Dog of the Day: Dashi the Miniature Dachshund

Posted on January 14, 2011 by Adam Lang

May I introduce Dashi, the 8-year-old miniature dachshund?

Miniature Black-and-Tan Dachshund

That's a plaintive expression. I wonder what he's thinking?

Miniature Black-and-Tan Dachshund

I can tell what he's thinking here: 'Come ON, mom, let's GO!'

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Double Dog Day: Mulligan the Golden Retriever/Bernese Mountain Dog and Kaya the Weimeraner

Posted on January 13, 2011 by Adam Lang

I’ve been doing this for well over a year now, and there are still dogs in my very neighborhood that I’ve never seen before. I’d remember either of these two if I’d run into them.

Mulligan is the golden foofball, obviously, and for a Golden/Bernie, he’s an oldster: he’s going to be 13 in March! In Bernese Mountain Dog years, that’s about 130 years old. And he seems astoundingly healthy and happy, too: from looks and demeanor, I would have guessed he was about 3 or 4.

Kaya, whose name means ‘unusual beauty’, would by process of elimination be the one in the back gnawing away. She is only one and a half years old, and really does live up to her name. She has gorgeous eyes. She’s also a bit monomaniacal in the ‘food’ department… she didn’t mind me petting her at all, as long as I didn’t require her to take her attention away from her chewy thing.

Bernese Mountain Dog/Golden Retriever Mix and Weimaraner

Look at those humongous paws. Look at that ruff of fur around his neck. If his ears stood up a bit, I'd be shouting "OH MY GOD! IT'S A LION! GET IN THE CAR!"

Weimaraner and Bernese Mountain Dog/Golden Retriever Mix

He totally looks like a big foofly pillow when he sleeps.

Half Golden Retriever, Half Bernese Mountain Dog

When he's standing he looks a little less 'lion' and a little more 'adorable blond teddy bear'.

Weimaraner Chewing a Rawhide Bone

See? Kaya is monomaniacal. Also: Weimaraners have the softest ears ever. If I had one, I would quickly develop a ear-petting habit. I bet it would drive her nuts.

Weimaraner

I thought this was going to be the best shot of Kaya's eyes that we were going to get. Note the tiny eyebrows and thick lashes.

Weimaraner

...but apparently not.

Weimaraner

Close up of that face. Those eyes haunt my soul.

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Dog of the Day: Long-Haired Chihuahua

Posted on January 12, 2011 by Adam Lang

Short post today. Autumn’s coming home tomorrow and I’m getting things ready.

Long-Haired Chihuahua

If you're going to have a Chihuahua, make it a long-haired one. Poofliness makes up for a lot.

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Dog of the Day: Australian Shepherd and Corgi Mob

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Adam Lang

Another attendee of the corgi meetup. He saw all those corgis and thought, ‘Ooooh! Herding practice!’

As we can see, that didn’t quite work out as planned.

Australian Shepherd Surrounded by Corgis

The Aussie already looks just a tad bit nervous, doesn't he?

Corgi-Australian Shepherd Standoff

Standoff! The corgi all the way on the left looks like he has an extra tail. He's actually tilted way to the side... that's his left hind foot.

An Australian Shepherd Herded by Corgis.

Corgis are amazingly cooperative herders. Instincts are surprising things.

Australian Shepherd Being Herded by Corgis

He took off, but the corgis herded him right back again, around the other side of the big clump of bushes.

Australian Shepherd and a Few Corgis

Sadly, someone called off the corgis before it got any sillier.

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Dog of the Day: Corgi Horde!

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Adam Lang

Every time the second Saturday of the month rolls around, there’s a Welsh Corgi (both Pembroke and Cardigan) meetup at Mountain Lake Park in San Francisco, around 1 PM. I finally got around to showing up at one. Here are a couple of pictures. I’ll post more some other time.

(Whups, corrected the location.)

Pembroke Welsh Corgis

I think there are actually seven corgis in this picture, although it's kind of hard to pick out the seventh...

Pembroke Welsh Corgis

Is it just me, or does the guy on the extreme right look a little bit concerned? Let's see...

Pembroke Welsh Corgis

CONCERNED CORGI CLOSEUP!

