Dog of the Day: “Ellie the Pony” the Belgian Malinois/Rhodesian Ridgeback Mix

I love it! She’s named ‘Ellie the Pony!’ I must admit, though, that ‘pony’ wasn’t the first thing I thought when I saw her, not with those ears. (Psst: don’t tell her, but I thought ‘donkey!’)

(Incidentally, I notice it’s been a while since I’ve mentioned my photography contest. I have four intrepid contestants so far… I need more!)

Belgian Malinois/Rhodesian Ridgeback Mix

I like this picture, not only because of the doggie grin, but also because it finally answers that age-old question, 'how many joggers can dance on the head of a dog?'

Belgian Malinois/Rhodesian Ridgeback Mix

Yes, those are some pretty ridiculous ears.

Belgian Malinois/Rhodesian Ridgeback Mix

I am a total sucker for canine grins.

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Dog of the Day: Muji the American Eskimo Dog

Muji is Japanese for ‘uh, something, I’m not sure what, but it’s a Japanese word’. Amazing language, Japanese… such an incredible amount of information can be squeezed into just two syllables! 🙂

American Eskimo Dog

Muji is 2.5 years old, and is more or less the sweetest thing ever. Not protective, not shy, just super-friendly.

American Eskimo Dog

And, like every American Eskimo dog, she has fur that you just want to bury your face in.

American Eskimo Dog

Another random factoid about Eskies: for some reason they seem to smell less 'doggy' than other dogs, even other cold-weather breeds. So if you bury your face in their fur you won't even regret it on that score!

American Eskimo Dog

"Fwip!" go the ears.

American Eskimo Dog

Good sense of balance, too. There is, of course, a treat involved in this feat, but that doesn't make it any less impressive.

American Eskimo Dog

American Eskimo dogs were apparently originally 'German spitzes', until WW2, when anything with 'German' in the name was strictly verboten. As it were.

American Eskimo Dog

The bent paws do it to me every time.

American Eskimo Dog

Not sure what kind of treat that is... kind of flat, isn't it?

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Dog of the Day: Rollz the Miniature Shar Pei Puppy

Whoo. I’ve been doing this blog for two and a half years now, daily, with very few breaks (and only one that I recall longer than one day). What with one thing and another, I’m getting a little burnt out on it right now. I had sort of been hoping to get Autumn to do some contributing, so that I could take time off now and again, but she’s made it pretty clear she isn’t interested in the writing it would entail. Maybe I can find someone else to spell me for a while, when things get especially hairy, as they did in the last two weeks.

They’re a little saner now, thank goodness. And I’ve heard tell that once you take a week off blogging, you might as well give up, since you lose half your audience every two days, so I’m going to persevere, at least for now. I can’t afford to lose any of you people! (Well, anyway, I don’t want to.)

So I’d like to introduce Rollz, the six-month-old miniature shar pei puppy. I didn’t even know there was such a thing as a miniature shar pei, but from available evidence I’d say that there probably is, and she’s it!

Miniature Shar Pei Puppy

That's Autumn, introducing herself.

Miniature Shar Pei Puppy

Pretty cute, and not (yet) as 'Rollz-y' as most shar peis I've met.

Miniature Shar Pei Puppy

I like her. She has a very expressive face.

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Caturday Supplement: Lucca the Marmalade Tabby Cat!

Lucca’s the cat of a friend and fellow musician of Autumn’s, and is just about tops in my book. Not only is he big and playful and friendly, but he gives hugs! How awesome is that?

Marmalade Cat

This was how Lucca greeted me. Glad I had the camera out!

Marmalade Tabby Cat

Look at the lines near the eye. Gorgeous. Looks like an Egyptian painting.

Marmalade Tabby Cat

There's nothing quite like a cat for looking relaxed.

Marmalade Tabby Cat

This is a 'mild hug' from Lucca. When he's in full form, he wraps his paws around your neck and cuddles. It's so adorable.

Marmalade Tabby Cat

Zencat.

Marmalade Tabby Cat

I brought some equipment over in a box. Canny kitty waited until I was JUST about to leave before planting himself in it.

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Dog of the Day: Wheely Wiener!

