Dog of the Day: Sad Long-Haired Dachshund

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Adam Lang

Having a sad day today, for reasons I’ll share later on (since they are, in fact, pet-related.) I had to spend a little time hunting up a pup who looked a little sad, but I finally found one.

Woman Holding Brown Long-Haired Dachshund

I think it’s the eyes, but it might be the ears.

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Sunday Switchup: Chinese New Year

Posted on February 12, 2017 by Adam Lang

Folks really take Chinese New Year seriously around here. That’s city hall.

San Francisco City Hall Lit Up For Chinese New Year

There’s a big night parade, too, but I tend to avoid it. It’s 95% advertising and 5% parade.

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Caturday Supplement: Adoptacat

Posted on February 11, 2017 by Adam Lang

Ran across the Feral Cat Foundation running an adoptathon at a pet food shop in the East Bay today. They mostly do trap-and-neuter programs to control feral cat colonies, and other such worthwhile endeavors. But they do get involved in adoption stuff occasionally, and they had a pile of adorable kitties for me to play with, pet, and photograph.

Pretty Calico Cat With Hazel Eyes

Looks like a weird direction for her to be gazing, but she’s actually looking me in the face: I was holding the camera at stomach level.

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Dog of the Day: Chewbacca the Great Pyrenees Mix

Posted on February 10, 2017 by Adam Lang

I have never seen a dog that looks more like a golden retriever without being golden than Chewbacca, the happy friendly two-year-old Great Pyrenees mix.

Great Pyrenees Mix Grinning At The Camera

Happy puplet.

Great Pyrenees Mix Sticking Out His Tongue

This is Chewbacca being told to sit when what he really wanted to do…

Extreme Closeup Of Great Pyrenees Mix Staring Into Camera

…was demand attention. And lick my camera lens.

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Downward-Facing Dog of the Day: Lani the Australian Cattle Dog (Mix?)

Posted on February 9, 2017 by Adam Lang

Lani is one of those “I have so many great pictures that I am paralyzed by indecision” dogs, but I’ve finally just decided to buckle down and pick some and publish. She’s a 4-year-old Australian cattle dog, possibly a mix, adopted from the SF SPCA. And she is such an amazing ham. She instinctively knows how to pose for a camera like nobody’s business.

Red Merle Australian Cattle Dog Grinning At Camera

If it weren’t for the shadows, these pictures would be ‘frame them and hang them on your wall’. The subject is certainly plenty pretty.

Woman Unhooking Australian Shepherd From His Leash

This one might be worth trying a print.

Red Heeler Performing 'Downward-Facing Dog'

There’s the ‘downward-facing’ part of today’s dog.

Australian Cattle Dog

She was practically dancing for me.

Woman Petting Red Heeler

Lani getting some much-deserved love.

Woman Holding Hands With A Red Heeler

I think this was a trick but I don’t quite remember what it was.

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Dog of the Day: Bosco the Lagotto Romagnolo

Posted on February 8, 2017 by Adam Lang

I know what you’re thinking, “Oh, right, Lagotti Romagnolo, I see a half dozen of those every day!” Well, sure you do, but this is the first one we’ve seen around these parts. Yes, that’s right, even after seven years we’re still seeing new dog breeds.

Bosco is two years old, and is one of Autumn’s dog-sitting clients, from the rarefied altitudes of Pacific Heights.

Incidentally, ‘lago’ means ‘lake’ in Italian, and the ‘-otto’ ending is a diminutive with overtones of cuteness (if I’m not mistaken). Romagnolo means ‘from Romagna’. So Lagotto Romagnolo means ‘adorable little lake of the Romagna region of Italy’. Go fig, I guess, right?

Lagotto Romagnolo Eyeing The Camera

Bosco sizing me up. He definitely wasn’t sure what to make of me.

Lagotto Romagnolo Eyeing The Camera

He eventually decided not to make anything of me, alas.

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Dog of the Day: Keeshond Mix

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Adam Lang

I can’t recall what mom told me this pup was mixed with, and for some reason I don’t have it in my notes, but I do remember the ‘cheese-hound’ part, because it’s pretty obvious once you’re looking for it. I also remember she (I think it was a ‘she’) is a senior, but also very playful and friendly, if not quite as high-energy as she once was.

Keeshond Mix Looking Taken Aback

Look at the magnificent fur. Even on her legs!

