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  • Hi I'm Lisa Van Dyke! I'm the owner and entire team for El Dorado DOG Photography! DOG is capitalized because it stands for proud and happy "Dog Owner Girl!" ~ I love all things warm and 'furry' and find my inner peace being around them and advocating for them.

    My work is based on three basic objectives: create images of your pet that can be cherished for years to come, promote local pet and pet-friendly businesses, and contribute to local animal rescue organizations.

    I'm passionate about saving and helping rescued animals and feel that rescued animals can make great pets. A portion of all proceeds from clients, whether people, rescued animals, or pedigree, get donated to either The Grace Foundation of Northern California or People for Animal Welfare in El Dorado County (PAWED).

    "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
    --Ghandi


Honor The Moms!

Posted in: Life Style

The mom featured in this photo taken for The Grace Foundation is the Jindo mommy dog and her puppies that were thankfully saved through the compassion and heroic help of “the” Dr. Phil and The Grace Foundation.  As I took this photo of her and all her puppies that were demanding her attention (and milk), I suddenly had a new appreciation of motherhood. ;-)  For the full story in Village Life CLICK HERE. For information about Tiny Beyonce’s Mother Day Drive CLICK HERE.

Whoever said being a mom is the toughest job in the world must have been a mom, right?! I won’t argue with that! :-/ This month has been especially challenging for me as a mom. It doesn’t matter how old your children are you always want them to be happy in their lives because it makes us happy knowing this. At the same time, it breaks our hearts when things aren’t going well for them.  I spent several days in the hospital this past month with my youngest daughter. Thankfully she has returned home, is back in college finishing up finals for school and I ended up feeling completely drained and an emotional wreck despite my outward appearance. ~ My daughter amazes me with her strength and determination… I am very proud of her as I am of all my children.  With tomorrow being Mother’s Day, I felt compelled to write something to honor these amazing women, whether they are young, old, aunts, grandmas, sisters, teachers or in any position that influences someone.  My own life has been influenced and shaped by many incredible women in my life, including my own mom. (Love you mom!)  So to all you women, HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

 

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May 13, 2012 - 4:06 pm

Krystal - Aww! Happy Mother’s Day, Mommy! <3

Take Your Dog Out!

Posted in: Dog Friendly Places | Life Style

It’s here! One of my favorite times of the year when the weather is always so nice that even I, the fair-weather hiker (AKA Sunshine Girl as referred to by some of my friends) find myself constantly seeking out nearby places to take Merry and Pippin for adventures.  I began this season by renewing  my Vehicle Day Use Annual Pass for parking, which by the way you can purchase at the Brown’s Ravine kiosk for $99 if you get it before May 1st.  Starting May 1, 2012 the price goes up to $125! If you prefer, you can also purchase them online at the California State Parks Store.

The doggie backpacks have been pulled out and dusted off again and the process of reconditioning them will start with Merry and Pippin wearing them on short walks before we go on any long hikes.  (I have them carry their own water so I don’t have to worry about carrying the extra weight myself.)  And if you’re familiar with the books 48 Dog Friendly Trails and Dog Friendly Trails for All Seasons by local author, Debbie Preston, you may be interested in knowing that she will be at Pampering Pickle in Placerville this Thursday night from 6:30 – 7:30 PM.  Anyway, flowers are blooming, the waters are high, and it’s time to really enjoy the outdoors!

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~ See Spike ~

Posted in: Photography

I had a fun weekend attending the Pet Expo event in Cameron Park at the Spiritual Center for Positive Living and hanging out at Bark Avenue in El Dorado Hills for an adoption event for PAWED. But all that seemed to be shadowed by my experience of photographing this 11 ½ year old dog named Spike.  According to his mom, he amazingly survived having to have his spleen removed when he was about 5, but has had no real medical issues until just recently.  He was originally scheduled to have some photos taken in a few weeks, but because of the recent turn of his health we felt we needed to get some photos of him sooner. He no longer has any ability to control anything from the back end of his body, including movement of his legs.  Please send your positive thoughts and include him in your prayers for him and his family…Someone recently told me that when our pets [loved ones] pass away that their memories are always with us.  I do believe that, but I also know that even as I remember my cherished kitty I had growing up, my memory of her expressions have faded over the years and I often wish I had something more than the crinkled, blurry snapshot I have of her..

