As a part of the "Dog Days of Summer" fund raiser for the AAWL (see previous post) I photographed Doug and Sherry with their two rescue dogs and they told me the AMAZING story of how they met and fell in love. I just HAD to share the story. Here it is in Doug's own words (photos to follow the story):
I was volunteering at AAWL when the Rodeo / Chediski Fire broke out. After many weeks of the fire growing, it forced the evacuation of White River Indian Reservation. The Red Cross would not allow the residence to bring their animals to the evacuation shelter and after several weeks, the Apache Indian Tribal Council called Betty Welton seeking help in this area. There were thousands of animals that had been without food or water for many weeks and were in grave need of assistance in rescuing these animals. Betty agreed to help out and sent many volunteers armed with medical supplies and 8,000 lbs of food. The initial wave of volunteers got there on a Tuesday and I arrived on Thursday. At that time, my first and only dog Maddie was 16 years old and had a terrible week health-wise. During the entire drive to the fire, the only thought on my mind was Maddie and the fact that I would probably have to put her down when I got home. It was not a good drive!
When I arrived at the emergency animal rescue center we had set up in a high school gym - the first story I heard was about a very sick 3 month old puppy that they just could get their hands on. They had rescued his mother and his three siblings but he would not come out from under the house. During the next 3 days, all of the AAWL volunteers, MPs, and the National Guard tried in vain to rescue this sickly puppy. It became an obsession with all of us and there had to be 10 attempts a day to rescue this poor little guy. Each time he saw any humans getting near him, he scampered back under the house where nobody could squeeze into. He was incredibly weak and very near death but he would not give up and continued to elude our efforts to nab him.
On Saturday afternoon we got word from the tribal council that we were to stay out of the cities since the evacuation order was about to be lifted. We all agreed (volunteers, MPs, and National Guard) to make one last joint effort to rescue this animal and we planned it out like a military war game maneuver. To start it off, we placed a few people in the front yard to draw his attention while the rest of us crawled up behind him. I am happy to say that we were able to close off all of his escape routes and grab him. He was so sick and weak but thoroughly petrified of humans. That night in the gym, he would not come out of his carrier cage to even get food and water. I laid on the floor for hours until he finally trusted me enough to come out to get food and water and some much deserved scratches!!!
On Sunday, as we were packing up the 30 plus animals we rescued to bring back to AAWL, I got a horrible phone call that my dog Maddie had died. I was devastated and on the drive home had to pull over 5 or more times because I was overcome with emotion. I can remember the only thing that made me laugh was that last sickly little puppy we rescued sitting in my front seat gnawing on a toy and my finger. He made me laugh and took my mind off Maddie dying.
When we got back to AAWL, we let all of the rescue dogs run amok in one of the AAWL yards. The little sickly puppy was missing and when I looked in his carrying cage - he was plastered to the back of it afraid to come out. Like I did the night before, I laid on the ground in front of him and when other dogs began to come around and lick my face - he came running out of the cage, jumped on my chest and gave the funnest puppy growl I'd ever heard. He was telling everybody that I was his dad and it became very clear that I needed to adopt this little guy.
He was very sick and needed to be quarantined for many weeks. I visited him every single day and stayed in his pen for hours. When he was well enough - he joined the rest of his family staying with one of the foster homes. When he was fully healed, I adopted him and named him Apache Fuego. AAWL heard about my saga and decided to do a story about me, Apache,and Maddie and took several pictures for the piece. At the time, I had been on Match.com and when I saw the one of the pictures they took for the story, I had to have a copy because I KNEW it was gold on such a dating site. It was a good picture of me holding this amazingly cute little puppy. The day after I posted it on Match, my future wife Sherry, who had previously ignored my profile for 8 months, decided that I couldn't be such a bad guy since I was an animal lover. She sent me an introductory email and six months later, we got engaged and have been happily married ever since.
I have attached that glorious photo of Apache and I.