Keeshond Mix Examining Her Tail And Grinning

Her tail is especially glorious. And soft.

Keeshond Mix Grinning And Walking Towards Photographer

She’s one of those dogs who even people who are ambivalent about dogs can’t stop petting. She’s just so SOFT.

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Dog of the Day: Summer the Klee Kai Puppy

Posted on February 6, 2017 by Adam Lang

(Those of you seeing this on Facebook, click through to the post on this one. You’ll be glad you did.)

Don’t get a lot of klee kais on here, so it’s pretty rare to see two in one week. But I saw two of them two weeks ago, so you get two of them right in a row too. Not that I expect to hear anyone complaining about Summer the (male) 7-month-old hyper-adorable adorably-hyper puppy.

Grinning Delighted Klee Kai Puppy

Ears folded back. I always thought that meant a dog that was being either super-scared or super-submissive, but I’ve learned it can also be ‘super-social’.

Grinning Delighted Klee Kai Puppy

God, that grin is completely infectious. I can’t even keep from grinning back at my SCREEN.

Klee Kai Puppy Staring Fixedly Into The Camera At Very Close Range

This picture reminds me a bit of Mr. White.

Woman Petting Klee Kai Puppy Who Is Standing On His Hind Legs

That’s Louise, my friend and ex-coworker, in the blue. She’s more of a cat person, but I think Summer won her over.

Klee Kai On Hind Legs Hugging Woman

Puppy hugs!

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A Caturday in Remembrance of Desmond

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Devin Rupperstein

Note: Adam here. One of my friends from Hipmunk recently lost one of her best friends, and she asked me if she could do a caturday post in memory. How could I say no? So here is Devin, with some pictures her kitty, Desmond Decker.

Desmond Decker, named after the late Jamaican singer and songwriter, came to us after being bounced around between three or four short lived “homes”. At the time, we already had a cat, but when our neighbor asked if we had room for one more, there was no way we could say no. He was a charming orange tabby estimated to be around three years old (he had no records). He was very nervous, shy, and anxious. It was understandable. But after being a part of our family for ten years he no longer was the nervous cat that was scared to be moved around. He was vocal, affectionate, and a brother to two other family cats (Cyclone and Canary). His favorite pastimes were looking out the window, getting belly rubs, clawing the scratching post, and well, catnapping.

It is with the heaviest heart that I must announce the passing of our Desmond. On January 19th, 2016, Desmond had to be put down for liver failure. It was obvious that he was in pain. And although his sudden change in health came unexpected, we could not bear to see him suffer. We love him and miss him very much.

Thank you Desmond, for bringing us so much joy.

Always balled up together, Desmond loved napping with his sister Canary.

Desmond loved it when I worked from home.

Desmond and his older sister Cyclone (Cyclone passed in early 2016 at the age of 20).

Desmond always wanted to know what was going on outside.

Desmond and his two sisters, Cyclone (left) and Canary (right).

String was one of Desmond’s favorite things to play with.

Desmond loved his little sister Canary.

When I had surgery last year, Desmond was by my side.

 

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DoggiEvent: Bow Wow Film Festival Review

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Adam Lang

Just got back from the Bow Wow Film Festival. I’m not going to go into it too deeply, as I didn’t take notes or anything. But in brief: it’s kind of fun, as long as you do not expect the Sundance Film Festival going in. The quality of the video, the quality of the writing, and the quality of the material all varies extremely widely, from quite amateurish and downright poor videography with simple (yet often engaging) storytelling, all the way up through some very polished and very, very effective videos.

The film project as a whole could have been much better set up: the transitions between different shorts are often so abrupt that you literally are unable to tell that one has ended until you are well into the next one. Half of them have credits, the other half do not, and it’s not always the half you’d expect. They really cried out for title cards between the featurettes.

Oh, and a couple of the shorts kind of read like blatant ads for specific products. (One example: a particular video camera, and no, not the GoPro.) I have to admit I did find that a little annoying. Several of the others were sponsored by a given company but didn’t actually push their products (e.g. the first one was sponsored by Vasque but aside from some people wearing hiking boots which may or may not have been made by them we didn’t see anything particularly Vasquian) which didn’t particularly bother me.

Honestly? It was a fun set of movies, and it’s a good cause. But I can’t help thinking that, considering how professionally the event itself was put together, the presentation of the videos seemed… much less so. Still, it was well worth seeing. And not just for the silly cartoons.

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