Growing up in Syracuse, the only photo shoots I ever remember were for school pictures. In a moment of misguided nostalgia, I just checked my high school yearbook. That is a photo which I’m never going to post.
ELBEE Trust me, she’s doing the right thing.
When my daughters were younger, I remember sessions for school, for sports for holidays or just because. I have the photos around the house and treasure the memories.
I would have continued to have very few photos of myself but fate intervened. When I was pregnant with Danielle, my youngest, I was a passenger in a head-on car accident. I broke all of the bones in my face so it was years before I even wanted to see a camera.
Then I made up for lost time. As part of my recovery, bodybuilding happened. I have so many photos of that era it’s almost embarrassing, but it’s really fun to hear my daughters explaining to my grandkids what grandma was doing.
ELBEE Please tell me she’s not digging into the archives.
ELBEE Too late.
The point, which I’m finally getting to, is that ever since Charley, my first therapy Doodle, the dogs have had more photo shoots than all of the family put together. They have posed for special events, trading cards, calendars, even catalogs.
So recently, when UCLA wanted Gus for some sort of shoot for social media with costumes, props, tricks and whatever else worked, I didn’t think twice about it
Arriving at the location, Gus went to meet everyone and then, of course, rolled over for belly rubs. When the cameras came out and we set him on the backdrop, he knew it was time to be fabulous.
He wore glasses, a tie, and a special hat. He got the diva fan treatment.
On the back of Gus’s trading card it says that his favorite treat is cheese so guess who had his own personal cheese platter.
GUS Does America’s Next Top Model take dogs?
I was definitely not supposed to be a part of the photos but I have a confession to make. Over the years, I have become such a stage mother that I can’t help myself.
ELBEE She even asked if they had hair and makeup for Gus but I don’t have a problem with that.
