I can’t accurately express my gratitude to the people who have worked tirelessly for a brighter, safer and more just future for our animals. It’s these people –  people like Kara Holmquist (MSPCA’s Director of Advocacy), Linda Huebner (MSPCA’s Deputy Director of Advocacy), Senator Jehlen (Sponsor of S. 2192) and many others –  that make fighting for a dream worth believing in.

Oh, happy day!

Until next time!

-Kaylee

*Contact Kaylee Greer at kaylee@dogbreathphoto.com with any inquiries regarding any of the above photographs.

events, MSPCA

Dog Days of Summer – Part 3

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And here it is –the final installment of the ‘Dog Days of Summer’ blog post! If you are one of the wonderful folks that have been waiting since part 1 to find your fuzzbutt’s photo – thank you for being so patient! There were so many happy, share-worthy images from the event, it took quite a bit of effort to organize and edit all 120 of them. So, thanks for hanging around the blog from start to end! 🙂

In case you missed the first two posts (which you can find here: Part 1, Part 2.)- I had the lucky opportunity to bring the Dog Breath Photography booth to the ‘Dog Days of Summer’ event that took place at Smolak Farms two weeks ago. The event was organized by the incredible folks at Treadwell’s Ice Cream, and it was to raise money and awareness for the MSPCA at Nevins Farm. (An organization that happens to be very close to my heart. I spend quite a bit of my personal time volunteering over there.) The day couldn’t have been more perfect. The warm summer sunshine was out in abundance and the four-leggers were just as waggly as ever!

Part two left us off with a sweet Pittie enjoying a puppy cup and a photo of this guys squishy face!:

I had a couple more favorites of him that I couldn’t resist sharing! I mean c’mon – would you look that that prize smile?! …

And how about this sweet, patient little face? ..

This is ‘Obi’. He’s the Dog Breath mascot. I found him at the dollar store and he made me giggle out loud. So I bought him and now he finds his permanent home on the table at every Dog Breath event!..

Oh, those eyes! This little face is just a dream…

And there’s the smile!! …

This big guy found the pond and decided to cool himself off…

I can’t say I blame ya, bud. It was hot!!

Mmmm. Cookies!!…

I was lucky enough to catch (no pun intended!) an amazing agility demonstration put on by Pawsitive Paws Dog Training.

I eventually got the opportunity to venture out from behind the booth and meet some of my fellow vendors! …

There’s nothing quite like a Brussels Griffon smile ..

Here I am in action! (I do believe you can see the photo that resulted from that very moment in Part 1 of the Dog Days of Summer post!)

This guy stopped in behind the Dog Breath booth for some shade. I was happy to have such a large and fuzzy visitor! ..

My amazing assistant and incredibly reliable and inspiring friend, Doug, being his typical goober self…

Sam working the Dog Breath booth..

Oh and more puppy cups!

YUM!

More?

And a HUGE Thank You again to Treadwell’s Ice Cream for putting on such a wonderful and successful event! I had an incredible time and feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of such a perfect day…

As I’ve mentioned previously – don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about the photos of your dog or if you’re interested to book a Dog Breath Photo Session! You can find more about exactly what it is that I do on my website. I have four dates left for the month of July and August is filling quickly. I’d love to fit you and your pup(s) in to that schedule somewhere so I look forward to hearing from you!

kaylee@dogbreathphoto.com

781.654.1865

Until Next Time,

Kaylee

events, MSPCA, Uncategorized

Dog Days of Summer – Part 2

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And we’re back with Part 2 of the ‘Dog Days of Summer’ event blog post! In case you missed the first part of the post (which can be found here) – Dog Breath Photography recently had the wonderful opportunity to have a booth at a local dog event that was put together to benefit the MSPCA at Nevins Farm! The day was full of sunshine, ice cream and incredibly good-looking fur babies! (which is the best kind of day!) … To pick up from where we left off.. here I am in all my blue haired glory behind the Dog Breath booth. (What am I smiling at back there? I have literally no idea.)  …

This next face made me audibly squeal with delight! Seriously, this is like ‘bowl-you-over-backwards-knock-your-hat-off’ cute…

I would argue that puppy yawns make the world an exponentially more wonderful place to be..

