Dear Ellen: Kittehs, Wieners and Winners

Dear Ellen, Omg last week was so awesome! I had some big deal gigs this week that I cant wait to tell you about...  a) I had my very first volunteer visit to the sf SPCA and took new photos of all the homeless cats, and b) I got to shoot the Wiener Nationals dachshund races at Golden Gate fields in Berkeley! The SF SPCA is right in the heart of San Francisco and they have a gorgeous little animal campus of services from adoptions to the care center to training. I actually got to shoot their big fundraising event, The Bark & Whine Ball a few weeks ago at Fort Mason in SF. My inaugural visit to the SPCA was strictly mission cat... And I loved every furry second of it! Unfortunately I left my Ellen face at home so no pics with the kitties, but they were so awesome to visit with and take pics of. I'm going to start going there every week to update their shots which are being used on the San Francisco SPCA website and other stuff. I know you're a dog person, but look at these furballs and tell me your little heart doesn't melt too! Did you know I'm a cat person at heart? It's true. I grew up with cats (Chessie, Charcoal, Spot and Marlene) and when I went away to college I couldn't stand being sans kitteh so i adopted my first fur daughter, Ponette, in 2000. I found her from an ad in the newspaper.  Two years later I adopted my second cat, Toby, from the SPCA in Easton, PA.  Three years ago I was leaving for work in the morning when I opened my door to find a pet carrier outside with a note on top and a 7-week old kitten inside. An angel at my doorstep! I decided to keep him and his name became Howard after the street I lived on. I didn't get my first dog until New Year's Day 2009. The wiener nationals... There are really no words to describe the emotions that I experienced at this event. First of all, I never knew this kind of crazy thing even existed until I googled it... and secondly, you wouldn't believe the number of wieners that came out for the races!!! I was very honored to be the official event photographer, so I got to be there from start to finish photographing the dogs and excitement. The team at Golden Gate Fields was also kind enough to let me sell my Scutte stuff as well, so it was a win-win situation for everyone! The big event was at Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley.  It was sponsored by Wienerschnitzel.  I was surprised that they weren't selling (or giving away) Wienerschnitzel food, snif... I would have really enjoyed a corndog or seadog.  There were over 120 wiener dogs participating in the races. The races were divided by weight class and each race was 30 yards long. The wiener races occurred between the horse races and each race only lasted a few seconds. I was thrilled to get on-track access... So I was right next to the action! Check out a couple shots from the races (official event blog post coming soon)! How could I go to the Wiener races without you? Don't worry, you were right there by my side (and everyone else's)... People got a kick out of having their picture taken with you, it was like you were actually there! Do you ever feel like you are living vicariously through your cutout? I would... All and all, the wiener nationals definitely lived up to the hype I made it out to be. I'd like to say I had no expectations but I did and despite the crappy weather, every drop of drizzle and gust of cold wind was worth it.  I managed to get shots with some of the winners too!  You're a winner! What's the Wiener Nationals without a wiener? (that hotdog was NOT a Wienerschnitzel and the cheese was NOT melted) Project DOG update:  I'm starting to receive more Project DOG submissions from around the country, yay! Last week I focused on reaching out to rescues/shelters in Los Angeles and I think word is spreading down there which is good. You should really submit your dogs, and tell your friends too! Just an FYI, the dog owners' identities will not be revealed in the book, it's purely focused on the dogs! So far I have 82 submissions! Alright well I will talk to you soon then.  Hope you have a great week! Kira