I found this story so touching, sad, and happy all at the same time... and this couple and the two dogs that share in their lives were a joy to photograph. They made a generous donation to the Arizona Animal Welfare League to continue to help save the animals that depend on us. So many people doing such great things for the animals that need our help.
So here they all are now... Doug and Apache and Sherry with Rojo (another rescue dog from the AAWL shelter):
The whole family...
Rojo and Apache...
The AAWL fund raiser is going on until August 10th, so PLEASE come join us and get some great images of your pets for a minimal donation paid directly to the AAWL. Call the studio to get more info or to make an appointment for your session! Thanks... and a big thanks to Doug and Sherry for sharing their story and being such huge supporters to the Arizona Animal Welfare League.
Sherry Hall
commented on
August 4th, 2010
It is so wonderful to find other passionate animal lovers unexpectedly. Our life's goal is for no more unwanted animals and groups like AAWL and people like Pam means it is truly possible. Thank you Pam, for a wonderful time during the session and the amazing pictures. The dogs are Hollywood quality!
Mark your calendars now for this special event to help the Arizona Animal Welfare League.For five days only, Spicer Photography will photograph pets for a minimal donation to the AAWL.Help us spread the word about this event!Spaces for sessions will fill up fast, so call now for more info or if you want to make an appointment…
It's my week for photographing cute babies! This is one from this morning that I just had to share... her Mom got these diaper covers from Moonbeams in Scottsdale, so I just had to showcase them in a few of the images (here is just one sneak peek). Honestly, this little baby girl is one of the sweetest babies I know! Now just wish me luck for next month when I photograph her entire extended family (on her Mom's side) with over 30 people and a dozen little children as they help celebrate a few special occasions - including great grandma's 97th birthday! I have been photographing this delightful family now for over seven years, so it is fun to watch them grow.
Pretty in Pink (and everything else too).
cherie
commented on
July 8th, 2010
Pam-Thank you for capturing our daughter so beautifully. You are a truely gifted artist. Thank you-The Pobiaks
Oh my... what a happy and sweet baby! I LOVE all his hair and chubby little arms and legs. This age is such a fun time to photograph babies. They usually love to play with their feet, and this guy LOVES his toes. Truely a sweet baby James!
Rock-a-bye Sweet Baby James...
Kelly
commented on
July 6th, 2010
James is the most adorable little guy ever, what an angel!
Great Gram and Great Pap Fedorka
commented on
July 10th, 2010
Pam, You capture the feelings in the heart of everyone that you photograph. You are the best. James simply adorable.
Cindy Hartzel
commented on
July 17th, 2010
Pam, you're amazing! We just can't stop looking at these fabulous images of our grandson. Look for our order today. We may need a bigger condo in SF to hold our gallery of baby James.
Marcia Calise (friend of grandparents)
commented on
July 26th, 2010
Just seeing that the photographer did a special on her page of James and seeing him in person and on film,lets you know how really special he really is. The smile the eyes, the flirt!!! SSSOOOO CCUUTTEE, you just want to hold him all the time.
Just a couple of very cute kids (visiting grandma and grandpa all the way from Virginia) from an early portrait session this morning. Thanks for getting up so early guys... and enjoy your visit to hot and sunny Arizona (it's gonna get over 110 degrees again today...). Ethan was a real trooper to pose for the family portraits, and sweet baby Becca is so precious! Thanks for letting me capture the images.
I came across this article written by Marianne Drenthe for Professional Child Photographer website (see link below) and decided it was worth sharing (with permission). I have always prided myself on the care and service I provide to all my clients (along with quality images of course), and want to thank those of you who have used my services over the years for understanding all the time and effort that goes into creating your images. I also appreciate all the effort you put into making the sessions successful too! It is a true partnership. I hope you enjoy the Spicer Photography experience as much as I enjoy creating it for you!
Custom photography is more of a luxury than your entry level cookie cutter chain experience.Custom photography truly is not for everyone, it requires a level of commitment, investment in time and money, forethought and planning on the part of the client and requires a larger time commitment for the photographer as well.
