Welcome to my sooper dooper streamlined blog for all my photography and leather pursuits. My passion for both is inspired by my three brindle boofheads and the snow dog!

I grew up always owning cats. The last dog we had ran away when I was very young … so my parents tell me. I remember our neighbours had a little Yorkshire Terrier called Sparky that I loved. When I moved to Sydney in 2004 I knew I wanted another cat, but I also wanted a little lap dog like Tiger. When my cousin asked us to take Ivan, his 7 year old Siberian Husky, I made a deal with my husband that it was on the condition that I could still get a cat and a lap dog! It wasn’t long before we realised that Ivan and cats weren’t a good combo so I went about looking for my handbag dog!

I didn’t know anything about the importance of getting a dog from an ethical registered breeder or rescue group back then so I was looking in pet shops and in the Trading Post. Somehow the small breed puppy I was looking for turned out to be a 16kg, 1.5 year old, rescue, Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Angel! I fell in love with the breed and went on to foster [and susequently adopt] Chopper, a 10 month old Staffy x. A few years later I tried fostering again, but we ended up keeping Trixie the 2 year old American Staffordshire Terrier too.

I majored in photography in college but I ended up taking a different career path. It was when I got a DSLR a few years ago to photograph the dogs with that my passion re-emerged. I love photographing my dogs. Sadly, some are more willing models than others! Some have even learned that if they continue to pull the same miserable face every time I point the camera at them that I will in fact give up and photograph Chopper instead!

My interest in leather craft stemmed from necessity. I couldn’t find any strong and stylish collars for my dogs so I set about learning to make my own. My designs have been well received and I’ve had a lot of interest from people asking to buy one.

Sooooo, now my dogs have full modeling portfolios and are suitably accessorised, it’s time to open for business!

next post

join the ruthlist for treats galore

sign up to receive all these goodies and much more:

– exclusive quarterly desktop wallpapers
– priority access to model call announcements
– first look at the best places to take your dog
– details of upcoming dog friendly events in Sydney + Canberra

Thank you for signing up! The first of two welcome emails will arrive in your inbox shortly, with the second arriving tomorrow. If you don't get them please check your spam folder and add me to your contacts list so you don't miss any future emails. Subsequent emails will be sent weekly or fortnightly at most. If you ever have any questions just hit reply and I'll get right back to you :)Cheers, Ruth