The Chihuahua (well, all three, including the two you can sort of half see) are from the vicious Chihuahua gang. I have no idea who the boy is, but I have to admit, the whole tableau is quite adorable.
Pictures are from the grand opening of the Rincon Hill Dog Park, directly out in front of le truc.
There seem to be two breeds of Chihuahua out there, really: the 'terrified' breed and the 'EXCITED!' breed. This guy is definitely the latter.
Yep, that's a cute kid all right.
If you think pit bulls are scary, then you should be terrified by Maruka: she’s 3/4 pit bull, and 1/4 of a breed that was created to kill lions. Vicious! Nasty! Eeeeeeevil!
Some of the assistance dogs you meet in SF aren't the best trained. Maruka, on the other hand (or paw), is the soul of composure.
She was also very alert for opportunities to assist.
Well… mostly alert. Yawn!
I somehow missed getting this guy’s name, because I was too busy feeling sorry for him, and guilty on behalf of the human race. He’s a shar pei, a breed that is well known for eye trouble, and he’s absolutely blind, despite being only a couple of years old. We really have messed around with these wolves an awful lot, haven’t we?
Surprisingly non-saggy for a shar pei. I think, though, that's due to surgery.
He handles himself just fine, and he's a total sweetheart.
He certainly has the 'noble companion' pose down pat.
Aww. Don’t worry, little guy! You haven’t been abandoned. Mom or Dad will be back in just a minute, I’m sure.
He kind of has that 'unshaven' look, except over 90% of his face.
Frenchies are quite muscular for their size, aren't they?
I nabbed a few pictures of this fine fellow (between 1 and 2 years old) back in January, and somehow managed to get him on the exact day that his new folks had adopted him. Welcome to the family, Indy!
UPDATE: Okay, as if running into Indy on the same day mom and dad picked him up from the SPCA wasn’t enough of a coincidence… guess who I ran into today, while I was on a trip to the dog park with Autumn and one of her canine charges? INDY!
He’s apparently settling into city life quite well, and comported himself like a perfect gentleman the whole time he was near me. I’ve added another two images, taken today, to the end of the post. Yay Indy!
Quite a stare he has. Also... lucky parents. He already had mastered 'sit' and didn't leap all over me or do anything else ill-mannered. What a great first day!
The proud new dogfather. Also, that's my favorite cheese shop in the background there.
Wonder what he's mixed with?
Most of my latest round of pictures were ruined by a bit of dog-nose slime that a certain corgi left on the lens.
Yup, that's the one. Tidus greets Indy in that most canine of rituals.
I know, I know, I posted a St. Patrick’s Dog instead of a cat last Caturday! To make up for it, this cat is extra-floofy.
(I don’t think this was an official store kitty. I think he was just in there for one day, because I have been in the store before and since, and haven’t seen him.)
I knelt down, and as soon as the kitty saw that he ran right over. I had to keep backing up in order to fit him in the frame, because he was so affectionate. This is a 'meow' of frustration.
The nose is so light pink it's practically white.
Eventually he just sat down, inferring (correctly!) that if I just got all this photography out of my system, there would be some petting afterwards.
Can you believe I just found out this morning that it is National Puppy Day? And I even posted a puppy yesterday. Well, two puppies in a row is, shall we say, not too much of a tragedy.
Oh man, the teeny tiny puppytongue does it to me every time.
He was totally hyperkinetic. Even on the super-bright day, I couldn't get any pictures of him that weren't blurry until mom picked him up.
He's just the right size to fit into the outside pocket of my backpack.
Look at those sharp little puppy teeth.
Danger! Extreme levels of cute detected in this hula-hula cat-dog!
So spotty, grey and white. He would go beautifully with one of my shirts.
The little pink spots on the nose are quite distracting.
Autumn, giving this little guy a little love.
There is no such thing as a non-photogenic Berner.
Edit: One of this pup’s parents checked in below, and it turns out his name is Moby, and he was tied up outside of a local eatery on Nob Hill. Corrected!
Bernese puppies have a huge paw-to-body ratio… but full-grown Berners do too.
This guy was tied up to a sign out in front of a local eatery.
Autumn absolutely adores Berners.
Aww. Coy look.
Happy pup. Someone’s getting a belly rub!
New one on me!
I guessed the pit bull right off. I SHOULD have guessed the akita part, too, but I didn't.
Definitely didn't have that Akita standoffishness. Then again, neither have any of the akitas I've met.