Clients who enjoy taking a more active role in the creation of their families’ memories have the desire to have portrait art that is truly personalized. These more discerning clients have been known to budget and allot time for a custom photography session.
There is a great deal of time involved in creating high end custom photography sessions for a client. The luxury of great service, better choices and a superb end product. The result of all this are heirloom quality images. The time invested at the session is only a small portion of time involved in this process.
Custom photography has been likened to purchasing a fine vehicle. To get to point B from A let’s face it, even a bus ride would suffice. If you want to luxuriate in a finely appointed vehicle, customizing your own experience by listening to smooth jazz while sitting in a climate controlled setting adjusted purely for your comfort in a body hugging leather interior, perhaps that Lexus you so desire is your cup of tea.Custom photography is much the same cup of tea. It is the Lexus of the photography world. It is where the intangibles make the experience truly wonderful and the images themselves make the investment of money and time truly worthwhile.
Custom photography can be broken down into even more levels. There are on location, studio, mixed studio/on location, specialty location and destination type photographers. The beauty of custom photography is in the choices and in the luxury of those options. The customized service level you are sure to experience will be amazing. The knowledge that your final images are the result of someone caring about those moments so much that they take extra time ensuring that the artwork you receive is good enough to stand by with their name on it. That level of quality and commitment is all but lost in the age of “mass produced,” “mass marketed,” corporate “everyone is a number.” Custom photography is based on being unique to you. How great an experience would be, to be able to sit back and allow a photographer to do this highly custom work for images that you will most likely cherish for a lifetime?
Keep in mind more than anything that the Lexus will never appreciate in value the way your portraits will. The portrait art you become invested in from your custom photographer will no doubt increase in value and become more priceless as the years pass.
Thanks for taking the time to read this and for considering all the time, effort, and care that will go into creating your images.
I have been putting this blog post off long enough but I think I can now get through it without crying and getting my keyboard all wet.After almost 13 years together we had to say goodbye to our sweet KC.We knew this day would come but it didn’t make it any easier to let her go… she had such a sweet and gentle soul and she will be missed.She had a really good last day.She went for a walk (they got a lot shorter and slower as the years went by but she still enjoyed them), played in the yard and pool with her buddy Jake and her new housemate Comet in the afternoon, retrieved her rocks that we would throw for her (not a habit I would suggest getting your dog into, but she enjoyed sniffing out the rocks we tossed out among the others in the yard), and played with tennis balls.Then at some point during the night while we slept, her tumor ruptured and she lost a lot of blood.For some reason I woke up at 3:30 and got up and went to look for her since she wasn’t in the room with us like she normally is.I found her laying in the living room (stressed but not in pain), and laid down next to her and held her until she calmed down and fell asleep.Once daylight came, we were able to determine what had to be done.While I was sitting with her I remember looking down at her paw laying in my open hand and thinking what a lovely picture this would make (but some images are meant to be preserved only in the heart).Here is one of her last photos (one of many – thankfully!).I am already starting to think of KC with smiles instead of tears, and I know her little soul has left a rainbow in my heart forever.Go now and hug your kids and pets...
Hi! I'm Pam Spicer... I am the owner and Photographer for Spicer Photography located in far north Scottsdale, Arizona. My specialty is photographing children, families, high school seniors, pets, and executives. I am married to Jerry and we share our home with our golden retreiver KC. Thanks for checking out my blog! I hope you will check back often to see what's new at Spicer Photography. Oh, and it would be really cool if you tell someone else about my work and help spread the word. Thanks!
Sherry Hall commented on August 4th, 2010
It is so wonderful to find other passionate animal lovers unexpectedly. Our life's goal is for no more unwanted animals and groups like AAWL and people like Pam means it is truly possible. Thank you Pam, for a wonderful time during the session and the amazing pictures. The dogs are Hollywood quality!