Hounds of Hamilton
We need a big dose of dogs these days so HAMILTON CITY Magazine is launching a new feature to celebrate the city's canines. Send in your dogs!
Is there any better escape from the relentless news cycle, doom scrolling and polarizing politics, and any simpler way to find joy and laughter than dogs? We didn’t think so. So that’s why we’ve launched Hounds of Hamilton, our celebration of local dogs in print and online. Mutts to purebreds, toys to giants, puppies to seniors, Hounds of Hamilton will be the place to find the doggoes in our fair city just waiting for their brush with fame.
We are pairing up with Fetching Studios, the husband and wife team of Geoff Fitzgerald and Vanessa Marion-Merritt (see story below), who will help us showcase local canine clients. Here, and in our next issue, we are introducing beautiful dogs who were rescued and adopted to loving families by southern Ontario rescue organization Save Our Scruff, which saves dogs from around the world.
But we won’t stop there! We know your phone is jammed with pet photos, so, if you live in Hamilton or Burlington, send your best canine candids to hounds@hamiltoncitymagazine.ca. (We'll use everything we get online but to make it into print, please send clear JPEGS, that are at least 1 MB in file size.)
And please tell us your dog's name, breed, age, favourite Hamilton hike spot, personality traits, his or her loves in life and any other fun facts we should know!
TIG
Breed: Hound mix from Mexico
Age: about 6 or 7 years old
Favourite Hamilton hike spot: Devil’s Punchbowl
Personality traits: He’s gentle, laid back and quiet but will sing along with the guitar every now and then.
What he loves: Tig loves people and giving puppy kisses to anyone close by. He loves to nap and snuggle and will claim any blanket as his own. His summer trip to the cottage is his favourite because he loves going for paddle board rides.
Fun fact: He uses pillows like he is a human and can perfectly tuck himself in with no help.
MOLLY
Breed: 100 per cent American village dog with short stretches of DNA that match purebred dog breeds including bulldog, American pitbull terrier, German shepherd, and boerboels (she doesn’t look like any of these though!)
Age: 5 years old
Neighbourhood she lives in: Brant Hills
Favourite Hamilton hike spot: Gage Park. Molly would rather lie in the park and watch squirrels rather than hike
Personality traits: sweet & stubborn. Molly is our princess child and most people say she is more human than dog. She feels everything deeply. She loves her favourite people more than anything else and when she doesn’t like something, she despises it (walking in the rain… yeah, right). She is quite the drama queen!
What she loves: treats, attention & more treats! Molly will do just about any trick for a snack. She will repeat all the tricks she knows until she gets rewarded. Molly also loves attention and pets from her favourite people. She will force her way into a hug or a pat on the head or a scratch on her fluffy bum. Now that Molly is a big sister to a human, she patiently waits for the baby to go to bed so that everyone's attention can be on her again.
Fun fact: Molly was named after the doll from the ’90s show The Big Comfy Couch. We came up with the name when we were matched to Molly by Save Our Scruff and given a photo of her. In her shelter photo, Molly was standing up against a bright blue wall and her nose was so pink. She reminded us so much of the doll who wore a bright blue dress and had a bright red nose. Molly is our real-life doll. A couple years later, we adopted a sibling for Molly from the same Mexican shelter via SOS. We decided to name her Loonette; the clown from The Big Comfy Couch. We call her Looney and her personality matches perfectly too! She is a total goof. We often get asked if they are biological sisters but they are not.
RUE
Breed: Mixed breed (maybe shepherd or lab)
Age: 5 years old
Favourite Hamilton hike spot: Rue loves Gage Park because of all the squirrels she sees and smells.
Personality traits: Rue is energetic, curious, adventurous, gentle, affectionate and sometimes sassy.
What she loves: Rue loves being out and about! She loves picking out toys from Homesense, tagging along on any car ride she can and trekking downtown on the weekends to her favourite cafe for a pup cup. When she’s home she loves sunbathing in any patch of sunlight she can find and tearing all the stuffing out of every toy she owns.
