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so, yeah, cody bear is kind of the heart beat of this house.  and he knows it.

so you can imagine the attitude i got tonight when i needed a model while trying out the new tripod in low light.

“i knoooowww you have a new tripod, but please….throw the pirate chicken.”

snap.

“again…don’t make me get weird and ignore you.  just…throw the damn chicken.”

snap.

“i’m outta here.”

grabs beef bites.

“oh…this is an interesting development.”

snap.  chomp.

“i still want you to throw the chicken…”

snap.  chomp.

“did you want me to sit?”

snap chomp.

oh cody bear…you’re such  a good model.

i know you can’t tell from this picture, but coco actually did like me.  she just can’t figure out why i’ve been crawling around on the ground after her and stuffing a camera in her face.

i was told she didn’t like cameras, but within ten minutes she was actually “workin’ it.”

we left our studio, popped over to hotel congress to view the horribly mismanages “shooting souls” photo exhibit, then headed to the eric firestone gallery to view paintings.

some were good, some were bad, some…were being perused by a papillion.  murphy, an 11 year old dog, showed up under an arm but hit the floor of the very cool studio soon after arriving.  he enjoyed sniffing my bag while i tried to get shots of him with a polka dog installment in the background.

2 things tucson likes….dogs and funky artsy stuff…..

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digital muzzle dog photography

tucson, az

city dogs buki, an aussie, and pickles, a border collie, are always ready for action.  and sure, they don’t have any sheep to heard, but they’ll work for ANYTHING if a treat is involved.

here they are gazing at the buffet table.  which one of the party goers will cave first and give them a bite of garden burger???

It seems like an great amount  of effort is being spent on trying to make American dogs happy. I, of course, am totally fine with this trend!  I love nothing more than seeing my dogs expressing joy. 

Toys and treats and attention bring instant reactions of happiness, but on a day to day basis, besides the bare bones food and water, what do dogs need to make them happy, content, emotionally well?

Family….pack.  They want to protect someone, be protected, provide for, be comforted. They don’t want to be alone.  They want someone to play with, a family structure.

Territory.  A home, a yard, a bed, a den, a crate.   A place to eat.  A place to play.  A place to call their own.

A purpose.  A job.  The job could be protecting you, comforting you, amusing you, keeping an eye on the baby, chasing unruly tennis balls for you.  Herding your sheep, warning you when someone is steeling something from the mailbox.  It is different with every dog.

The above dog is Angel.  He has a beautiful territory.  Sunday afternoon he greeted me with a warning bark when i pulled up.  After deciding I was ok, he led me to the front door.  His job as greeter was over for the time being.  I soon realized his other important jobs were being fun and being affectionate. 

He is happy with his environment.  Well taken care of: not only are all of his obvious needs being met….He has all the aspects a city wolf needs to be content with his place in the world.  He has a family and he knows his place in it.

spent a little time with kenya (kenny) and his family this afternoon.

he’s a beautiful guy.  he was feeling a little bit under the weather today.  sore neck.

but that didn’t stop him from being welcoming and snuggly.  and…

well….

no amount of neck or back pain will keep him from inviting you to scratch his lower back.  that doberman likes a good bunn scratchin’!

The plush dog arrived in a box directly from the store two days after Loki died.  In the box next to it was a card from my best friend, Beth, in Phoenix:  “I know it’s not the same thing as having Loki, but I figured you needed someone to hold on to.”

I grabbed the soft and squishy stuffed yellow lab and cried spastically.  I curled up on the bed and squeezed the hell out of that thing until I got tired from sobbing.

The dog was sent from someone who understood how much I needed to hold and love and cry. Beth and I lived together when I adopted Loki.  She was hit hard by her passing as well.

For the next couple weeks I held onto that dog as I fell asleep, but woke each morning with the stuffed puppy on the floor.  I never named the dog.  Soon after, I adopted Cody Bear.

It’s been 5 years since Loki died and the nameless stuffed puppy arrived to ease my sorrow.  It’s just been lying around.  I thought about donating it to a shelter for pet first aid classes and I offered its services to dog trainers to model harnesses.  I couldn’t throw it away, but my little house needed to lose some contents.

This weekend . . . . a yard sale.  “How much?” April asked.  She was helping me price things the night before.

I wasn’t sure I was ready to sell it.  I figured, we won’t price it, and if someone asked I would decide then.  One person asked.  I said, “five” and she put him back down.

Fine,  it probably wasn’t his time to leave.

A family of four arrived as I started to pack things up.  I busied myself arranging my junk jewelry.  The parents and the older daughter were all together, examining every item.  The younger daughter had sat down and picked up the yellow lab stuffed animal and was holding it.  She pet it, picked it up like a baby and looked closely at his eyes and nose then laid it back down on her lap for more petting.  Every now and then she would hug it to her.  Squish.

The parents and other daughter made their way to the car.  The mom called the youngest who put the toy on the chair and gave it one last look then walked to the car.

As she was just about to get in I ran to them and handed her the puppy. She grabbed it.  Snatched it, rather, and squeezed the hell out of it as she climbed into the back seat.

“¿Cuanto?” from the father.

“Gratis.”

A huge smile from the mom then they were gone.