Our Weekend with Wags and Friends

This weekend we were blessed with the opportunity to spend some time with a new friend, Wags. During the flooding in Salem, the Willamette Humane Society called out for help to their volunteers. The facility was evacuated due to the rising waters. We arrived after so many troubles with road closures and after a short time, we went home with three friends, a dog and two cats. 

I would like you to say hello to Wags. 

See the full gallery on Posterous

Wags is a 2 year old Border Collie mix, and has almost as much energy as he does love. He is completely house broke. And while he had a few accidents the first night, he was nervous and had a case of the runs. After that first night he was accident free.

This weekend was our 6th wedding anniversary, and we had plans to go to coast this weekend. But because we also answered the call to help we had to make a choice. We had already asked our friend Liz to come over and watch our cat, so we confirmed with her that a couple of extra cats would be okay as well. Liz, being the kitties lover she is, welcomed the extra feline friends. So we took Wags with us to the coast.

Wags bonded with us completely. He was a complete companion. He loves other animals, he loves people and rarely left our side and he is always happy. He was so at home with us in our Yurt that he even smiled while he slept. It was hard for us to take Wags back. The bonding my wife and shared with him was deep. 

In addition to wags we brough home Bunny Boo and Duece. Both loving kitties and siblings, although they completely different. Bunny Boo, in the first photo is a playful and energetic girl that love playing almost as much a snuggling. Duece, is a calm quite boy that is shy at first, but warms up for some snuggles soon enough.

See the full gallery on Posterous

 

Come on down to the Willamette Humane Society for and take on of these future family members home or if for nothing else, come down and see what you can do help, and say hello to Wags... it won't take long for his loving personality to touch you like he did us.

Willamette Humane Society Photography

It was another glorious morning at the Willamette Humane Society. Glorious because I got to give and get some love from some amazing animals. Also, it was glorious because there weren't that many cats. Oh, don't worry, there are plenty of cats for you to choose from, but there weren't nearly as many as the last time I visited which means more people are giving these loving animals good homes and that makes for an exciting day for me.

There are some wonderful cats at the Willamette Humane Society right now, here is a select few from this morning.

Penelope

Penelope is a sweet kittie that was a little camera shy at first (aren't we all), but then warmed up to me and came in for some loving coupled with some purring action. 

Schnider

Schnider isn't up on their site as of yet, he is that new, but he was a fun, loving and handsome guy. If you want a cat that can be both snuggly and playful, then Schnider is the one for you. 

Sweet Melinda

Yup... that is her name. Sweet Melinda lives up to her name. She is sweet as sugar and loves to lay in your arms and have her head, right between her ears, rubbed. Sweet Melinda can make any home a lot more loving.

Wallace

Wallace is a little shy at first, but once he warms up to you, he bend over backwards for some attention. I truly love his strong jaw line and deep yellow eyes.

Last but not least, is my Cat of the Week. Each visit I pick one kittie that gets a little extra special attention. I set up a small studio, bring my favorite kittie in and do a little something extra-special. This week's pick is... 

Simone

See the full gallery on Posterous

Simone is a very loving kittie with some beautiful features. She sat in my arms for close to fifteen minutes before we began the portrait, and she never once tried to move. She was happy and content. Once I put Simone in the studio and snapped the portrait, she hopped down and began exploring, returning to me every few minutes to get a little more loving. She quickly becomes attached to people and like to get some love frequently. She is also a fun kittie, lying on the floor rolling around and crawling on her side playing with me.

Simone is waiting for a good home, but I doubt she will have to wait too long because she is quite a catch and will make a great addition to someone's loving home. Could that someone be you? Could be if you hurry.

That's all for this week. Take a trip down to the Willamette Humane Society and see what new family member is waiting for you. Better yet, head on down and ask how you might be able to help make all the animals' short stays a little better.

Until next time... Be loving to your animals, because they deserve nothing less.

Willamette Humane Society Photography

My second visit to the Willamette Humane Society was, again, a wonderful experience. I photographed roughly 50 cats/kittens, about ten times what I did during my last visit, mainly because I nailed down my process. I just now finished doing post on all of the images.

The Willamette Humane Society is a wonderful resource for more than just adopting new family members. They also offer training classes, food assistance, spay/neuter assistance and they have a wonderful pet store located on site and so much more. To learn more about what Willamette Humane Society can do for you, or better yet, what you can do to help them, go to their website at: http://willamettehumane.org or drive by and talk with one of the friendly staff members. They are located at 4246 Turner Road SE in Salem.

Below is a small, but varied sampling of wonderful and loving cats and kittens currently available for adoption at the Willamette Humane Society. 

Elton

Elton is a fun playful kitten who is interested in things that move.

Huntington (not on their site yet)

Huntington is a quiet but curious cat. He is pretty mild mannered but loves him some attention.

Inverness

Inverness was asleep when I came to photograph him, but he perked up and his purring motor got going when I gave him some love.

Isadora

Isadora is a mellow lover of a cat, although she may have some spunk in reserve.

Jumper

Jumper is my personal pick of the day. He got to come into the studio I set up there on site for a special photo moment and extra special love. Each time I visit I will treat one or two kitties that touch me to a special glamour session. Jumper was picked simply because his deep love of people. This guy's purring motor gets going if you look at him from across the room and he is more content in your arms than out.

Laverne and Shirley

 Laverne and Shirley are room mates at Willamette Humane Society. They are inquisitive and get along well together. And just like the television characters they are named after, they are very similar while being quite different.

Lavon

Lavon is a playful kitty with a curiosity to match.

Oscar

Oscar is a little shy at first, but can warm up to you if you aren't holding a huge camera and flash in your hand.

Pappy

Pappy has an equally cute roommate named Peppy. That sad looking look on his face isn't because he is sad, he just doesn't understand why I stopped petting him.

Smoosh

Smoosh was the runner-up for my pick of the day. Just look at this guy/gal.. so much character in that face. Yes, I said guy/gal, because I don't know if Smoosh is a boy or a girl. I chose to respect his/her privacy. But I just learned from looking at Smoosh's profile that she is a she. You should take a look and learn more about this loving cat.

That's all for this visit. I know... I said I photographed roughly 50 of them... but if you really want to see more... head on over to Willamette Humane Society's site, or better yet, go down and visit the kitties yourself. You might find yourself a new family member.

Until next time... take care.