Fun fact: Rue’s favourite hobby is using her nose to find things. She just completed a scent detection and nosework course and is able to sniff out certain scents when hidden.
Here are our reader submissions!
ERNIE
This is Ernie the Rescue Dog (also his IG handle). He’s an approximately 4-year-old boxer mastiff (boxmas), pulled from a euthanasia list at the end of COVID. He went from eating garbage to a king-sized bed and doggy daycare, cottage trips and spaw days. My husband describes Ernie as the guy you’d want to go to Vegas with – up for anything, most likely to lose his rent payment at the blackjack table, probably lose his phone but still be on time at the buffet in the morning wagging his tail. Ernie’s a semi-celebrity in our neighbourhood on Hamilton Mountain. No one knows our names, but they know Ernie’s. We’ve recently adopted a 6-month old one-eyed kitten from the Hamilton-Burlington SPCA as part of their “Fetch and Release” program. It’s a real Tom & Jerry situation.
– Callie Blackburn
REGGIE
This is our beautiful rescue dog, Reggie! He is such a sweet boy. He’s approximately 2.5 years old. Because he is a rescue, we aren't exactly sure of his date of birth. His adoption forms said cur/shepherd Mix, but again we aren't exactly sure. He’s very sweet, playful and patient. He loves to meet new people and dogs. He loves to walk and he can go for hours! And he loves to go to the dog park and go to his Nonna's house! His quirk: He is an expert in the "downward dog. He loves to stretch. He lives in Stoney Creek.
– Alexandria Palazzo
BEASLEY
This is Beasley (yes, named after the Hamilton Beasley neighbourhood!) who celebrated her third birthday on March 24, complete with her very own “pupcake” and all! Beasley is a tri-coloured border collie! She’s a very sweet, silly, happy pup who will wiggle her excited little booty up to anyone who so much as looks in her direction. In true border collie fashion, she’s ball obsessed and would spend all day playing fetch if we’d let her. In the warmer months, we can’t get her out of the pool or lake! She also loves to snuggle with her humans and meeting all the new friends on our walks around the neighbourhood.
– Sara Charters
HARRY
Harry, believed to be a collie (rough or border)/Labrador mix, will be 11 years old this summer. He lives in Dundas. He was adopted from a shelter by my friend and then I adopted him when my friend suddenly died. I find Harry loves the things that remind him of his first family. For instance he loves watching Coronation Street! He loves watching any TV show with animals, no matter the kind – birds, reptiles, mammals or fish, real or animated. He especially loves watching border collies working; maybe he knows they’re related. Harry is super smart, like the collie, with a smattering of goofball like the Labrador. He loves, loves, loves food (hello Labrador!), and long walking adventures in conservation areas way more than street walks. Car rides are a favourite, too. He barks excitedly when he sees people he knows. He barks at thunder and will try to jump up to the sky to catch it. He’s not a fan of people who smoke and will bark as if annoyed. Harry doesn’t tolerate dogs or puppies especially who haven’t learned their manners and want to jump on him. He has enough dog friends so this preference doesn’t mean he’s antisocial. I could write a book about him but this gives you an idea of why he’s so cherished.
– Lynn Hamilton
SKYE
Skye was rescued from the streets of Texas in 2020 and this photo shows her with her favourite Christmas dog toy present. She is a crazy Husky with crazy energy and lives in Waterdown. When Skye was rescued we were told she was approximately 2 years old, so that would make her turning 7 years old this year, and we celebrate her “gotcha” date in July. That said, I think she may have been younger because she still acts like a puppy and has the energy of a 1 year old. She loves all toys, is crazy for treats and after getting home after a long walk does zoomies at top speed around the back yard (so we’ve realized that the long walk is just an appetizer for her exercise!). She has become good friends with my daughter’s cat, Tiki, and they find the sun together for their afternoon naps. As spring melts the last of the snow each year, Skye can be found laying on the very last patch of snow in our backyard!
– Kathie Bavota
BODIE
This is Bodie, a 5-year-old black Lab/border collie. He’s enjoying the water at the beach strip, his favourite place. He lives in the east end.
BARRY
This sweet boy came into our lives in January and has brought us nothing but joy. After losing our beloved shepherd in November 2023, we knew it was time to welcome a new family member. Smart, friendly and a relentless snuggler, Barry has filled our home on the Hamilton Mountain with love. Born on Oct. 5, he’s still a puppy, and we are looking forward to many happy years together.
– Kim MacDonald
BUDDY
This is our sweet basset hound named Buddy. We adopted him from the Burlington Humane Society when he was one and a half. He was perfect from the start. He is now 10 years old and is still full of beans at times. Does a dance for us when he wants a treat from the treat cupboard. Comes running when he hears me pull a banana from the bunch so he can share it with me. Loves bananas! And always lets us know when it's time for his dinner. These days, now that he’s 10, he has a staring contest with bunnies in our Stoney Creek yard rather than bothering to chase them. He is gentle yet can be loud when company arrives, assuming they have come to see him with a treat. His favourite things are tummy rubs, food, walks and us!
– Marg Lambert
HARLEY
Here's our goofball Harley, a 3-year-old cockapoo. He is an adorable, fun puffball. Harley loves to be around people and is a very social dog. When on walks he will stop and sit when other people or dogs are near with the hopes of a pat, ear scratches or a treat, or the possibility of meeting a new friend! We live in a very dog friendly neighbourhood in Stoney Creek and most people carry treats with them. Harley does not forget. If you've given him a treat once he will remember the next time he sees you. Harley is an excellent family dog. He loves cuddling and giving hugs. He loves exploring in the bedrooms with the hopes of escaping with a new found sock! He will always be by your side when you are in the kitchen waiting patiently for any dropped food. He loves to sing along when the piano is played. You can often find Harley laying by a sunny window. In the warmer weather he loves being outside and playing keep-away with the ball. He never really learned the concept of fetch. I think keep-away is more fun for him and gets us running around too!
– Anna Dicesare
BO
Bo is a 4-year-old terrier mix and he’s full of spit and vinegar. He loves chasing squirrels and birds. He lives in the Greenhill area of Hamilton.
BEASLEY
This is my 10-year-old biewer terrier named Beasley. He got his name from an old doll my mom used to talk about called a Mrs. Beasley doll. Beasley came to me as a gift for Valentine’s Day from my partner at a time when I needed him most. I had lost my brother suddenly at age 39 in August of 2013. Needless to say I was very sad having lost my only sibling and also losing my 16 year old Yorkie named Mia just months later. Beasley helped me to smile again with his spunky humorous little personality. He would not leave my side and still hasn’t. He loves to be on my lap and gives true meaning to the word lap dog. Beasley loves to eat and some of his favourite foods are meats and the occasional sugar cookie when mommy bakes. Beasley is still very playful at age 10 and some of his favourite toys are balls. Beasley always greets me with smiles and a story whenever I come home. Having Beasley has been a blessing and he is the best friend anyone could ask for! We live in the east end.
– Mandy MacKinnon
AUGGIE
Auggie is a 3-year-old standard poodle. He travels regularly along the path on the Mountain Brow as this is his neighbourhood. He loves his family first and foremost. He likes car rides, his groomer, playing catch, rolling over and shaking a paw for a donut hole. He likes many of his neighbours … Norman, Molly, Bella. In the summer he likes to swim. He is a very good boy!
– Cathie Ellis-McCarthy
Our partners: Dogs are the stars at Fetching Studios
This story starts with a photogenic bulldog.
Soon after he moved to Hamilton in 2020, a neighbour who breeds bulldogs asked photographer Geoff Fitzgerald to take photos of a new litter.
“We were grinning ear to ear. It was just so much fun,” says Fitzgerald’s wife Vanessa Marion-Merritt, who helped to corral the scrambling puppies.
Then, in spring 2021, the couple adopted Taffy, one of their neighbour’s dogs. She loves the camera and that’s a good thing because Fitzgerald is constantly taking pictures of her.
“I never knew I was a bulldog person but after having them, I definitely am. I don't think I'm ever going to be anything other than a bulldog person,” says Fitzgerald.
Taffy is basically Miss Piggy. “She’s sweet and cuddly one second and will karate chop you the next and run around like crazy. She's got a big personality.”
After Taffy came Tootsie, her daughter.
“Tootsie is basically Tina Belcher from Bob's Burgers. She’s the awkward daughter. She just sits there and is a little bit more apprehensive, and does weird things. We love her so much. She’s a little bit more on the quiet side, personality wise.”
As the couple walked their Gibson neighbourhood and beyond, they realized that Hamilton is a true dog town.
In January 2022, Fitzgerald and a few friends acquired some studio space in a converted garage at the rear of the Paperbox Studios building on Cumberland Avenue.
Fitzgerald had long had a dream to combine his work in portrait photography with his love of dogs and from all of that, plus some market research that found a booming pet industry and a social media fascination with all things dog, Fetching Studios was born.
“The big thing with Fetching is just patience and cooperation with the dogs,” says Fitzgerald.
“I think it's been sort of trial and error as we've worked with different people and their pets, because everyone has a different dynamic with their dog.”
Fetching has a dog’s person fill out a form to learn about what motivates the pup – usually treats – and if there are any anxiety triggers to avoid like loud noises or flashing lights.
Once the dog is in the studio, they give him or her plenty of time to sniff around and relax.
“We don't get the best work until the last 20 minutes or 15 minutes of our shoot, because that's when the dog, you can see their energy dropping,” says Fitzgerald. “And they become more malleable. They become more adaptable, and listen a little more because they've gotten those zoomies out in that first 15 or 20 minutes. And then they start to sort of cooperate a little bit more.”
The humans have to be comfortable, too, because if they aren’t, the dogs pick up on that, says Marion-Merritt.
“I think a lot of the time people want their pet to perform but we're just here to have fun. We're going to get some bad photos. We're going to get some amazing photos. I think we realized pretty early, the photos that you take away are the product, but the experience is really the value, you know.”
Fitzgerald and Marion-Merritt are big supporters of local rescue organizations, including Save Our Scruff and Ladybird Sanctuary. They support fundraisers by taking photos of pets.
Fitzgerald took a two-year applied photography program and at first, he was shooting there on film. After graduating, he took a job at the Henry’s in Toronto where he got to talk about camera gear all the time. As he started to get more photo work, he shifted to a full-time freelance career.
That was 13 years ago.
“In the early days it was a little bit of a struggle to support my $750 basement apartment. But, you know, I just kept sort of pounding the pavement and networking and working and the business has really developed over the years. I've got a pretty steady stream of clients now.”
Fitzgerald says he continues to be a “gear head.”
“I love the tech side of things, and yeah, and I think with that, I've always been an early adopter of a lot of technology. I got a drone eight years ago, and not a lot of people were shooting drones at the time, right? So eight years later I've got a pretty significant portfolio drone work, and video is a huge part of my business now.”
So Fetching is a culmination of many things – Fitzgerald’s photography, Marion-Merritt’s tech background, the couple’s mutual love of dogs and their desire to launch a business in Hamilton.
Fitzgerald grew up in Paris, Ont. and spent lots of time in the big city of Hamilton as a teenager. Marion-Merritt grew up in St. Catharines and Toronto and has family in Hamilton and Niagara.
The couple moved here after each had spent more than a decade in Toronto in order to realize their goal to buy a house.
“Hamilton was a really good landing point for us, right in the middle of where our families live,” says Marion-Merritt. “It’s affordable, but still an urban centre. We didn't want to go suburban. You know, we're city folks. We loved all the craft breweries and Art Crawl and all the things that were going on. We were really attracted to the identity of the city.”
Fitzgerald says there was really no discussion about what would come after Toronto.
“Hamilton has its own thing going on. If we were leaving Toronto, the only place it was going to be for us was Hamilton.”
