The Boxer With A Special, Hairy Heart

Dogs can be such special gifts in our lives and Mercy, an eight year old Boxer, was no exception according to her owner (and for privacy reasons I won't go into more detail).

However, the detail I can share with you is that this gal had a big, loving heart as all dogs typically do. And, she was no stranger to happiness despite having MS that eventually took away her ability to easily walk and later take away her life.

Mercy had a physical marking that would leave an impression on anyone who met her—and maybe on anyone who reads this.

Amazingly, Mercy's hair grew in such a way that it left a heart imprint on her chest! How special and memorable.

 My time with her was short, but she was a wonderful, friendly, lovable dog to photograph, and I remember feeling amazed to see her run seemingly uninhibited despite the illness.

She didn't live long after the photo session, but her big, happy, hairy heart left me with a big smile and cherished memory.

Enhanced detailed view of the heart shape.

Happy go-lucky

  

Website: www.sundogpetphotography.com

Visit me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sundogpetphotography
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sundogpetphotog

(c) 2013 All Rights Reserved. All photos are property of Heidi Marcinik.  

When It All Began

Portrait of Jesse

There’s an exciting, encouraging moment when you first start a business—attracting your first public customer and making your first dollar. That moment for me came shortly after I lost my beloved cairn terrier, Josie.

Josie was my soul dog, and when I lost her to kidney disease, I was overcome with grief. An impromptu decision to build a dog memorial garden ended up being the best measure taken to move through the loss of my best friend.

And—wouldn’t you know—just as I finished planting the last flowering plant in the garden, my phone rang. Colleen began to explain that her dog, Jesse, was just diagnosed with lung cancer, and she needed a photo session—soon!

Jesse loved playing frisbee

   Wow, I thought. I didn’t hesitate to share that I just lost my dog and had just been finishing up the memorial garden when she called. We cried together on the phone sharing our stories and the grief of losing our dogs.

I was a bit incredulous over the timing of the phone call with planting that last flower in the garden. It felt as though Josie, now running free and happy on the other side of the rainbow bridge, had something to do with that first phone call, and it comforted as well as encouraged me.

Jesse died less than three months after the photo session and these are some of the photos from his photo session with his family—the Crawfords.

Jesse and Cassie

Mike and Jesse out for their ritualistic walk

The Crawford family

            

Website: www.sundogpetphotography.com

Visit me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sundogpetphotography
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sundogpetphotog

(c) 2013 All Rights Reserved. All photos are property of Heidi Marcinik.  

Why the name Sundog?

Westie pup naps in the winter sun. Copyright ©2005 Heidi Marcinik

Two positive images that conjure up fun, happiness, and comfort—the sun and a dog. 

Who doesn’t like the kiss of warmth from the sun, or the tongue lick greeting from a pet? Those of us with pets know that our lives our enriched because of these special animals who know how to celebrate with us as well as comfort us in our grief.

Put them together—sundog—and you have a great name for a pet photography business that captures those cherished celebratory moments with our pets.

Choosing Sundog as a business name didn’t initially start out with this idea, however. I think destiny was at play when I chose that name many, many years before pet photography would present itself as a career option. It was all in serious fun at the time, picking a name for a website I'd use as a freelance artist...someday. My then coworker and I bounced ideas off one another, having a hilarious time at name creation and pondering their meanings.

Sundog just seemed right, and I decided to use it as part of my web address and envisioned “business-to-be” name.

Why the name Sundog?

Aside from the branding practicality of a fun, easy to spell, easy to remember word, my reasons were founded on two solid principles that serendipitously left room for growth as my life as an artist evolved.

If you don’t know what a sundog is, let me explain, as it’s an important metaphor behind the name.

A sundog, as explained by Wikipedia, is "an atmospheric phenomenon that creates bright spots of light in the sky, often on a luminous ring or halo on either side of the sun." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_dog). These sundogs or mock suns appear when the sun's light refracts through ice crystals in the atmosphere. (National Geographic has a stunning photo of a sundog)

Now you may be thinking just how does that tie in with a pet photography business?

As I mentioned earlier there are two main principles that laid the foundation for choosing this name.

The first one is that a sundog is a metaphor for my philosophy as an artist. I see myself, the artist, as the sundog, and the work of art (the photographic subject) as the sun. It’s a constant reminder to me that the photographic subject remains the central focus to my work and that in capturing and creating photographic art, I become its natural reflection.

The idea is that together, the artist and the subject, mutually relate to one another in such a way that something wonderful is created.

The second main principle is that I simply enjoy a life that includes animals—mostly dogs and cats, but am optimistic that may extend to horses and barn cats one day (I thoroughly enjoy barn cats and think they make such interesting photographic subjects).

And so I come back around to the image of the sun and a dog—light and animals—photography and pets. Sundog—a perfect name for a pet photography business.

Website: www.sundogpetphotography.com

Visit me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sundogpetphotography
Follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/sundogpetphotog

(c) 2013 All Rights Reserved. All photos are property of Heidi Marcinik.