If you are on my email newsletter list you will already know that I have a special Halloween themed mini session coming up on Sunday, October 27.  The Boo-tiful babies mini sessions are short, 15-20 minute photo shoots at my home studio of your children or pets in costume.  I have been doing these photo shoots now for 3 or 4 years and they are always so much fun!  Halloween is my favorite holiday and I love seeing everyone get creative with their costumes and come in and have a good time.

I know that I normally keep it pretty light around here, but today I wanted to share with you the story of how these mini sessions came to be.  It is a serious story for such a light-hearted, fun event but one that is very personal and important to me.  To try to conteract the seriousness of the post I will be sure to sprinkle in lots of my own personal photos to keep you entertained.  Like these ones, here:

Many of you know that I have two rescue dogs – Mars and Alexandria (or Lexi).  What you may not all know is the story of how we came to have Mars in our lives.  We rescued both of our dogs.  Lexi we found at a trailer park in Wake Forest, North Carolina.  We got Lexi when she was 8 weeks old and for another month it was just the three of us living in our new house.

Then one day when Lexi was three months old I got a call from our realtor.  Someone had dumped a dog with them and they were not going to be able to keep him because their three small dogs were terrorizing him.  Did we want him?

At that point I was deep in the middle of training to house train one stubborn little black puppy who liked to chew on everything and I didn’t really want a second dog, but I agreed to let her bring him over to the house so that we could meet him.

When he arrived at the house he was gangly, scrawny, and all feet and ears.  This awkward little bundle of black and white fur looked out at me from brown eyes and you could tell he was scared.

“If you don’t take him,” she said “they’ll kill him.  The county that we live does not shelter pitbulls.  If we bring him in to animal control without tags or a micro chip, they would immediately put him down.”

Honestly, how do you say no to that?  And so it came to be that we had another puppy.

After they left him with us we started to take a closer look at him.  It was immediately apparent that he had fleas so it was off to the pet store right away.  When we got home and tried to get him in the bathroom for a flea bath he was terrified of being in an enclosed space.  No amount of coaxing or bribing would get him to come into the bathroom.  In the end we had to pick him up and carry him kicking and yelping into the tub.  It was obvious that he had been locked in a small room for much of his short life.

When we started to wash him we could see that he didn’t just have a few fleas.  He had so many fleas that in some areas his fur looked like it was a living, pulsing thing.  It took two flea baths to kill them all.

That was just the first in a long line of signs of abuse and neglect that we found over the next year.

By the time he was one we had discovered that he had 5 types of worms as well as mange.  The vet said that he had never been given any type of shots or care before he came to us, though they did suspect that he had been given protein supplements in an attempt to bulk him up.  Mars had two fractured vertebrae in his back and his tail had been broken at least twice.

As he started to get older we noticed that he was having trouble eating.  We had to soak his food in water before he would eat.  When we took him to the vet, the x-rays revealed that he had been either hit or kicked in the mouth so hard that not only had his baby teeth been broken beneath the gum line, his permanent teeth had been shattered as well.  We ended up having to remove several of the teeth from the bottom of his jaw.

We will probably never know the extend of the abuse that Mars was forced to endure, but from the little bits of information that we do know we suspect that he was bred to be a fighting dog, likely on a mother that was less than a year old.  Then at as young as three months (he was only four months old when we got him) he was confined to a small room and regularly beaten – we suspect with a pipe or broom since he is still terrified of them – in an attempt to make him aggressive.  When he was deemed “not mean enough” they muzzled him, chained him to a wall, and let other dogs attack him.  Apparently, the catalyst for them dumping him was that, even tied down, he was too strong and was hurting the more important fighting dogs.

I can’t tell you how happy my dogs make me (almost) everyday.  That anyone could ever treat an animal that way breaks my heart (If you are a real glutton for punishment and you want to cry today, go Google “Mama Jade Craigslist”).  My experience with Mars is why I wanted to do a yearly mini session that helps support animal organizations that work to end this sort of behavior and help the animals who are victimized by it.

This year any donations brought to the sessions will be given to Ambassador Pitbull Rescue here in Nova.  Their mission is to restore the positive image of the once “nanny dog”, back to its original glory.  In their own words:

“We have all fallen head over heels, madly in love, with Pit Bull type dogs.  Through education and outreach, we hope to inform people about their true nature and restore the breed to its former position of esteem in the hearts and minds of people everywhere. Through our network of dedicated volunteers, it is our goal to place every one of our ambassadors with an educated, responsible owner.  Until their forever home is found, all of the dogs in our program reside in qualified foster homes where they receive medical care, training and love.”

Ambassador Pit Bull Rescue:
Provides a safe haven in foster care for Pit Bull type dogs until an adoptive home is found.
Provides medical care and rehabilitation (if necessary) for all dogs in our program.
Provides the leadership and training necessary for a successful adoption.
Educates the community about the humane treatment of Pit Bull type dogs and works to help end breed discrimination.

Boo-tiful babies, my annual costume mini session to help support animal shelters and organizations, will be Sunday, October 27 from 9am -5pm.

This Halloween help me support local animal rescue agencies by bringing in your Boo-tiful Baby in costume for a limited edition mini session at my studio.   Both children and pets are welcome as long as they are in costume!

• PetSmart & Petco Gift Cards (for food)
• Dog Crates (wire or airline style)
• High Quality Dog Food and Treats
• Towels and Blankets
• Collars, Leashes and Harnesses
• Heartworm, Flea and Tick Preventative
• Durable Toys (Kongs, Nylabones, etc.)
• Large Dog Bowls
• Medical and Cleaning Supplies

There are a limited number of slots available!  To reserve your session go to: