Sammy & Sophie | February 2013. Photo by: Johnny Ortez-Tibbels

I’ve been photographing dachshunds for the last eight years and I love it, but I do still get butterflies in my stomach when I’m meeting and photographing new dachshunds. I worry if we’ll have a connection easily or will it require some work. What made this particular shoot slightly more nervous for me was one dachshund is blind. I’ve photographed partially blind doxies in the past (one-eye) but never a completely blind dachshund so I wasn’t certain what to expect.

Well, it’s my pleasure to introduce Sammy and his littermate Sophie. The brother and sister duo are rescues wirehairs. Sammy, the bigger of the two, has survived back surgery and recently suffered from sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS) resulting in blindness. Sammy, despite his challenges, was an excellent guest and photo subject. He moved outside and inside easily and freely. He often just followed my voice; the resilience of the dachshund breed continues to amaze me. Sophie was a doll as well. These two dachshunds are among some of the best guests I’ve hosted in my many years, and those butterflies quickly dissipated after a few minutes alone. I now count them as friends.

I’ve just started the editing process so I’m certain you’ll see more of them in the week ahead, but here is a sneak peak of the adorable pair.

Sammy & Sophie | February 2013. Photo by: Johnny Ortez-Tibbels