Smolak Farms is just a dream. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day..

This is a face made for kissin’ …


..and how bout this little Sweetie? I just want to squish him and kiss his little fuzzy forehead!!

And yup, there were these..

This is one happy little puppy. Would you just look at that smile?

And this sneaky little goober face was posing for pictures while his Mom was hangin’ with the Dog Breath crew..

This sweet guy was ridin’ in style! ..

WHEN does the cute end?! (hint: not for a while.)  🙂 …

Well, hello Good-Lookin’!! ..

The local Glee club came out to provide some entertainement!

Uh-oh! We might have a contender for ‘cutest customer of the day’! Check this fuzzy little darlin’ out! ..

TREATS?!

And the best smile award goes to…

How about this gorgeous face?! Little gray eyebrows make my heart melt all over the ground! ahh!…

hamming it up for the camera! ‘Hey! Check out my good side!!’ ..

The wonderful staff of bluedog pet care of North Andover was also out to support the MSPCA! And boy oh boy did they have some gorgeous little four-leggers with them! (You can find out more about bluedog and what they do here!)

Oh, and this face. What a show stopper. (Can you tell I have a weakness for Pitties? I just can’t stop clicking the shutter button) …

The guy was the perfect embodiment of the general mood of the day! It was a ‘get-down-and-roll-around’ happy sunshine dance kind of day!..

Um, excuse me? Your little goobery face is so cute my heart is all achey…

Isn’t this the kindest face you’ve ever seen?

Giving a close inspection of my lens! .. (and leaving me some puppy snots in the process!) haha

If you visit Smolak Farms you just have to take a hay ride! It’s tradition!

Oh, hello Jenny. I am having a hard time believing that you are a real, living thing. Your cuteness makes my brain hurt …

What a wise face. I love me some golden smiles..

There he is! The man himself. My wonderful Dad and his dog Sam. You will literally never meet a kinder, more supportive person on the planet. I mentioned to Dad that I especially liked his suspenders. I thought they were a nice touch..

and how about the gooberiest, most ridiculously kissable face of the day?…

I wasn’t kidding when I said there was ice cream! I leave you with a perfect pittie and her puppy cup complete with mini bones! YUM!

But wait! There are more! The final installation of the ‘Dog Days of Summer’ blog post will be coming within the next few days! I have about 50 photos left to share from my wonderful day behind the Dog Breath booth so don’t fret if you didn’t see your fur baby in this post! Keep an eye on the blog and catch the final part of the adventure!

And as always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you’re interested in booking a Dog Breath Photo Session or are wondering if there are more photos of your pup to be seen. In most cases, I do have more images of each pup. In some, I don’t. But it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask! I’d be happy to share them with you via a private viewing gallery. 🙂 Bark at kaylee@dogbreathphoto.com with any inquiries/questions/comments! Until next time! (Which, if I had to guess, should be in about 48-72 hours.) heh.

-Kaylee

brand, events, MSPCA, Uncategorized

Dog Days of Summer – Part 1

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This past Sunday I had the wonderful privilege of having a booth at the ‘Dog Days of Summer’ event at the gorgeous Smolak Farms in North Andover, Ma. The day was absolutely picture perfect – and the best part? The event was put on by Treadwell’s Ice Cream – So there was plenty of the planet’s best ice cream to go around! (What’s that you say? You want apple cider donut ice cream? Yup, they have that.)

The sun was shining, the frozen treats were delicious and the four-leggers were abundant! What more could one girl ask for?!

This event is put on annually to benefit the one organization that is closest to my heart – the MSPCA at Nevins Farm. I was absolutely honored to be able to take part in such in supporting such a wonderful cause.

I got to meet so many wagging fuzzbutts who came to visit the Dog Breath Photography booth that my head was spinning with joy. Would you just look at these faces? … (caution: there is a real risk of contracting ‘cute overload’ syndrome if you continue on from here. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!)  🙂 ….

