Dog of the Day: Marco the Basset Hound/Brittany Spaniel Mix

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Adam Lang

I ran into Marco last Tuesday and had this major feeling of déjà vu. (Ooh, schmancy accent marks.) When I got home I looked up ‘Marco’ but didn’t find any dogs by that name on here. But when I looked up ‘basset hound’ things fell into place: Marco totally reminds me of Verne, but without the footie pajamas. (He also reminds me of Donny the Land Shark, a little bit.)

Anyway, Marco is awesome.

Basset Hound/Brittany Spaniel Mix

Marco lives right near where I work. Hopefully I’ll run into him again.

Basset Hound/Brittany Spaniel Mix Standing on his Hind Legs

I have been trying to include whole people in my shots a bit more, lately. Unfortunately, in this case, I got two pictures of the bottom half of Marco doing the trick, one picture of Marco doing the trip with the bottom 2/3 of his mom, and two pictures of Marco and his mom after he’d finished the trick. Perfect.

Basset Hound/Brittany Spaniel Mix

Look at that sweet face. And that floofy tail. I think basset/Brittany is a winning combination.

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Double Dog Day: Major and Kayla

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Adam Lang

Major is the 11-month-old border collie, and Kayla is the 4-month-old Cavalier King Charles spaniel. They make a ridiculous couple.

I’m sorry for being so flaky over the last couple weeks. Late posts, missing posts, etc. Part of it has to do with my hosting provider, who has overloaded the machine I’m hosted from… not enough to significantly effect the actual serving of my pages, but enough that my scheduled tasks often don’t run, which means posts don’t happen when I tell them to. Partly, though, it’s burnout on my part. Not blog burnout this time, but ‘everything in my life’ burnout. Trying to get too much done, and not getting anything done as a result. Ugh.

Well, I’ll get through it. The dogs (and cats and otters and sea lions) will help.

Black and White Border Collie and Tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

The two of them had a lot of fun together.

Black and White Border Collie and Tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Eventually, though, Major had to go. Because that ball wasn’t going to chase itself.

Tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Those ears. I could just play with one all day.

Tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

A little out of focus, but that face was too goofy not to post.

Chin and Mouth of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

Was going for a nose shot, but … a little off.

Tricolor Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

I just met this pup a couple days ago. Still have some little scratches from the sharp little puppy-teeth. TOTALLY worth it.

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Birderday Supplement: Keeping an Eye on San Francisco’s Murder Rate

Posted on July 20, 2013 by Adam Lang

I heard these birds squawking long before I managed to see where they were perched. There were LOTS of them, and man, were they loud.

(I just realized that the title could be mistaken for some kind of political statement about Trayvon Martin, or about the new movie about the Oakland shooting, Fruitvale Station. Black birds, black people, something like that. Just to make it absolutely clear: the collective noun for a group of crows is a ‘murder of crows.’ I try to maintain the blog as a politics-free zone, both because I think everyone, no matter their politics, should be free to admire cute pictures of dogs and because it’s a real relief to have somewhere in my life where I don’t ever have to think about politics.)

Lots of Crows in a Tree

This would’ve been a lot nicer if I’d had my big schmancy SLR and been able to open up the aperture wide enough to blur out the background.

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Dog of the Day: Gorgeous German Shepherd Puppy

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Adam Lang

I don’t remember this pup’s name, but I do remember that I ran into her right outside of Yoshi’s Jazz Club, on Fillmore, right after I had dinner there. And it was so dark that I wouldn’t have ordinarily bothered to even try to take pictures, but she was just so fluffy and sweet and happy that I tried my flash out, and I’m glad I did!

Fluffy Black and Tan German Shepherd

I have to give a big ‘thank you’ to this pup’s mom, who tolerated some random guy accosting her after dark in a not-so-great area of town for long enough for me to take pictures.

Fluffy Black and Tan German Shepherd

Don’t see that coloration very often. So pretty.

 

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Worldwide Pet News: RIP, the Original Dog Walker

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Adam Lang

I found this article fascinating: apparently this fellow was, more or less, the first professional dog-walker in the world.

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Dog of the Day: Barkly the 8-Month-Old Beagle Puppy

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Adam Lang

Those eyes.

Tricolor Beagle Puppy

I am not sure I could handle owning Barkly. It’d be a little… intense.

Tricolor Beagle Puppy

Puppydog eyes and big long floppy ears.

Tricolor Beagle Puppy

This looks a little sad. Rest assured, there was no sad in evidence when I met Barkly.

 

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Dog of the Day: Gavina the Spinone Italiano

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Adam Lang

On the very day of the Italian festival, Autumn and I ran into our very first Spinone Italiano: Gavina (3), named after a Catalan word meaning ‘white dog’. I do not know why this breed isn’t more popular: Gavina was an absolute delight.

Edit: Grr. I am not having much luck with the whole ‘posting on time’ thing. So annoying! I wonder if I should just give up and find another hosting provider.

White Spinone Italiano

Gavina was tied up outside what is possibly the best truffle-maker in the city, XOX Truffles.

White Spinone Italiano

Ah hah! I knew there was something we hadn’t had recently: a dognose shot.

White Spinone Italiano

And even a dog-itch shot. Gavina is the gift that keeps on giving!

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Dog of the Day: Big Poofly Malamute

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Adam Lang

Another pup from the North Beach Festival. So fluffy. This is the kind of dog that would, in addition to providing you moral support and pulling your sled for you, would provide enough fur to make about three sweaters every year.

Big Fluffy Black and White Malamute

The kind of dog who is happy to be petted, and just as happy to be left alone with his own thoughts.

Big Fluffy Black and White Malamute

I wonder what he’s thinking about?

Big Fluffy Black and White Malamute

Canine head tilt + one paw off the ground + giant poofly tail + adorable face = ridiculously cute dog.

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Caturday Supplement: Macy’s Kittens

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Adam Lang

Getting awfully low on non-dog material. Going to have to break into a few homes and take pictures of the cats!

Two Kittens in the Window of San Francisco Macy's Store, Christmas 2012

Spotty kitten belly!

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Dog of the Day: Ollie the Saint Bernard

Posted on July 12, 2013 by Adam Lang

Ollie is a rarity, a Saint Bernard that was adopted from an SPCA group. He’s also a ‘rescue dog’ in that he obviously goes around bringing people brandy and slobbery smooches. He’s 5 years old, and is tiny for a male Saint… just 150 lbs. We ran into him outside at the North Beach Fair, and saw him again at the Blessing of the Animals.

Saint Bernard Complete With Brandy Barrel

If I had a Saint Bernard I would totally buy him a barrel.

Saint Bernard Complete With Brandy Barrel

His dad, I think, got kind of tired of every single person who walked by stopping to pet him.

Saint Bernard Complete With Brandy Barrel

Ollie, on the other hand, did not get tired of being fawned over. Not at all.

Saint Bernard Complete With Brandy Barrel in the San Francisco Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi for the Blessing of the Animals

That’s dad. Like I said, I think he was getting a teeny bit tired of the attention.

 

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