Amber, Justin and Otis at Ellington Agriculture Center {Nashville Dog Photographer}

December 7, 2020 Heather Nelms

I hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! I am certainly thankful for each and every one of my clients that have given me the honor to photograph them and their pets during this year. Today I am sharing one of those families: Amber and Justin with their Boston Terrier puppy, Otis who is just seven months old!

Amber and Justin brought this sweet guy home from a family in Kentucky. The top priority when coming up with a name for their pup was that it had to be a name that could have fun nickname choices to go with it. They liked “Bug” and “Otis”, but they knew it had to be “Otis” when they met him. Otis now answers to Otis, Oats, Otis Redding, Hall and Oats, Oats McGoats, and more.

Otis loves people and is very affectionate. He provides lots of licks! He is so playful and friendly and no matter where he goes with his humans, he brings joy to other people around. Otis also loves sitting and laying in human spots, like the couch, a chair, and the bed (especially when he can have his head on either Justin or Amber and have his rear end touching the other person). He does not like it when both of them are not there for him to cuddle up to!

Below are a few of my favorite pics from our session at the Ellington Agriculture Center.

~Mandy

Pets Are Family, Too!

Mandy Whitley Photography is Nashville's premiere pet photographer. Mandy Whitley creates fun and playful photographs with pets and their people. She photographs portrait sessions, family sessions, couple portraits, and weddings - as well as just pets! To inquire about booking a photo session, contact Mandy!

Michelle, Ditch and Chestnut {Nashville Dog Photographer}

November 10, 2020 Heather Nelms

Michelle won this photo session after bidding on my auction item at a fundraiser held by Metro Animal Care and Control earlier this year. Thank you! Michelle is a big champion for dog rescue. She picks up strays and fosters regularly. In fact, these two sweet pups were strays she came across in pretty memorable ways.

Ditch was found (you guessed it!) in a ditch on July 25, 2013. A day that Michelle fondly calls Ditchmas in July. He was with his two sisters, and sadly, they were all dying from Parvo. Ditch was the only one who made it. “When he became mine, he ditched his worst days behind him” Michelle stated. He is now seven years old. He loves humans, tolerates most female dogs, and would really like to be the only male dog on the planet. Michelle refers to him as her Shepshire Chowback because his DNA test showed him as part Chow, Swiss Shepherd, American Staffordshire Terrier, and Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Chestnut seemingly chose Michelle when she ran in front of her car on Chestnut street in Nashville. She nearly caused a collision with another car! Both drivers stopped and got out, and Chestnut went straight to Michelle and started licking her face. Despite multiple efforts to find Chestnut’s owners, no one claimed her, and Chestnut got to keep Michelle.

At first Ditch wasn’t so sure about Chestnut, but now they are two peas in a pod. These two couldn’t be more different, though. Ditch is serious, smart and very responsible (minus his love for dumping garbage cans), while Chestnut is super silly, not terribly bright, loves all dogs, and loves to counter surf. “I would never have picked either dog out of a lineup, but they are actually the perfect dogs for me!”

We did this session at Ellington Agriculture Center this summer. Check out some of my favorites!

~Mandy

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Homecoming Tales {Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary}

October 21, 2020 Heather Nelms

This week on the blog, I would like to take the opportunity to spotlight the Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary (OFSDS). Their mission is to provide lifetime homes for senior dogs. Senior dogs come with their fare share of challenges, which is why older dogs do not get adopted as quickly or as often as younger pups. OFSDS is a place where senior dogs can live out the remainder of their lives with love, comfort and good medical care. Another option they provide for the senior dogs is to be placed within a loving home as a “Forever Foster”. This is truly amazing and they have so many super sweet pups there. I wanted to take so MANY of them home with me!

I was so honored to photograph a few of these sweet pups for the front and back covers of a recently published book, Homecoming Tales: 15 Inspiring Stories from Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary. The book has been published by Harper Collins Publishers and available to order now! All of the author portion of the proceeds are going directly to OFSDS.

The cover dog is Mack, “America’s Best Friend”, a blind (no-eyed) cocker spaniel. He is between 10 and 14 years old and loves to climb. He also likes to sit in his forever foster Mason's lap and 'help' him work. (Mason and Nell adopted Mack and also work at OFSDS). You have to check this guy out and read about his Presidential nomination for the 2020 election! He and The Geezer Party he represents “have values that all of America can agree with”. Outside of the Presidential Candidacy, he also took part in the Dog Bowl this year!

Junebug is the little dog on the back cover of the book. She is a chihuahua, terrier and corgi mix and is between 11 and 13 years old. She chirps instead of barks. She was rescued from a hoarding situation in 2017 and after only 3 weeks in the shelter the Williams family decided to forever foster her.

The other dog on the back cover, Maverick, arrived at the shelter after his owner passed away. He is a plott hound mix and is about 1o years old. He loves his pup sister Maisy, also from OFSDS. He was such a sweet boy to photograph!

Please consider purchasing this sweet book to support OFSDS, and check out the OFSDS website to consider becoming a forever foster for one of the sweet pups they have there!

~Mandy