Engagements with Jenn and Paul….and dog pee!

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Yes, you read that right.  Dog pee.  I’ll explain later.

 

I’ve had many an engagement session with dogs.  I love dogs.  Even though I’m a cat girl by nature, I love pups.  They are always welcome at my engagements sessions….and will always be welcome.  Jenn and Paul’s canine trio is no different.  Well… maybe a little different.

 

Jenn and Paul were my last engagement session of 2011.  We shot on Friday, December 2nd in downtown Little Rock and the session started off as most do when involving the dogs….they run around and sniff everything.  Me and my camera bag included.  As I said, I have cats and no doubt they smelled Rex and Callisto prominently on my camera bag.  We headed up to the roof of Jenn’s office building for a few sky line shots.  Everything was going great.  The dogs were running around sniffing everything.  After about 15 or so, they calmed down.   Pete, the yellow lab, plopped down on the ground.  I guess he was bored.

 

 

After a few snaps of just Jenn and Paul, we did a family portrait of them and all three pups.  It’s very hard to get three dogs (and two people) to look at you all at the same time — not without the secret weapon.  The squeaky toy.  The best $3.00 you can spend at Pet Smart.   One or two of the *squeak squeaks* and any pup (or person) will look at you.  The results worked very well.  Jenn said this photo was one of Paul’s favorites.

 

 

Notice the sideways glance Pete was giving me.  Well he wasn’t giving it to me — he was giving it to my squeaky toy.  He wanted that thing desperately.  After three or four snaps, he’d leave and head straight for the toy.  Paul wrangled him back and we did that over and over and over.  Finally, once I knew I had that shot, I gave Pete the squeaky toy.   All I can say is I hope it was a painless death for my toy.  Pete just massacred it.  Honestly I found it funny.  Until Pete nearly swallowed the device that gave this little guy it’s squeak.  Another $3.00 at Pet Smart and he was replaced.

 

 

After our roof top shots, we headed to nearby courtyard with green space.  I’ve shot there before and really liked it.  The people who built this knew it was going to be used for pets because there were lots of dog poop bags for anyone to use.  And we used them, lots of them.

 

The minute those dogs hit the grass the poop arrived….and lots of it.  As a cat girl, I’m amazed at how much a dog can poop, especially three dogs…all at once.  Jenn and Paul spent the better part of 15 minutes chasing the dogs around with the little green baggies.  And laughing…lots of laughing.

 

 

 

 

After Pete and the others were empty (we hope) they spent the next 10 or so running around peeing on everything.  It’s what dogs do.  As they were peeing, I was setting up a small portable light so I wasn’t paying too much attention to what the dogs were doing.  Pete made the rounds peeing…on the bricks, on the grass, on the flowers, on my camera bag,  WHOA!

 

Yes, Pete peed on my camera bag.  What made it really bad is the top was open.  So drops of pee dripped down onto one of my lenses that I wasn’t using.  Thankfully, the front and rear element caps were on so it was just surface pee.

 

It all happened so fast.  Me, Jenn and Paul were all in different places, but we saw it at the same time.  It was like one of those slow-motion scenes in a movie.  We all yelled, “Noooooooooo” and then lunged for Pete, but by then it was too late.  The deed was done — and it was all over my bag.  Sorry folks, there are no photos of Pete peeing on my bag.

 

Poor Jenn looked mortified.  Pete looked in shock.  I just stood there stupefied.   After a few seconds, I searched my bag for a towel or a rag or something to absorb the pee.   I had forgotten for a moment about the towel I kept underneath the pee lens so I grabbed the only thing I had….a panty liner.  Yes, you read that right.  A used a panty liner.  Hey, a girls gotta be prepared.  And thankfully the liner did it’s job quite well.  I then realized I had the towel and used it to clean up the rest, including my hands.

 

Not long afterwards, Jenn and Paul kept apologizing.  I reassured them both it was OK…AND IT WAS OK.  How can I be upset at this?  It’s a dog.  And dogs pee.  It’s the risk you take when dogs are on engagement sessions.  NOTE TO SELF — for the next e-session with dogs, leave the camera bag in the car

 

Soon the pee was forgotten and we moved on for the rest of our e-session and made some great shots.

 

It’s been 10 days since the pee incident, lots of soap and water and several rounds of Febreeze and my bag still smells like pee.  I loved that bag.  It was a Tamrac and it gave me four loyal years of service, but I think it’s time to move on.  I’m thinking about a Think Tank Photo Airport Series bag.  I’m traveling quite a bit this coming year and I need a nice new bag that’s TSA compliant.

 

 

Be sure to check out Jenn and Paul’s e-session below.  Love you guys!  The dogs too….especially peeing Pete!