Puppy Week Day 2: Einstein the 4-Month-Old Great Pyrenees

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Adam Lang

No pictures can do justice to Einstein. He is an assistance dog in training at PAWS Training Center in West Chester, PA, for PTSD, and I just know that he is going to be excellent at his job. My stress levels plummeted as soon as I saw him.

By the way, PAWS seems to be a really great organization, from what I can see. Not exactly convenient to visit from the Bay Area (I ran into Einstein while I was visiting New Jersey) but they might be worth a look, if you’re looking for a worthy charity. They provide assistance dogs to people for free, but they currently have a three-year waiting list.

Great Pyrenees Puppy

Not sure how I got this picture. Where’d his back half go??

Great Pyrenees Puppy

I have never seen any dog do the puppydog eyes as well as Einstein, aside from a few bulldog puppies.

Great Pyrenees Puppy

Look at those huge-mongous paws.

Great Pyrenees Puppy

I told you: the puppydog eyes OF DOOM.

Great Pyrenees Puppy

Yes, that fur is just as soft as you think it is.

Great Pyrenees Puppy

I ran into Einstein twice, actually. Once when he was on-leash, and once in a dog run, where he was enjoying having a ball.

Great Pyrenees Puppy With Ball

There’s a smile! I knew there was one in there somewhere.

Great Pyrenees Puppy Scratching Himself

Itch! World must stop.

Great Pyrenees With Tennis Ball

He kept gazing at the tennis ball and tilting his head, like it was making a weird noise or something. So cute.

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Another Puppy Week, Day 1: Ruby the Labradoodle

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Adam Lang

It is just mind-boggling how many puppies I have seen over the last month or so. It’s so many that if I didn’t have special cuteness training, my brain might have exploded. So, since I now have at least a dozen puppies. I really figured I ought to do another puppy week. Only this one might last longer than a week.

And Ruby is a good first step. Eight months old, just had major surgery yesterday, and she’s still ridiculously happy and friendly. I would like to take this opportunity to point out that I had major surgery (of a quite different kind) when I was 8 years old, and I was oh-so-very-definitely NOT in this good a mood the next day.

Brown Labradoodle in a Flexible Cone of Shame

Flexible Elizabethan collar. It doesn’t seem to work terribly well. She tried to get at her stitches, with near success (until her mom made her stop), several times while I was standing there.

Labradoodle in Blue Flexible Elizabethan Collar

Tough shots to get. Something was always so far in the shadow that it was invisible.

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Baturday Supplement: Island Flying Fox

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Adam Lang

Hopefully this guy won’t gross anyone out, because I think he’s totally adorable. Autumn and I saw a bunch of these freaky fruit-eaters at the Oakland zoo.

Island Flying Fox Hanging Upside Down With Wings Spread

If bats were even half as domesticated as, say, cats, I would totally have one as a pet.

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Dog of the Day: Leah the Siberian Husky

Posted on May 23, 2014 by Adam Lang

I’m not sure there is such a thing as a husky who isn’t glorious. Leah certainly is.

Grey and White Alaskan Husky With Curly Tail

Leah is 2. Old enough to know better. ALL huskies are young enough to do it anyway.

Grey and White Alaskan Husky With Curly Tail

That’s something between a tail and a giant puffball sitting on her butt.

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Repeat Customer: Henry the “Teacup Golden Retriever”, All Grown Up

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Adam Lang

I caught sight of Henry (1 year old) while walking around near my workplace a couple of days ago, and I just had to stop and take some pictures. Only his mom said ‘Oh, I remember you! You already got some pictures of Henry.’ And I was thinking, ‘That’s impossible. I would remember him.’ But really it’s not too surprising that I didn’t recognize him, since he was just twelve weeks old last time I saw him.

How does that work? Apparently he came from Petite Goldens, a breeder in Washington State. And he’s like a perfect little 20-pound golden retriever, not just in appearance but also in temperment.

Miniature Golden Retriever With Stick

It’s so unfair. He’s just as cute now as he was when he was 12 weeks old!

Miniature Golden Retriever With Stick

Apparently he came from Petite Goldens, a breeder in Washington State.

Miniature Golden Retriever With Stick

That tail is swishing madly back and forth.

Miniature Golden Retriever Smiling With Stick

Apparently Henry is just like a golden retriever not just in appearance, but also in temperament.

Miniature Golden Retriever Chewing A Stick

Look at those vicious teefs, though. Better be careful! (At least, if you’re a stick.)

Miniature Golden Retriever With Stick

These guys really seem like they’d be the perfect apartment dog.

Miniature Golden Retriever With Surprised Expression

I am not quite sure just what I captured here, but I like it, even if it is a little bit blurry.

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Dog of the Day: Bedford the Australian Shepherd/Border Collie Mix

Posted on May 21, 2014 by Adam Lang

I ran into Bedford playing fetch in a tennis court a couple of weeks ago. Why in a tennis court? Well, it turns out that Bedford is deaf. White dogs are often deaf, especially those with a color pattern like his, which is often known as ‘extreme white‘. (It turns out to probably be caused by his having two genes for ‘white piebald’ (Sp) plus some other genetic factor that hasn’t been identified yet). Apparently the reason for this is that the little bitty hairs in your inner ear, the ones that let you hear by detecting vibrations, have to have some melanin in them, or else the nerve cells they’re attached to die in your first few weeks of life, and you’re deaf. You learn something new every day!

