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The Donkey Sanctuary of Canada is not only the best kept secret of Guelph, Ontario, in my opinion it is the best kept secret in Canada.  One night I was sitting back watching Save My Pet on the Animal Channel and the featured story was about The Donkey Sanctuary and a sick mule named Dixie.  Dixie had become a great friend to one of the team members of this location.  This episode had me in tears.  (Click HERE to see episode)  I was so curious to where this place could be, so I goggled it and to my dismay, it was only a 30 minute drive from where I live.  I became in love with their mission and the heroes who look after these brave animals.

I was so excited this past Monday when I was granted the honour of visiting this location.  I was able to meet and chat with many great angels that work there, I felt so welcome.  Squirming with eagerness, I finally made my way to the barn and met the donkeys.  They were absolutely sweet and social.  I cannot pretend I know much about these animals, but having the gift of meeting them only brought me closer to understanding them.  They each had their own unique personalty and a few of them just followed me around.  They were curious to see me, my camera and some of them just liked me rubbing their sweet faces.  I was so in awe when I left there, but also sad hearing some of their life stories.

It is time for this place not to be a secret anymore.  Places like The Donkey Sanctuary do not run on love alone, they need help in order to continue their mission of caring for these sweet souls.  You can help by volunteering, donations, sponsoring a donkey and much more.  There are many heroes and my heroes are people who run organizations like this one.  You do not hear enough about them, but they will leave a legacy on Earth and their family and friends should be so proud of them.  Thank you for allowing me to have a glimpse to one of your days at The Donkey Sanctuary.

Here are a few photos from these handsome and gorgeous animals! 🙂

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by Sandro Avila

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I can’t begin to tell you how many times I started writing this blog post with out deleting every second word.  Not that its hard for me to write something about Guinness, I have had the pleasure of knowing him the past few years, he is amazing, sweet and loyal.  It should be easy and it is.  What kept me from letting my words flow is that I really want to do justice with this post.  Guinness deserves it!  Guinness has terminal cancer and just writing those words makes my stomach turn.  We know that all dogs and things we love in our lives are not going to remain on Earth for eternity, so the inevitable is going to happen.  BUT, Guinness is here now and this is how I want to write my post.  I’m honoured to have met Guinness and his family.  Their friendship, dedication, loyalty and the love they have for each other, is the epitome of what a solid dog to human relationship should be like.  Dogs give us so much and they do not ask for anything in return but for one thing, loyalty!  Everyone should experience a dog in their life, in this case everyone should have a Guinness!

Thank you for opening your hearts to me and I’m blessed to know you Guinness.  You will be engraved in my heart forever!

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by Sandro Avila

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  • nancyMarch 6, 2014 - 4:28 pm

    We love your pictures of Guinness – captures the essence of Guinness!!!

  • SandroMarch 6, 2014 - 5:10 pm

    Thank you Nancy. I really appreciate it. Guinness is such a sweet boy!

  • George RochaApril 2, 2014 - 4:17 pm

    With both of us (Xzavier and myself) being dog lovers and owners, and having had the pleasure of meeting Guinness a few times we were sad to hear of his passing.
    The pictures are a fitting tribute for a wonderful dog that was always full of love and kindness.
    One lesson that our dogs teach us everyday is about unconditional love…such a wonderful gift.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing two beautiful horses named Peanut and Prada.  If you have been keeping up with my blog, you know how much I love horses and I want so bad, maybe one day.  In the meantime, I get opportunities to hang out and photograph these majestic animals.

There is a special story behind Peanut and Prada.  Their owner Elyse was in an unfortunate head on collision and she has a long way back to recovery.  Elyse has broken both arms and legs, fractured ribs and underwent surgery for a ruptured kidney.  Aside from missing her girls a great deal, there are still expenses that come with caring for Peanut and Prada.  With great support from her friends and the equine community, there is an auction currently going on in order to raise funds to assist her during this tough time.

Please click HERE to join this auction.  The auctions ends on March 7th.  There are excellent items to bid on, including a photo shoot from ME!

Now as far as the photo shoot, she has no idea I was out to photograph her special companions.  This was all organized through an angel of a friend.  By this point Elyse you are probably seeing the photos, SURPRISE!!!!  I hope they make you smile!  You have really special horses and friends.  It was a pleasure being part of this experience.

Enjoy the sneak peek, more to come. 🙂

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by Sandro Avila

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  • Alyssa PatchesonMarch 4, 2014 - 3:07 pm

    Thank you so much Sandro! I had a blast at the shoot with you yesterday. Prada & Peanut both just wanted to cuddle you and eat the camera!

  • SandroMarch 6, 2014 - 12:03 am

    It was my pleasure. I really enjoyed the experience of hanging out and photographing wonderful majestic mares!

When I decided to start my pet photography business I had many expectations.  It’s going to be fun, I get to play with dogs, I can enjoy nature, and much more.  What I didn’t account for was how close I would get to the dogs and the bond I would develop.  Even though the photography shoot is such a short time, it happens.  All the dogs I have photographed become a part of me forever and I will never forget their sweet faces and souls!  This is a special gift and I will cherish it for life, but there are times when I photograph a dog and I know I may never see him/her again.

This past Saturday I ran into this situation.  I photographed a stunning Great Dane named Sydney and her little brother Banner, a Miniature Poodle.  Sydney has been diagnosed with a condition called Hemangiosarcoma.  I haven’t heard much about this condition before and frankly I wish it didn’t exist.  Sydney can have as little as three months to live and this breaks my heart.  It’s unfortunate dogs cannot live longer and I wish I can takeaway Sydney’s condition.   I lost my Bailey and Loco in a span of 5 1/2 months and a piece of my heart has been lost forever, but their memories easily fill in those gaps.  I pray that Sydney lives many more years to come and based on the photo shoot this past Saturday, she is doing awesome.  She was playful, ran around with Banner, sniffed new smells and checked out new places.  I am blessed to have met Sydney, Banner and their human parent!

Thank you for choosing me, it is an honour.

 
 

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by Sandro Avila

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