A Greyhound dog photo session | Toronto High Park

/ Terri J Photography/

Last week I had the pleasure of photographing two beautiful greyhounds, Angie and Laila. Their human Mom, Marissa, chose High Park in Toronto for their on-location pet photography shoot because Angie and Laila hang out there a lot! It is a beautiful location with gardens, a pond and some lovely natural areas as well. It is one of my favourite places for dog photography in Toronto. 

High Park has so many different spots to showcase your dog and family.  The most common part is Hillside Gardens which offers some waterfalls, bridges and beautiful flowers.  The Grenadier pond forms a great backdrop for photos and you may even get some ducks or swans on the water in the background.  If you're looking for more natural settings for your photos  then the best places to visit are the long winding network of trails. Sometimes I’ll go to the area behind the restaurant for photos in a natural setting amongst the log grasses and trees.

Angie was rescued from the life of a racing greyhound. If you would like to learn more about the troubling life as a racing greyhound, or consider adoption, please visit Greyhound Pets of America – Canada (GPA-C), an all volunteer, charitable organization that is committed to finding responsible loving homes for retired Greyhounds, to ensure a smooth transition between racing life and home life, to acquaint the public with the desirability of Greyhounds as pets, and to inform them of the availability of Greyhounds for adoption.

While some trainers do take care of and treat their dogs with respect, it is known that there are some some abusive situations in the sport of greyhound racing. This is not a sport about fast dogs, but a form of gaming where profit is more important than the care of the dogs and dogs are pretty much expendable depending on their age and ability.

So happily, Angie went from being a racing greyhound to living life as a beloved pet, doted on by her human “Mom” and enjoying her days relaxing and taking long walks in Toronto’s High Park.

Laila is a Galgo (Spanish Greyhound) and was previously a hunting dog. You can see how she is constantly on the lookout for small animals such as the squirrels and chipmunks that kept her attention drawn for much of the time during our session.

The Fall colours were just starting to appear in early October, a stunning time for a dog photography session in Toronto.

I love how the slightly orange colour of their fur blends with each other and the golden light of the day.

These two girls are so gentle - just a look at their sweet faces shows that - one can not help enjoy being in their presence. And that is exactly how I felt about photographing them. I really enjoyed the company of these two beauties.