Hugs to Dave and Tami…

 

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April 16, 2012 - 9:30 am

Debra Dias - The big guy has had lots of love and is a very lucky dog. I lost my 15 year old in November and not a day goes by that I don’t have to remind myself just how lucky she was to have us and how lucky we were to have her. It’s not okay to lose them, but, it is a part of life.

Equine Art to Celebrate Easter

Posted in: Art

I know that I’ve totally dived into my art lately and I promise that I will be back on track with my clent photography and event blogs next weekend, but this won’t be the last of my art work. Holidays for me are times I like to reflect on all the things I am grateful for and allows me a time to simply “chill out” and slow down. In fact, I slept until 10:100 AM yesterday morning and did aboslutley nothing physically productive the entire weekend! And sadly, I slept right through the time I was supposed to meet one of my good friends for coffee yesterday morning! (Thank goodness she loves me enough to forgive me.) But that’s okay (that I slept in). I believe we’re allowed to do that now and then.  In fact, I think we need to. And painting puts me in that emotional happy place I like to be.

So I’ve been working on an assignment to do a commissioned painting of one of the sponsored horses at The Grace Foundation for someone, but the weather has simply not been that cooperative for me. I did finally manage to get some photos, but the process has allowed me to spend some time with one of the volunteers whom I admire. In fact, he and his wife are awesome people and I hope that my husband and I can one day emulate them in our own lives. Unfortunately we’ll have to be able to retire first and that’s not going to happen for quite some time.

Anyway, here is one of the horses I painted over the Easter weekend. A beautiful, chestnut. I think this one is Charlie, one of the gated horse, but still get most of them confused as I’m still getting to know so many of them. Hopefully one the many awesome volunteers will correct me if I’m mistaken. This one will be on sale to go towards my $2,500 campaign for The Grace Foundation. I still need to raise $1,600.

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Maggie and Sammy

Posted in: Photography

Meet Maggie, the winner of El Dorado DOG Photography’s first Cutest Pet Photo Contest, and her brother Sammy! Both of these cuties are rescues and their parents are wonderful and amazing people! For every time I think I love pet pet photography because I love pets so much, I am always reminded that it’s also because I love being around people that love their pets as much as I love mine.  Thank you Mark and Emily for allowing me the honor of enjoying a morning with your kids!!

We started with Maggie. Can you say “sweet,” “calm,” “perfect model,” and all around “angel?” Those words all describe this beautiful girl. Maggie is a Chihuahua and Dachshund mix and she is special in a way that most pets are not. Maggie has what is known as “Rubber Puppy Syndrome.”  This is a congenital defect that affects the body’s ability to create collagen. It affects the elasticity of the skin, ligaments, and other soft tissue.  It is extremely rare, but has been documented to have affected mixed and pure breed dogs.  I hope to do a more in-depth blog about it soon with a painting of her that shows what this disease does and hope to educate people about it that are not aware of it.  I’m by no means an expert so be sure to ask your own veterinarian and do your own research, but I like to share information I learn of to others. You never know if could help someone. Click HERE for more explanation of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.

I look into her eyes and I see appreciation for all the care and love she receives… Having pets with special needs to care for them takes special people; and she has them as her pet parents.

I realize that the photo contest technically was for one dog, but who could resist this ham?! OMG! He greeted me with glad tidings and was my new best friend in no time at all!  I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for big brown eyes, a wet nose, and soft paws placed on my knees.  Sammy was a wonderful welcome committee all on his own.  And a far as this photo goes, well his dad got him to do this upside down dog pose.

 

Despite all of Sammy’s silliness, a photo session just wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t take some of him that showed his fully Dachshund handsomeness!

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April 3, 2012 - 3:16 pm

Mark and Emily - Lisa – thank you SO much for taking these amazing photos of our kids!!! We loved having you over to do the shoot – and I’m glad you were able to see both of their individual personalities (and capture them so wonderfully with your camera)… these photos are AMAZING.. thank you again!!!

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