A Common Scene

I shoot this same scene all the time. My dogs, in my front doorway. In the morning this area normally provides open shade. In early afternoon, we get soft diffused light. Late afternoon will occasionally provide harsh direct light for a brief time, so I keep a close eye on it.

Margo's Bark

The family went to the Race for the Rescues on Sunday. One of the vendors there raising money for the cause was Margo's Bark Soda Company, an amazing company that gives all it's proceeds back to shelter dogs and rescues. We knew about them as they have offered up money to help get critical dogs out of shelters, and we bought a 4 pack of soda to try out.

It's really good soda! Next time your at Whole Foods, pick up some. Or go to the website and order it. The money goes to a cause very near to our hearts. And as always, please stop by A Guardian Angel for Stella

Major Goes Hiking

Having diabetes sucks. Being a kid with type 1 diabetes is even worse. Not having a pump, and still doing injections probably sucks even more. There are no impromptu runs to Baskin Robbins, no cake at a child's birthday party, the general highs and lows that come from everyday life, that on top of everything else, now play havoc with your blood sugar levels.

But as a kid, having a dog is awesome! And having a well trained dog, that loves to do some of your favorite activities is better. And if that same dog get's to sleep in your bed, well then, that's the best!

One of the great things our family loves to do (my daughter and I especially) is go hiking, and our favorite place to go is the Eaton Canyon Falls. It can be anywhere from a 1.5 mile to 4 mile trek depending on where you park, but my daughter is always game for it. So we took Major, our in training diabetic alert dog (DAD for short) on his first hike back to the falls.

Major, The Diabetic Alert Dog

Meet Major. Major is in training to become a Diabetic Alert Dog (DAD). DAD's are trained to sense high and low blood sugar levels in diabetics. We were approved to get a DAD for our daughter earlier this year. Major is in training with Guardian Angel Diabetic Alert Dogs. Normally, service dogs come from reputable breeders, that maintain very high standards. In this particular instance, that is a good thing, as the amount of training these dogs get is astounding. They cost anywhere from $6,500 - $20,000 based on that training, and they are expected to be serving their "person" for a very long time. As such, it becomes very important to know all about the animals history, and to get a guarantee against hip issues, blindness, or other issues that may be prevalent in poor breeding.