Toby

[rpcrowe]

Toby is a young poodle cross who has come to live with us as a foster. He is a darling boy who loves everyone and is quite well behaved (but he can get into some normal puppy trouble occasionally). Toby is about 14 pounds (~6.4 kilograms). We estimate that he is about ten months old so he may grow a bit more. We call him our pesudo-doodle because he plays so well with our 70-pound (~32 kilogram) Goldendoodle Holly.

Canon 40D with 70-200mm f/4L IS lens at ISO 160 with -1 stop flash fill using a Canon 430EX. Exposure was 1/160 second at f/5.6.

This lens just keeps producing beautifully smooth bokeh. Some folks automatically think that an f/4 lens cannot be used for selective focus. Nothing could be further from the truth. The rounded aperture blades on the IS model assist in providing smooth bokeh.



For more information on Toby see: www.americanmalteserescue.org

For images of many of the other Maltese rescue dogs who we have fostered see my smugmug Maltese rescue gallery at:

http://rpcrowe.smugmug.com/Other/MAL...1545&k=xXPb98x

[djg05478]

Yay dog rescue! Great shots as always.

[Donald]

Seems to display the character of the dog wonderfully.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

He looks pretty well behaved there. You'll have to post a troublesome puppy shot sometime

[rpcrowe]

Toby is very loving, almost to a fault. I was sitting at the breakfast table yesterday and he jumped into my lap. Unfortunately, I was holding a full cup of coffee at the time. Luckily, neither of us got scalded.

He's really a sweet guy and my Goldendoodle, Holly, just loves playing with him. They roughhouse for hours together. But, then they occasionally have quiet times together.



He could almost be Holly's puppy. Of course they both have poodle genes...

[jeeperman]

Nice image Richard, both but that smile in the second one takes the cake! Or so he must think. lol

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Nice image Richard, both but that smile in the second one takes the cake! Or so he must think. lol

Absolutely! That second photo is great!

[Nat]

Awwwwwwwwww! So cute! Nice bokeh in the background. There has been a photographer in the news lately that has been taking fancy portrait shots of pound/rescue dogs, and each and every one of the "fancy" dogs has been adopted! Presentation, presentation, presentation!!
Good job! And thanks for being a foster. Right now I am fostering 4 cats, and in my lifetime I have adopted, from rescue/pound, a Great Dane, two Boxers, a German Shepherd and an Aussie/border collie mix. All turned into wonderful family members. I also have 14 cats, most of whom have "wandered" onto my property, all spayed and neutered by me and well fed, believe me!

[rpcrowe]

Nat, we both know the satisfaction we get from fostering animals and from adopting them and facilitating adoptions.

Pictures are, indeed, literally life saving for rescue animals. A good picture will often mean the difference between a dog being adopted into a loving home and being euthanized.

A decent grooming job is also important for some types of dogs, especially the Maltese or the poodle types. I always try to shoot "before" pictures of our dogs as they look when we get them. This is so we can contrast their looks "after" a short time of TLC. However, since the "before" pictures are really only for documentation. I don't struggle to make the dogs look good...

Here is Jupiter...



We just got him yesterday from a single mom and her daughter who can no longer keep him because of their housing status. Jupiter was clean and well fed but, he desperately needed grooming. My wife is a very good groomer (we used to raise and show Maltese) and she has done a great job on Jupiter. I will shoot a picture this morning to show what he looks like now.

This is one of my favorite transformations. When we received Sweetie, she was pegnant and had been running the streets of a local city as a stray. She was filthy and covered with sores and scabs from flea and tick infestations.



Sweetie had two puppies the day after she arrived at our home...



We immediately found great homes for her puppies but, no one wanted Sweetie, so we adopted her. She has been with us for two years now and is a beautiful and happy dog...

[Nat]

Beautiful dogs! Thumbs up for the great job you are doing!! I cannot believe how cruel people are to animals, glad to know there are people out there like you! What a handsome fellow Jupiter is!! He should be able to find a home, with that shot promoting him!! Do you post the images at the pet stores and in the papers? Best of luck in all you do for them!

[rpcrowe]

We post our images on www.petfinder.com and at a local groomer who has facilitated several adoptions for us. Jupiter is great looking now but, Judy says she has a bit of trimming to finalize before I can take his "after" picture.

[rpcrowe]

Here is a quicky video of Holly and Toby playing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_tvhh0ucD0