Oh, hello gorgeous! …

How about these little sweethearts with the expressive eyes? …

I have to say – there is a hidden treasure in the background of this photo. I noticed it when I was editing and it warmed my heart. 🙂 As if the two in the foreground weren’t show stopping enough! ..

My favorite organization on the planet. The MSPCA was present at the event with a booth run by some of it’s most wonderful and dedicated volunteers..

And this guy! My best-looking customer of the day saying ‘HELLO! Where’s the treats?!’ ..

I’m a sucker for a Boxer smile …

And what about this outrageously beautiful little love? …

oh, those eyes! ..

Oh, hi. Nice to meet you little goober! ..

and two sweet little fuzzy friends …

I even met some two-leggers that were pretty wonderful! ..

Cleaning something good off your nose? ..

Attack of the blurry bobble head puppy!! …

Smolak Farms is absolutely breathtaking. I grew up picking Apples in their orchards as a little girl. The smells on the farm remind me of my childhood – who knew I would be back decades later with my very own business! …

Pittie smiles make me melt ..

Would you look at this next face? What a dream! …

A canvas print of one of my favorite images at my booth. This gallery wrap canvas showcases just one of the many gorgeous products you can make from your images when you book a Dog Breath photo session! ..

And no dog day is complete without a pair of ridiculously good-looking black labs..

1

Since the event was such a smashing success – I met and photographed over 80 different dogs that day! That left me with 120+ choice images to share from the event – which in turn means, in order to post all the images – the blog will be split up into three parts! This is only the first part of the exciting series! So never fear! If your dogs photo isn’t here you will find him or her in part 2 or 3 which will both be published within the next week! Stay Tuned!

It was such a pleasure to meet all of the wonderful friends (2 legs AND 4 legs alike!) that stopped by the Dog Breath booth. I can’t thank Treadwell’s Ice Cream – the event planner/sponsor – enough for including us in this exciting event!

If you see your dog’s photos here, but would like to see if there are more – don’t hesitate to drop me a line! I would be happy to put up a private viewing gallery for you to check them out in. 🙂 kaylee@dogbreathphoto.com

Part 2 of ‘Dog Days of Summer’ with more fuzzy faces than you can count will be coming sooner than you can say ‘TREATS?!’ …..

events, Uncategorized

Something to Wag About!

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I had the most incredible yesterday. I spent the day behind the Dog Breath Photography booth at the ‘Something to Wag About’ dog event at the Roudenbush Community Center in Westford, Massachusetts. The event was held to benefit the Lowell Humane Society.

I kept my fingers crossed all week long that the sunshine might come out and give us a visit on the day of the show. And lucky for us – it did! It was absolutely gorgeous outside. And all of the canine furbutts rolling joyfully through the  grass all around me told me that they appreciated it too!

The event was a wonderful success! There were all kinds of dog-related vendors, an agility training course, a K-9 officer and even adoptables from the Humane Society! I met all kinds of amazing new friends – two leggers AND four leggers alike!

I had an incredible crew behind the Dog Breath booth. I absolutely couldn’t have done any of this without you guys! Thanks to Doug, Sam and my lovely Mom for coming out to help! Your love, support and remarkable tent-building skills are so very appreciated!

The enthusiasm could just be felt in the air and this happy little girl sure had a lot of it to show off! ….

And I got to meet so many waggly little fuzz machines that about 90% of my day was spent audibly squealing with delight! …

I got the privilege of seeing this four-legged canine Officer demonstrate his impressive skills …

(Brains AND brawn?!  What more could you ask for in a pup?)

The Lowell Humane Society was present with some of the sweetest, most beautiful adoptables I’ve ever seen! And not just dogs! There were also bunnies and kittens out soaking up the generous May sunshine.

Oh. My heart might as well have melted right there at my feet. Would you just look at these faces?!

 And behold! By far Dog Breath’s best-looking customer of the day….

