Sorry, friends, for taking such a long blogcation! We’ve been keeping extremely busy this summer and my poor little blog has been more neglected than usual. I’ve got lots of adorable pup pictures I’d love to share (including this fun foursome) so I hope to dust off my blog and get back to blogging soon!

Kylie shares her home with five (!) of the most beautiful cats I’ve ever seen. Since we were losing daylight, I didn’t get the chance to photograph all of them, but wow – what a gorgeous family!

Thanks Kylie and family for a wonderful session!

Also, I have to thank my adorable assistant, Derby, who did a fabulous job at his first big event. It was a really long, warm day for a 5 month old puppy, but he took his job very seriously and was more than happy to greet new friends and shower them with puppy kisses!

Here are just a few candid shots from the event, including some awesome rescue pups who have hopefully found their forever homes!

And now for the really fun announcement – I have a winner in my $200 gift certificate giveaway! I used to have Peyton draw a name out of a basket, but since there was always a risk that the paper wouldn’t be returned to me in one piece, I decided to use a random number generator this time. I’ll admit that it’s not nearly as fun, but at least it’s foolproof.

And the winner is…#29 – “J Summers”. Congratulations!

Thanks again to everyone involved (especially Pet Pages) in making this a really awesome day for Florida pet lovers . We’re already looking forward to next year’s event, which I hear is going to be even bigger and better!

I had a family session back in early December and I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect shoot – a lovely family, beautiful setting, gorgeous light, and *horses*! Even though our primary goal was photographs for the family Christmas card, I couldn’t resist sneaking in a few shots of just these two. I have to add that I was warned in advance that they would most likely *not* cooperate, but not only did they cooperate, they were absolutely perfect models!

I believe that’s Toby on the left and Duke on the right…

Such a fun session! Stay turned for more fun from *last* year (I’m still getting used to saying that!).

What an amazing year it was; thank you to everyone who helped make 2010 such a memorable year for Simply Spotted Photography. It’s been an absolute pleasure to meet and photograph so many wonderful pets and people over the past year, and I’m looking forward to meeting many more new friends in 2011!

To kick off the new year, I thought I would share a few images of my Derby pup. He’s 16 weeks now and growing up much too fast!

Happy New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving and THANK YOU all for your friendship and support – I couldn’t do what I love to do without you!

Derby – 5 weeks

Derby – 8 weeks

Derby – 9 weeks

I’m sure you’ll be seeing lots more of this little guy – although he won’t be little for long! He’s such an awesome pup and we’re having so much fun with him!

These little guys and gals (5 males/3 females) were exactly five weeks old when I met them on Friday and oh. my. goodness. they. are. SO. CUTE. For the record, they were not the easiest subjects I’ve ever photographed – at one point I think at least 6 of them were either under me (working on untying my shoelaces) or attempting to crawl in my lap. Absolutely no complaints here though!

Those little smooshy puppy noses, their little grunts and squeals, the way they stumble/waddle/run – ADORABLE. And of course, I can’t forget to mention the puppy breath! They are all so darn cute and so much fun; I don’t know that I could even pick a favorite – although I’ll admit to being slightly partial to the little blue-eyed boy.

Now for my little public service announcement: As with any breed, Dalmatians are not for everyone. If you are looking for a Dalmatian, please do your research first and make sure that you find a reputable breeder that stands for outstanding health and temperament in the breed -or- support your local Dalmatian rescue. Of course, this is true for *any* puppy, but since I occasionally receive comments from individuals wanting to breed to my (both spayed/neutered, rescued) spotty dogs, I thought it was worth stating here.

A super big thanks to the R family for letting me come up and get a much needed puppy fix!