We met Rusty this past weekend when his human brought him for a morning session at Tranquility Farm. Rusty, almost 8, is a very, very typical hound!
Nose to the ground, I think he thought he was in heaven with all the scents my barn studio must offer up to the exquisite canine olfactory apparatus. Especially when that apparatus is at the tip of a scent hound’s nose!
Rusty came to live with his human at 15 months of age after he, all of his litter mates, and his mom, were relinquished to a rescue group by a rabbit hunter who had tired of this particular group of dogs. This practice, of ridding a kennel of unwanted hunters, is not uncommon. In fact it is particularly common in Spain where hunters use “Galgos,” or Spanish greyhounds to hunt each season. Their fate is often a gruesome one should they be deemed unworthy of being kept around until the next season.
Much to Rusty’s delight – he found the mother lode! Much loved and equally adored and pampered, he has been in his forever home for some time now. We love the fact that not only did he find an awesome life and human, he went from being an “accessory dog,” to being such a member of the family that he had his portrait taken!
We usually start our barn sessions with light that is a bit more forgiving as the dog settles into the process. Rusty was a quick study and we were soon shifting to more dramatic light. We started on the barn wood…

Then, after letting Rusty fling himself about the studio for a while…


…we asked him to work again after showing us his “moves” and we moved onto the old braided rug in the studio..


And finally, after a lighting check with our trusty owl, we asked him to really work for a bit of dramatic light.. He did not disappoint. Thanks Rusty for a lovely morning. We loved your beagle spirit!













by Bev
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