Deluxe Session ~ Yogi & Moto at the Gold Coast
Just before Christmas in 2013, I had the pleasure of hanging out with the lovely Alyssa and her two pups at her beautiful Gold Coast hinterland home. I had the best time with lots of laughs!
I swear that dogs have a sense of humour, and Yogi the Golden Retriever is quite the comedian! He’s your typical big dopey cuddly furry bundle of fun and happiness that seems to be a common theme among so many Goldens I’ve met over the years.
Yogi and his big bro Moto spent the afternoon playing in the dam, saying hello to the neighbours dogs, chasing and chewing sticks, attempting to destroy their new Christmas toy and the inevitable dash of modelling thrown into the mix for good measure.
Throughout this session I was reminded of a thought I have often – how lovely would it be, to be a dog?
Imagine whiling away your days taking naps around the clock on comfy beds and getting pats and cuddles on demand, just cos you’re cute. Strolls around the neighbourhood accompanied by your best friend, exploring dog parks and making brand new buddies everywhere you go. Your favourite dinner every night at the same time, not having to worry about paying bills or going to work, being so happy and carefree you can amuse yourself for hours chewing a stick, chasing a ball around or pulling the stuffing out of your latest toy.
Imagine swims in the dam and lying on the green grass in the afternoon sunshine with the one you love, just like Yogi here.. ahhh…
Moto is a Ridgeback cross Bullmastiff and belongs to Alyssa’s partner Col. His nicknames include Motey, Motes, Smotos, Smotes and Boofhead!
The two dogs are the best of friends.
I love Alyssa’s story of how she came to add Yogi to the family, so had to share it in it’s entirety!
“I have been around dogs since the day I was born and have had Goldens thanks to my Dad’s love of them since I was about 6. After we lost Jack in March 2011, I couldn’t bear not being without a dog! Even though we had Moto, I still had an empty place in my heart and a lot more love to give and wanted a friend again for Moto… and being a sucker for Goldies, it was hard to go past them.
“I came about Yogi after looking at some puppies and the one I loved (orange puppy) was JUST like a mini Jack! In other words, a complete handful monster! Although he was already taken, I had a few left to choose from… I loved green puppy’s nature (a bit more chilled than orange) his colour and his face… this was to be Yogi!
“Honestly, I am so glad I ended up with him as he is a ratbag enough as it is, so I don’t know how orange puppy turned out!
“He is a perfect combination of two of our old Goldies, Jack and Clyde. We say the ghost of Jack and Clyde haunts our place because they always come through Yogi. Clyde was VERY good and loved to please… he collected the paper for us every day and always wanted to carry something for you. Yogi does this and is very willing to carry something for you, until his attention span goes AWOL again! But he has many well behaved Clydie moments, and then some normal “what the?!” Yogi moments of his own… and the rest is feral naughty all over the shop Jack moments!
I love him because he is his own Yogi Bear is so many ways… but there are so many little things that bring back the memories of Jack and Clyde…”
About Moto –
“He is uber lazy! He wears a hole in his bed he sleeps in it that much! But having said that, he literally stores up energy and can turn it on in no time at all! He LOVES going anywhere anytime, but if nothing is going on, he will store some zzz’s in his bed! He just won’t get out of his bed to get pats when he knows you are coming his way anyway! Efficient is how my Dad puts it!”
In my questionnaire I ask if the dog has any nicknames or responds to any other sounds when called. Alyssa’s response made me laugh!
“Yogi, YOGIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOOOGIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, Yoges, Yoge, Yoghurt and can sometimes respond to a whistle…”
Check out the matching grins on Moto and Alyssa! They have something to smile about too. In 2015, Alyssa and Moto’s dad, Col, are getting married! It was love at first sight for both Alyssa and Col and their dogs Moto and Jack – Alyssa’s beloved Golden Retriever who has since gone to the rainbow bridge.
Another cute questionnaire response (yeah, there were a lot!) was in relation to tricks the dog can do. Alyssa’s response for Yogi was –
“Yogi is VERY good at sitting! REALLY good at it…. annnnnd that’s all he has on his resume! I honestly don’t know how we graduated from puppy school… ha! He can fetch 90% of the time… but his life motto is “when in doubt – SIT!” I must have really rewarded sitting when he was a puppy because he sits for anything and everything!”
We are blessed with such pretty late afternoon light in this part of the world and the afternoon of this session was no exception, I love this little dust motes lighting up this shot!
The dogs are lucky enough to have a dam in their backyard and they love to swim and play in it amongst the lilypads.
There’s always time for a game of fetch with a good stick!
And when you get wet, the obvious response is to SHAKE!
And then go back to some more stick chewing, of course.
I get so much joy out of seeing dogs in devoted, loving homes like these guys have. I firmly believe every dog deserves this type of life!
Alyssa ended up with a gorgeous Storybook Album filled with photos from her session, and had this to say about her experience –
“Charlotte is such a fantastic photographer! Been admiring her work for many years, such stunning photos she captures, I was so glad I got her to capture my dog’s personalities and share their story in the Storybook Album – such a great product. She is very professional and super fun and our dogs loved the session. It was fun for them! Getting the album is best thing I have done and I now have ALL those great photos in such a precious book that I will have for the rest of my life. Cannot recommend Charlotte’s services enough! Everything about the whole experience was just fantastic!”