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Arfmazing Race 2013

Spencer Smith Park, Burlington pet photography image.

Wow, what a day at the 2013 Arfmazing Race fundraiser for the Burlington Humane Society! The weather this year was just perfect, with sunny skies and a calm breeze off Lake Ontario. Spencer Smith Park in downtown Burlington, Ont., was filled with dogs and their people racing for prizes in this super fun and friendly competition.

This was my second time being a vendor (here’s my booth at last year’s event) and I decided to set things up a little differently. Rather than filling my table with products, I opted for one large 20×30 canvas, two albums and two mini albums. I also decided to try and raise a little bit more money for BHS, so I did pet snapshots in my booth for a $5 donation. We raised almost $100, which is great!

It was great to see familiar faces too, like Goat (I think his legs have grown even longer!) and Bo who stopped by my booth to say woof!

Here are some of the new faces I met … so much variety and all so lovable! The poodle girl on the bottom right had the best name of the day: Hayzel McCallion. If you are unsure of the connection, check out her namesake.
Spencer Smith Park, Burlington pet photography image.

Kids and dogs attend the Burlington Humane Society Arfmazing Race fundraiser.Dog portraits to raise money for the Burlington Humane Society.Dog portraits for donation to Burlington Humane Society.Burlington pet photography booth at Arfmazing Race charity photo.Pet photography photo booth for charity in Ontario.Charity dog photo booth for Arfmazing Race fundraiser for Burlington Humane Society photo.Volunteer Burlington pet photography photo.Burlington Humane Soceity charity fundraiser photo.

This year I got a shot of me (the awkward one on the right with the sunburned nose!) and my awesome friend and helper Jane. Jane is a new dog mama — she adopted an 11-year-old chihuahua with no teeth as her very first dog, yes, she’s that awesome — and she loves to talk to people about their pets. My hubby also came out to set up the tent (which we broke taking down, oops) and man the booth. Thank you both for your help! Also a big thank you to Linda at Lifestyle Pet Care, my booth neighbour for the second year, who wrote a lovely writeup about Happy Tails in her newsletter leading up to the event.

I always learn from every experience, and this year’s event taught me that I am for sure NOT a studio photographer! I brought a backdrop and originally planned to do actual portraits with a complete setup, but after arriving and seeing where my tent was located and the direction it was facing, I knew it just wasn’t going to work. And I don’t like being confined to one spot — it actually makes me uncomfortable! Props to all the studio photographers out there — I don’t know how you do it. I prefer the freedom to move around and adapt to the environment … needless to say, I abandoned my backdrop early into the event. It’s always good to step out of your comfort zone every once and a while though!

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and donated to a good cause! A Facebook photo album will be available this evening – feel free to tag yourself and share your pooch’s portrait!