(just shopping around for some nice new prints to hang on her dining room wall!)

Biggest smile of the day award goes to…

A good part of my day was spent handing out snacks. Cmon! How could I resist that face ….?  (hint: I couldn’t.)

There certainly was plenty to wag about at this event! Just ask this guy ….

Okay…we may have another contender for that ‘best smile’ award …

Coneheads need kisses too!

Just hanging out at the Dog Breath booth…

Amazing handmade collars by ‘Winnie Wear’! (If you look closely,  you can see Winnie’s butt in this photo)! Yup, you got it – the namesake of this wonderful little business!

This sweet sunshiney Pittie is adoptable from the Lowell Humane Society! How could you not want to spend the next decade or so with that face?!

Mmmmmm! Cookies!

Making new friends…

All in all it was an absolute dream of a day. There were more adorable canines in attendance than I could count. (which of course, makes any day a good one.)

If you stopped by the Dog Breath Photography booth to say Hello – thank you so much! It’s always so wonderful to meet you all! It’s not everywhere I go that I can talk endlessly about my love for pups without being dubbed the crazy dog lady! haha!

If I photographed your dog at this event and you’d like to see more (and believe me, there are more!) just let me know! You can contact me anytime at kaylee@dogbreathphoto.com. I would be happy to put a gallery of your pet’s images up on my website for you to check out!  All you have to do is ask! 🙂

Special Thanks to the Roudenbush Community Center and the Lowell Humane Society for organizing such a successful event! I am thrilled to have been lucky enough to be a part of it all!

Until Next Time!

-Kaylee

adoptable, brand, events, marketing, MSPCA, Uncategorized

Hair of the Dog Wine Tasting and Art Show

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This past Friday evening, I had the wonderful privilege of participating in the 8th annual Hair of the Dog Wine Tasting and Art Show. The evening was a benefit for the MSPCA at Nevins Farm. The MSPCA is an amazing organization that I am blessed to have had the opportunity to work closely with – and I was thrilled to be a part of such an important cause.

The show took place at the gorgeous Essex Art Center in Lawrence, Massachusetts. I was one of many artists, sculptors, photographers, jewelers, and painters who were present with booths showcasing their work…

My incredible father came out to support my little business venture. I couldn’t have been happier to have him.

Oh, and also – there was my  ridiculously amazingly huge wall sized prints!

An overwhelming Thank You to David Sarracino of Burnsides Photography and Imaging for printing those for me!

I had various prints and products for sale and about a gah-zillion business cards to give out!

And my fancy new vinyl sign had just finished printing the day before! I was so thrilled to get to use it!

A few weeks prior to the show, I was asked if I would be interested to get involved in the MSPCA’s ‘Angels for Animals’ campaign.

And of course the answer was, ‘absolutely yes.’

So, I spent some time at Nevins Farm photographing the various animals in the adoption center who are  in need of surgery and/or medical attention.

My heart melted for them all. It all comes back around to why I do the volunteer work with shelter animals that I do — I want to be a voice for the voiceless.

These sweet, helpless animals need us – and they have no way of expressing that with their own voice.

I photographed specific cats, birds, rabbits, dogs and even guinea pigs that are in desperate need of medical attention.

For the ‘Angels for Animals’ display,  the animals’ photos and individual stories were set atop easels and displayed in the center of the room.

Nevins Farm utilized these images to collect donations from attendees to go directly towards the care of these animals and their unique problems.

I have to say – in regards to working with shelter animals – that I have never done anything more rewarding in my entire life.

To be able to help save the lives of animals in whatever small way I can is the best reason for living.

And here I am with some of the amazing staff members of the MSPCA at Nevins Farm.

These are the faces that are the driving force behind the success of such a wonderful organization…

(We’re lucky to have such great, dedicated people in the world, aren’t we?!)

It was a truly wonderful night. If there was any other creature that I would want to hang with besides animals – it would be animal lovers. And that’s exactly what this event turned out to be – an incredible night full of warm-hearted, generous people coming together for a common cause.

