Tag Archives: dog

Hello, we are famous

By Stasha | Published April 11, 2013

On Monday I made waffles for breakfast and my husband text me he took my minivan because his car wouldn’t start.

Then by dinner time we became famous.

Alice wrote a lovely article on her website My Modern Met about Instagram photos I post of my boys. Then Design Taxi picked up the story. After that my husband’s car was towed to a garage. By Tuesday morning we were featured on Buzzfeed and the spring soccer season started.

As you can imagine our lives have changed tremendously. I can hardly keep up with responding to requests about press releases and Little J had to cope with cereal for breakfast two days in a row now. At the drive through my barista was so excited that she saw my name on MSN this morning when she signed in to check her emails, she could not stop talking about it and forgot to pour my usual pack of sugar in the raw into the latte. And you all know how long it took for her to finally get my daily lattes right ( tall soy latte with one sugar in my own cup-in case you were wondering )…

The best part about all this newfound fame is the amazing response I have been receiving from everyone. From lovely comments on the articles to wonderful emails that have filled up my inbox people from all over have been saying that my photos made them smile and think about the good in life, about their pets, relationship with their children and taking photos to celebrate it all. Surprisingly nobody mentioned garage doors, but I would like to take this opportunity to thank ours for being the perfect background for my pictures.

This morning I was reading a heartwarming email from a fellow newfoundland owner and I got all teary. I grabbed Bengay cream from the drawer instead of toothpaste and put it on my toothbrush. Please don’t try this at home. It was the most uncomfortable 7 seconds of my life. As you can see all this exposure is overwhelming. In the best possible way of course, but it is a big deal and demands a lot of attention and work. I am in the middle of editing three photo sessions and struggling to decide which black running tights to wear for my first 5k this Saturday. Not to mention Little J’s dentist appointment, soccer practice and checkers tournament he is hosting. Also my husband’s car is still in the shop.

So to all new friends: welcome. This is my good life. It is just like everyone else’s except I like to take a lot of pictures of it. To all my old and dear friends I promise you this instant fame has not changed me one bit and once I restock my pantry with chocolate and respond to all my emails I will be back to my regular scheduling. And to all the media who featured us, thank you. I knew all along that people like happy news. And we love being happy.

As for the boys, they have no idea what is going on. They just keep indulging me in my quest to document our good life.

Do not download.
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Puppy Love

By Stasha | Published January 30, 2013

I mentioned on Monday Listicles that I had a photo session on Sunday at the local dog shelter.

Honestly, I was not going to write a post about it in fear I get all preachy or sappy or just plain political. It is hard not to get emotional and involved listening to Karen telling you stories of abuse and neglect these poor dogs have gone through. Really hard to say good bye and drive home without one if not all of them. I mean just look at these faces, full of love and happiness:

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But all this made me think. And I wanted to say thank you. To you all who have a dog, love it and take care of it. Doesn’t matter if you saved it from a shelter or purchased it from a respectable breeder, found it in a street or fell in love with it at a store. Important thing is that you gave it home, care and the life that it deserves. I have no doubt you got tenfold in return!

There is an even bigger thank you I wanted to say. To all of you who put thought into getting a dog and choose against it. To all who considered the time, effort and money it takes to have a pet. Who honestly examined your life and realized your apartment is not big enough, your job is too hectic, you don’t make enough to feed another mouth, you don’t want to pick up poop and vacuum dog hair, you want to be able to go on a long vacation and not worry about Fido being left behind. To all of you parents who realized that puppy is not just for Christmas, that it takes much more commitment then getting a million likes on Facebook to raise and take care of an animal. One that might see it’s 15th birthday unable to reach the backyard before it pees, long after your children are partying in college. To all who stood your ground, no matter how much it hurts seeing your child’s sad face when you tell them no.

It takes as much courage to choose against having a dog as it does to take on one. If everyone made an educated decision before purchasing a pet shelters would not be full of unloved dogs who face being euthanized every day! So give yourself a pat on the back. Sometimes being the ‘bad guy’ is the best thing to do. And if you have a dog, go grab that leash. Let him take you for a walk. It is a gift many don’t have!

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Wild and free

By Stasha | Published November 2, 2012

I snuck out to the farm this afternoon.

Normally I only ride when my son is in preschool but husband had a day off so I took advantage of it. I reasoned that I had to wash the dog anyway after brushing him for hours, so I really had no choice…

I saddled up and went for a trail ride. All the horses were put away in stalls for the night, pastures were empty and deer were feeding on the grass by the track. Max was soaked from the shower I gave him earlier and smelling like Mane’n tail. He was trotting along, his tail hi up, probably fancying himself a bit of a horse too. Vizon was feeling rather competitive, wanting to race my dog. I sat there, controlling his pace, wandering what goes through his mind as I ride him on a late summer afternoon.

They both noticed the deer grazing and dog charged after him. As if he was ever going to catch him. And if so, what would he do with him anyway? Vizon was staring at the chase, wanting to trot faster. We took the curb and rode over the leaves that have started falling in the past week. The sound of them crushing under my horses huffs, my dog panting by the side of us, trying to catch up and the breeze on my face made me happy. Riding on a quiet afternoon, on an empty farm, alone, made me happy.

Then the guilt came over me. What kind of mother am I? My happiest moment of the day is spend with my animals. What kind of wife am I? When I think of a perfect afternoon, my husband’s role in it is one of a babysitter. What kind of friend am I? Being glad that I waved at my girlfriends leaving through the gate as I entered the farm?

I looked at the time. Then I decided to go another lap around the racetrack. And we galloped all the way. Max and Vizon racing, the dust on the track lifting up behind us. Nobody could see us through it, so I smiled. I will hug my boy, kiss my man and spend time with my friends later. But right now we will run free.

( I wrote this couple of months ago. )

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