I didn’t catch this pup’s name, but she was having a grand old time running around in circles near the Jewish History Museum. Fortunately she was willing to stop for a little while to give me a smooch.

Dachshund with wheels.

It's the foofly wienermobile! Somebody had a slipped disc which caused other problems, poor pup.

Dachshund with wheels

Fortunately she doesn't seem to let it slow her down.

Dachshund With Wheels

I wonder how many miles per gallon she gets?

Dachshund With Wheels

Definitely not one of the shyer miniature dachshunds I've met.

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Dog of the Day: Happy Birthday Diggity!

I was wandering around on Monday (Memorial Day), when I ran into this guy, all spruced up! Despite the fact that I hadn’t seen him for quite a while, I immediately recognized him as a repeat customer: Diggity, the American bulldog/bullmastiff mix. Better yet, it turns out it was his 11th birthday (that plus Memorial Day explain the bow tie) and he was enjoying every minute of it.

Happy birthday, Diggity!

(Also, thank you to the people who have submitted photos for my photo contest so far! But this doesn’t let those of you who haven’t off the hook. Get to work!)

Bull Mastiff/American Bulldog Mix

Happy face! Someone's having a good birthday.

American Bulldog/Bull Mastiff Mix

Wonder if he got any birthday cake?

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Dog of the Day: You will NEVER guess who I ran into today…

I was on my way out of work to grab a salad for lunch, and you will never guess who I ran into!

(Also, blah blah photo contest blah!)

Cocakpoo Puppy

Yep... it's Bumblebee!

Cocker Spaniel Poodle Mix

And just yesterday, when I posted her, I was complaining about how dark it was and how none of my pictures came out. Awesome!

Cocker Spaniel Poodle Mix

Mom's boyfriend had him for the day. Man, lucky dog: TWO parents with dog-friendly workplaces.

Cocker Spaniel Poodle Mix

Bumblebee was happy to stop and play for as long as I wanted to give him attention. Such a sweetie.

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Dog of the Day: Bumblebee the Baby Cocker Spaniel/Poodle Mix

I ran into Bumblebee the cockapoo (and what an unfortunate breed name that is) when I was having lunch at Google with my friend Tommaso, who is newly employed there. And of course, I had to stop and take pictures of this adorably cute 10-week-old ball of fluff. Sorry Tommaso!

Unfortunately, because we were inside in a dimly lit room, only two of the pictures came out, and one of them is a slightly embarrassing-looking one of the woman who was holding him, so we’re just going to go with the one picture. However, there are more at his mom’s facebook page, so go check it out if you’re in the mood for some cute.

(Hey, why not enter my photography contest?)

Cockapoo Puppy

I mistook him for a SUPER-young golden-doodle. So adorable!

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Dog of the Day: Austin the Australian Shepherd Puppy

I just ran into Austin a week or so ago, and it turns out that he is a Dogster puppy! (Six months old.) And by that I mean, his dad apparently works at Dogster, which I didn’t know was a thing, but apparently it is. And a fairly cute thing it is, too.

(Thank you to the one person so far who has submitted photos for my photography contest! And geesh, I never realized how lazy y’all are. C’mon, submit some more pictures!)

Australian Shepherd with CONE OF SHAME

Austin has apparently been in the cone for ages. He got injured, and just as he was recovering, he got neutered.

Australian Shepherd in Elizabethan Collar

FLOATING DOG HEAD OF DOOOOOOM.

Australian Shepherd with CONE OF SHAME

A few days after I took these, I ran into Austin again, sans collar. He seemed equally happy either way.

Australian Shepherd with CONE OF SHAME

The one major problem with the dog-cone: itching difficulties.

Australian Shepherd with CONE OF SHAME

Austin strikes me as just a wee bit manic. I bet he's going to be a handful.

Australian Shepherd with CONE OF SHAME

A little manic, but still as sweet as maple sugar candy.

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Caturday Suppement: Blackat!

Screwed up my back yesterday. Not good. Up until now this has only happened once a year, and the last time was in February. Guess I better start actually doing those back exercises, huh?

Anyway, here’s a kitty for y’all. Incidentally, if people have cat pictures they want to submit for the photography contest, feel free to do so. We’ll work something out. If I get enough, maybe I’ll even make a third category.

Black Kitten

Catnip: not even once.

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