Fluffy German shepherd for your viewing enjoyment.
Sam’s a lovely, gentle, 8-year-old sweetheart.
My pictures of him didn’t come out all that great, but they really did tell me a story, so I figured I’d use them anyway.
That expression, for example, really speaks to me.
Plus, well, Sam’s too awesome not to post.
That’s what mom says, and I won’t argue… she has that look to her. Although she could also be a golden mix, maybe.
She rarely too her eyes off her mom. And such an adoring gaze.
She was quite well-behaved for a one-year-old.
*singing* “Vizsla vizsla vizsl’amour, vizsla vizsla vizsl’amour, vizsla vizsla vizsl’amour, vizsla companie!” Well, it sort of works, if you pronounce ‘vizsla’ with three syllables. 
She’s at that awkward, gangly stage.
She makes an excellent photographic subject, as long as you have enough light to use a high shutter speed. Always moving!
Shakeshakeshake.
She really is amazingly photogenic.
Such dynamic poses.
Er, did I say ‘poses’? I meant ‘noses’. (Also: compare and contrast.
Apologies to all you Blondie fans out there.
Autumn and I ran into Buster a few weeks ago. He was four months old and utterly entrancing. And it turns out that we’re not the only entranced ones: it seems that he has an Instagram page of his very own.
Just a little bit of side-eye, there.
I think he thought he was in trouble.
I love his changes of expression here.
Almost-no-nose shot!
Curlytongue!
And the award for ‘best name for a female Great Dane’ goes to… (Not to mention the award for most ridiculous floppy ears that keep trying to stand up.)
Four months old. She’s four months old, and that big. Ye gods.
A welcome addition to SF. We don’t have nearly enough Danes.
Those ears…
That expression.
Yay! I have at least one more nose shot for you guys, too.
A little treat for a sweet Danish girl.
So Autumn and I went over to the Oakland Zoo last weekend, just for fun. And, with all the other little kids (at heart or otherwise) we visited the petting zoo. There were a number of animals, but it seemed surprisingly sparse… and then an entire flock of goats appeared on the hillside above, and outside the fence of, the enclosure. And grinned down at us.
Look at that face. That is a smile if I have ever seen one.
Look at that magnificent beard.
And I thought, ‘Well, that’s funny. I guess they escaped, and now they can’t get back in. But the staff doesn’t seem at all bothered.’ And indeed, they were stuck on the outside of that wire fence, which was at the top of a sheer wall.
And then they proceeded to push through the fence at a point where it was a little stressed, and just climb down the nearly vertical wall, at one of its least steep spots (which was still only about 15 degrees from the vertical). The frustrating part (for Autumn, and me, and about 30 9-year-old girls) was that they climbed down on the other side of a 15-foot-tall cyclone fence, so we couldn’t pet them. And it’s not like goats can climb cyclone fences. Right?
This little goat stood up there a good long time, gazing down at us. Gloating.
It got up there and then stood there for a while, and I thought, ‘Hmm, the wall is much more vertical on this side. Is he going to need a hand getting down from there?’
Apparently not.
I couldn’t climb this. I couldn’t climb this with a hammer and pitons and two hours.
The attendants were not fazed in the slightest by this, treating it as perfectly normal. So: apparently they built a petting-zoo enclosure for some sheep and goats, at the Oakland Zoo. And the goats decided that they quite liked it, but they also liked wandering around. So now they go wandering around any time they want, and then come back to get petted.
That’s just plain awesome.
A pause in the nose pictures for today to post Teddy. I was going to post him and encourage people to adopt him, as he was one of the sweetest and calmest dogs I’ve met in a while, but apparently he was adopted the day after I took this picture. So I will instead make this my ‘happy adoption’ post instead. Congratulations, Teddy: you deserve your new loving family, and every nice thing a dog can have.
Those goofy turned-out paws and short legs: definitely some corgi or basset in there.
I ran into Pickles last week, and now I am going into Pickles withdrawal. Help! Need another fix!
So happy to see me! And the next person. And mom. And the collie. And the lamp post. Pickles is just happy, period.
I found him outside a little store I often pick up lunch at. I was out there playing with him until his mom got back. TOO CUTE.
That grin.
Pickles looks like quite a handful.
“We must have MORE NOSE SHOTS, Scottie!” “But Captain, the pixels can’t take the strain!”
That’s got to be an Australian shepherd… maybe mixed? The coloration is really unusual.
I really like that picture. And that puppy. The pink spots on the nose!
Is it just me, or do his feet look an awful lot like they belong to a cat in this shot?
I’ve been saving Sterling for a special occasion… but instead I’m gonna use him on my birthday.
Autumn and I ran into Sterling at a pet fair last year.
Needless to say, our squeals were more or less supersonic.
He was a vocal pup, too. Tiny barks!
How is it that every one of his expressions is more adorable than the last?
Public service announcement: no matter who you are, no matter where you are, Sterling loves you.
I did tell you guys I had some pretty good nose shots for this week…
Oh god I absolutely cannot handle that expression.
Never in a million years could I have caught this intentionally. I like it, though. That’s Autumn’s jacket.