Man is mauled by lions...and loves every minute

Monkey See Monkey Do!

Found photograph.

My friend Phil gave me this picture because his dad is a collector of all things old and filled with character, including boxes of found photographs and negatives. Unfortunately not too much is known about the origins of this photograph, which leaves me to wonder about these men with their hats and trusty companions and if perhaps they might be resting after a hard day's work building the biggest doghouse their dusty midwestern town has ever seen. 

A day at the zoo.

I was admiring this Red Panda from far above and then suddenly he climbed right up to my level to let me get a good shot with my 50mm lens.


These Kori Bustard birds are supposed to be shy, but this one came over to meet me and show me his puffed-out chest feathers. Could we call that flirting?


Lately, I've been thinking about my spirit animal and although I haven't decided yet, I want to put the Flamingo on my short list for their yogic abilities. These pink, social birds can stand on one foot for up to an hour at a time and like to take naps with their beaks tucked under their wings. I think they have a lot they could teach me.

--Gracy

Impressive.

(Xinahuanet Photo)

The worlds largest  litter of 18 Dalmatian pups is now 11 weeks old. Here they are going for a walk with their (probably very tired at the time) owner Adam West.  Can you imagine having all those extra mouths to feed these days? I guess they couldn't either because West and his wife decided to only keep two of the little guys, Red Boy and Ruldolph. They admit to crying when the others left for their new homes, but wanted to make sure they had the "best start in life." Touching.  Read more about it here. 

Billy Budd.

Billy Budd.

Meet Billy Budd and one of his owners Ronnie (below photo). Billy is Portuguese Water Dog shared by Ronnie and her next-door-neighbor, Liz. Liz's birthday is coming up in April and Ronnie decided to get a few surprise portraits made of Billy. I was excited to spend more time with such a sweet PWD and it affirmed my idea that the Obama's made the right decision. Billy was so well-behaved and good at posing for the camera.

Ronnie describes how Billy got his name and how she and Liz adopted a dog together:

"First, as to his name, Billy Budd is the title of a Herman Melville novel and a Benjamin Britten opera about a good, but innocent sailor on a whaling ship. All pets in my family have always been named with a "B" (Bobby, Buttons, Bonnie, Beau, Belle, Blackie, Blakey, Bogie, Bailey, and on and on). So when we got a Portuguese WATER Dog, he had to have a nautical name beginning with a B. Hence Billy Budd.

As to the decision to share him, it's not really that big a deal. Families "share" dogs all the time, why not friends and neighbors. As it happened, I had had a previous dog, Benny, who Liz was taking care of while I was away when he died suddenly of adrenal failure. So, after an appropriate time of grieving, we went together to the pound where we found Billy (whose name then was something else, I'm sure). He was grossly underweight, had never been groomed, and was riddled with parasites ("He came with his own pets", my vet said.) He was extremely timid and frightened at first, he suffered terribly from separation anxiety and he chewed and bit his way through towels, shoes, windows and doors. But, over time, has become the handsome gentleman you met the other day. "


Billy with Ronnie in their Chevy Chase home.

--Gracy

Don't be afraid of Yetti

Yetti with his sheep pillow "Ba-Ba" the day after he peed in David's (Molly's boyfriend) bed.  Doesn't he look angelic?? 

 

My dear friend Molly is moving to St. Kitts and although we will miss her, there are a couple of guys in the Carribean who are eagerly awaiting her arrival.  She writes:

In 6 weeks I will be moving from my lovely home in the old country of the USA down to a beautifully shabby tropical paradise to be with my soulmate David. When I went to visit him in St. Kitts a couple of weeks ago we picked out this little man from a herd of other little bearded collies. I knew as soon as I held his furry little body in my arms that I was in love. 

I wanted to name him Elmo, David wanted to name him Ham, but we settled on Yetti, although he seems to be anything but a giant monster of the snow as he lazily sits on the green grass near the sea. 

Now I when I move to St. Kitts I have another love that is waiting for me with wet kisses and lots of carino (Spanish for affection). Welcome home Yetti, don't get too big, I'll be there soon, I love you. 

A love to last a whole bunch of lifetimes

My friend Chris Beam at Slate Magazine explains just how long dogs have been our best friends here.

Mesmerizing!!!

Worth the wait

At first photographing Gracie, an adorable five month-old Shiba Inu, felt a little like the above photo, but by the end of our session it was a lot more like the one below. It's always good to remember that dogs are territorial animals and need a little time to get used to our cameras and lighting set-ups. Alas, she was a little sweetheart of a dog and we were happy to spend time with her and her owner Kim in their lovely DC condo.