To all of the folks involved with putting this event together – Thank You so much. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this memorable night – and for all that you do for the animals that need us most. (Heather Robertson of the MSPCA, and Karen VanWelden-Herman of the Essex Art Center – that’s YOU!) 🙂

Signing off until next time!

-Kaylee

adoptable, events, MSPCA

Happy Valentine’s Day!

kayleegreer

It’s Valentine’s Day! The day for all things sweet, mushy, cute and cuddly! And since I love things that are cute and cuddly, it probably comes as no surprise that Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite days of the year. And in honor of things that make you go ‘squeeeee!’, I have the most perfect thing to share with you for this wonderful occasion.

At the very end of January, I was flattered to be asked to photograph a special Valentine’s Day campaign for the MSPCA at Nevins Farm. The initiative was to be called ‘Find Your Sweetheart at the MSPCA’. The goal was to create awareness about the animals at Nevins Farm who are waiting patiently for their forever homes. Oh, and they were so tolerant of our silly, non-sensical human ideas – we dressed them in everything from scarfs to tiaras to bobbly ears and even ballerina tutus! Not even Thunder, the 2,000 pound steer, was left out of this Valentine’s Day adventure! He wore his flowered hat and handmade cape with fluffy red feathers like a proud young man. Scroll on downward and I dare you not to giggle.

Junior didn’t mind his festive garb one bit – as long as the treats kept comin!

And our darling equine friend from the stable looked just radiant in his cape and festive bobbly heart headwear.

Thunder is quite the handsome man in his colorful outfit. (Don’t tell him that he’s wearing a ladies hat! He thought it was very classy and gender neutral himself.)

We even met royalty during our escapades photographing at Nevins! A real live princess!

And don’t forget the little ones!

Everyone got an ‘A’ for participation and an ‘A+’ for cuteness!

No day is ever complete without a squishy little pig butt!

How Rude! Okay, Okay – We’ll get the ridiculous clothes off of you, sir!

Miss Gracie the Pit Bull Terrier and Buster the pig are fashion industry professionals and were very cooperative for their photoshoots.

I mentioned before that no day is complete without a pig butt – the same can be said for a fuzzy hamster butt!

There you have it! The cuddly stars of the MSPCA at Nevins Farm! And the best part?! Some beautiful news has come from all of this! Since these photos were taken just a few weeks back – our sweet and gentle friend Thunder has finally found his forever home! That’s right! After 4 years of patient and hopeful waiting at the MSPCA – Thunder has been adopted! He will live the rest of his life at a sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York with other cow friends just like him.

It really is a Happy Valentine’s Day.

events, MSPCA, Uncategorized

Beyond The Myth

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Just a few weeks back I had the wonderful honor of photographing the MSPCA/PittieLove Rescue sponsored event ‘Beyond the Myth’. The two organizations got together to show filmmaker Libby Sherrill’s powerful documentary about pit bulls and unfair breed discrimination. It was a night of positivity, love and support for one of the most unfairly labeled and misjudged dog breeds in our country – the American Pit Bull Terrier.

The Regent Theatre in Arlington, Massachusetts was bustling with pit bull owners and supporters from all walks of life. And come showtime, the theater was packed with eager patrons. As the event’s photographer, I was lucky enough to get a private meet and greet with the evening’s guest of honor – Cherry ‘the Vicktory dog’. Cherry was rescued from the Michael Vick dog fighting case and has been rehabilitated into the happiest, sweetest pup you’ll ever get the privilege to meet. He is living proof of hope and forgiveness. And oh my, what a happy face he has!

The film blew me away with it’s honesty and integrity as this cause is particularly close to my heart since my own fuzzchild is a perfect Pit Bull terrier. It’s good to know that I am not preaching of this breed’s gentle nature and unwavering loyalty alone. If you think it’s time to give this incredible breed a second chance, head on over to http://www.beyondthemythmovie.com to learn more. Or hey, maybe even adopt your new best friend from http://www.pittieloverescue.org or http://www.MSPCA.org (You won’t regret it.)