2024 Pet of the Year - Willow the Havanese
Congratulations to Willow, the winner of my 2024 Pet of the Year contest. Besides the bragging rights, Willow’s family won an $895 wall art credit to spend on any past or future session!
Willow came prepared to celebrate her big win!
I’ve been honoured to photograph Willow as she grew up, from her first puppy session to her first birthday and her Tails of the World book session on the beach. Since she’s just about the cutest (and sweetest!) dog ever, I thought you might enjoy seeing some highlights from her sessions.
Some hilarious action from Willow’s autumn puppy session.
Willow was a tiny, 10 week old puppy for her first session among the autumn leaves in Hillsborough, NB. She was still at that clumsy stage where her hind end caught up with (and even overtook) her head sometimes 🤣,
Willow was just a baby, so she alternated between bouts of wild energy and more subdued, calm periods of rest.
“Tracy is very accommodating with scheduling, and her professionalism shows in how she knows just the right positioning of pets for the best photos possible.
Our portraits all turned out so great that it was difficult to narrow it down to the ones we liked best.
We would definitely recommend her for any pet photo session.
★★★★★”
Willow is 97% sugar, but there is a little spice in there, too!
Some fun facts about Willow:
She lifts her back left foot about 2-3 inches off the ground when she goes potty.
She has learned the “weave between the legs” trick but grumbles the entire time, and rushes through it to get her treat.
She is not a super snuggler but does like to stand on our chests to give sloppy puppy kisses - especially when we are not quite awake yet!
Her pawents coordinated their footwear for this perfect puppy pose sitting between their feet.
Willow’s chocolate coloured markings and beautiful brown eyes were a great match with the autumn leaves.
Confession time! Willow’s mom came prepared with bows, but Willow wasn’t very happy wearing them and kept pawing at them. In the end, I added bows using AI generation in Photoshop, which gave me the added advantage of being able to match the bows perfectly to the scene!
Some more puppy attitude and high fives!
Willow at sunset.
By the following summer, Willow was ready for an adult session for her feature in the 2024 Tails of the World book. Since her birthday was the same week, her pawrents picked up a gorgeous cake at LuvPaws in Riverview and we had an impromptu birthday party and photo shoot in my garden, on our way to the beach!
Willow had her Tails of the World session on the beach at Mary’s Point.
I’m kind of obsessed with the colour harmony in this series of sandy images!
And of course, Willow also looked great with the red Mary’s Point Sandstone.
Willow was the prettiest wildflower on the Shepody Marsh!
This was the wall art layout that Willow’s pawrents chose for their home. A panoramic 15×30” and two 14×14” prints on high gloss metal. They turned out amazing, so sharp you feel like you could reach in and touch her!