Anyway, Bedford definitely doesn’t let being deaf stop him. Hence the tennis court: if they play out in an open field, and something catches his eye, he can just gallop off into the distance, and it takes quite a while and a lot of running to get his attention and make him come back. One of the hazards of having a deaf dog that I never really thought about before.

Extreme White Australian Shepherd/Border Collie Mix, All White Except with Black Around One Eye

Bedford interrupted his fetch-playing for me. I actually felt pretty honored.

Woman and Extreme White Australian Shepherd/Border Collie Mix, All White Except with Black Around One Eye

Once she had his attention, he was really obedient, especially for a 1-year-old.

Extreme White Australian Shepherd/Border Collie Mix, All White Except with Black Around One Eye

Happy smile. Also note the one brown eyebrow. It is so weird to see a dog whose color is officially black with tan points, white piebald, and he has almost no black, and exactly one tan ‘point’.

Extreme White Australian Shepherd/Border Collie Mix, All White Except with Black Around One Eye

This is what happened when I petted Bedford for a while, and then turned to leave. He decided to herd me right back to his parents. Talk about hard to resist.

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Dog of the Day: Bastion the Basenji

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Adam Lang

Bastion (7) is only our second ever full basenji. (Our first was Candle. Funny thing: neither Candle nor Bastion have the ‘concerned’ forehead wrinkles that so many basenjis seem to have.) And I have no idea why this is, but Bastion is the only dog I have ever taken pictures of where more than 3/4 of the pictures (out of nearly 30!) showed him with his eyes closed. I wonder if maybe it was just too bright outside for him or something?

In other news: I don’t know what it is, but in the last two weeks I have run into a huge number of puppies. I am thinking we might need to have another puppy week soon, because I am not sure I can keep myself from posting all these guys at once anyway. SO CUTE.

Red and White Basenji Sitting With Eyes Closed

Quite obedient. And quite cute. And definitely not blind.

Red and White Basenji With Eyes Closed

Not that he’s not adorable with his eyes closed.

Red and White Basenji Smiling

There we go. Is it just me, or is he also kind of smiling?

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Dog of the Day: Pepper the Pit Bull Puppy

Posted on May 19, 2014 by Adam Lang

I’m home. Woot. God I’m tired. Was a good trip, though.

Have a pit bull puppy in celebration. Pepper is 7 months old, and she is a cuddle monster.

Black and White Pit Bull Puppy

No, Pepper isn’t from New Jersey. I did get a few dog pictures out there, though.

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Caturday Supplement: Jackson Browne the Adoptable Black Siamese

Posted on May 17, 2014 by Adam Lang

Hello from sunny New Jersey! Actually, after a lousy day yesterday, it’s turned pretty nice here. But I didn’t want to leave my audience hanging, so I thought I’d post an adoptable kitty for y’all today.

I ran into Jackson Browne (12, male Siamese) at a pet store in SF. They loan out a room to a small animal shelter, ‘Give Me Shelter Cat Rescue‘. Jackson here is one of the rescue-able animals, and I have to say, he is a real love bug. I walked in and he meowed at me like a rusty door hinge and immediately came up and started rubbing against me. He soaked up love like a little kitty-sponge, and I’m pretty sure that if I’d been willing to hang around for an hour, he would have been delighted to sit in my lap for the entire time. Such a sweet kitty!

How does such a sweet kitty end up in a shelter? Well, it seems that his elderly owner passed away recently (of cancer). And Jackson was found in rather a bad way: starving, dirty, lethargic, probably dehydrated too. But they’ve fed him up a bit and he’s fine now. Just looking for a new home. I would totally take this cat, he’s an utter sweetheart.

By the way, if you post a comment in the next few days, don’t be surprised if it takes up to an hour (or more if I’m in bed) to appear on the blog. I’m currently suffering a terrible spam attack, and a lot of it was getting through, so I’ve turned on moderation for all not-already-approved users. (If you’ve posted a comment here with the same name and email address before, you’re approved.) I wish the anti-spam software from the company I work for worked on blogs, but alas, it doesn’t, and the one that I am currently using seems to be letting me down rather badly. Hmf.

Slender Black Siamese Cat

Jackson is sleek!

Slender Black Siamese Cat With Piano Key Collar

This is Jackson reminding me that taking pictures is not as important as petting the kitty.

Slender Black Siamese Cat

Fortunately, there was someone else to take over the petting when I left.

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Dog of the Day: Pit Bull Mix

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Adam Lang

Second dog we’ve had in a while that was guarding someone’s stuff while she was inside a store or cafe or some such. I’m pretty sure that if I’d tried to take anything, she would have given me a vicious licking.

American Pit Bull Terrier Mix In A Tee Shirt

I risked a hand. She gave it a quick sniff. Mutual respect.

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