 

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Dog of the Day: Macy’s Window Wrapup

Posted on January 9, 2011 by Adam Lang

Thought I’d let people know how the Macy’s adoption window display did this year. And the answer is… pretty good! 259 cats and 12 dogs were adopted right out of Macy’s. Another few cats and dogs were put on hold and picked up later at the SPCA. They were aiming for 300, and although I don’t have the final numbers, it seems like they came pretty close.

Better yet, of those cats, 40 were pure black, which are always (in this country, at least) the hardest to place. (Did you know that black cats are generally considered lucky in England and Scotland?)

Seems like some dogs (including the cutie below) had a pretty good holiday season. Thanks, Macy’s, and SPCA. It wouldn’t be Christmas without you.

I have a bunch more pictures of cats and dogs in the windows that I’ll be posting in the coming weeks.

Scruffy puppy in a window

So cute. Scruffy. Floppy ears. Plaintive look. He's got the whole matching set.

Cute scruffy dog looking out of a shop window

While I was taking this picture, a boy of about 8 walked up, took one look at the dog, and ran off, yelling, "DAD? DAD! DAD! I KNOW WHAT I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS!" (It was New Year's Day at the time.)

Adorable puppy gazing out of a store window

The picture isn't blurry. Those are noseprints, tongueprints, and steam from him breathing on the window.

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Dog of the Day: Joey the English Springer Spaniel/American Eskimo Dog Mix

Posted on January 8, 2011 by Adam Lang

I know, I know. Joey kinda looks like a slightly overweight ears-down border collie, huh? But apparently not!

English Springer Spaniel/American Eskimo Dog Mix

A lot of that apparent fat is really poofliness, by the way. This dog is superior in the poofliness department.

English Springer Spaniel/American Eskimo Dog Mix

The previous picture was 'BP'... before petting. This one is 'AP'. See the difference?

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Dog of the Day: Bob the American Pit Bull Terrier

Posted on January 7, 2011 by Adam Lang

Bob’s an old guy: I think he’s 12 or so. Seems to get along all right, though he doesn’t run around as much as he used to. Mostly he seems happy to walk, and watch the younger pups play.

Oh, and swim. Bob loves to swim, and is a great swimmer. His dad had a story about him that I really love, although it makes me a little sad, too.

It seems Bob used to love swimming in the ocean, but he can’t really do that now. Why? Well, one of the things he loved best was swimming out in a particular spot, and meeting a friend. Specifically, a sea lion. The two would play around in the water: the sea lion loved swimming circles around him, and then disappearing under the water and popping up right behind him and barking loudly. They did it together a lot. But apparently Bob’s friend goes South for the winter, or at least did this year. So now, when Bob goes swimming in the ocean, he keeps swimming further and further out, looking for his friend. And his dad is afraid that he might go out too far.

Fortunately, the story has at least a relatively happy ending: dad found a great dog park with a pond for him to swim in, and he’s made a whole lot of dog friends there to swim with.

American Pit Bull Terrier

Handsome guy. You wouldn't know he's such an oldster.

American Pit Bull Terrier

Goofy expression. Coincidentally, similar to the one he was wearing when I was petting him.

American Pit Bull Terrier

This may well be the single most peed-upon tree in northeastern San Francisco.

American Pit Bull Terrier

And there's Molly, from two days ago. Bob is about to greet her in that inimitable canine way.

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Dog of the Day: Gay Pride Parade Lab

Posted on January 6, 2011 by Adam Lang

Having a bit of trouble uploading today, so it’s a light post.

I ran into this guy at the SF gay pride parade quite a few years back. I’d like to think he’s out there somewhere, cautiously optimistic about the progress of gay rights in the US.

Labrador Retriever

The sticker says 'We ALL deserve the FREEDOM TO MARRY.'

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Dog of the Day: Molly the Husky and Friends

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Adam Lang

This is Molly the Husky. I ran into her in the same place I found yesterday’s dogs… and it didn’t take her long to introduce herself to them.

Husky

Someone was having a good day even before she started playing with the other dogs.

Labrador Retriever Mix

And here's Andy from yesterday, with a new toy!

Husky, Lab Puppy, and Lab Mix

Heading for a three-way tug of war.

Lab Mix, Lab Puppy, and Husky

Somehow those two managed to play a pretty decent game of keepaway while simultaneously playing tug-of-war.

Husky

Until someone got a bit fed up. Also, bonus dog in the background... Welsh Terrier, maybe?

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