This guy was fun to watch, even if I didn’t really get to meet him. He really seemed to have exactly one expression: that of goofy delight. When he ran, his tongue flapped around even more than his ears. And his ears flapped around a lot.
Three more pictures, after the break.
I've captured our friend here in a rare moment of stillness.
And now, for no particular reason, some more pictures from the great puppy fight. Three pictures in total, two are (of course) after the break.
The challenge! Hmm, one foot off the ground, doesn't that mean he was wounded in this combat but survived?
You don’t see a lot of dogs in San Francisco’s Chinatown. And I’m not making some kind of obnoxious ethnic slur here: it’s just a fact that the Chinese residents don’t keep as many dogs as pets as people in other neighborhoods. I’m sure it’s a cultural thing.
However, I’ve also noticed that when I do meet a dog in Chinatown, it’s almost invariably a big, happy, fluffy, friendly dog. And it’s almost always very well-trained, and well-socialized. I’ve met a few golden retrievers, a few labs, a couple of unusually friendly chows. And this guy. This guy is half-lab, half-chow, according to his owner. And he was so friendly, and yet so polite: he didn’t actively get in anyone’s way, or even move towards them at all. He just stared up at everyone walking by, making it very clear that if they wanted to pet him, that was just fine with him.
Two more pictures after the break.
This is the pup gazing after someone who has just petted him. Note the stubtacular tail.
Look at that ball of fluff. Their temperaments seem to be all over the place: I’ve met standoffish ones, I’ve met hostile ones, I’ve met friendly ones. But they always look like they’d make amazing pillows.
It's hard to tell from the photo: this pup took off with her leash, but is coming back because mom told her to.
The guy who was walking this little cutie seemed convinced that she was a dachshund/chihuahua. I find that theory a little hard to swallow. I mean, those ears have to have come from somewhere, right? I think it much more likely that this pup came from the union of a papillon and a miniature dachshund. Or, at least, a papillon and SOMETHING, anyway.
Two more pictures, after the break.
Very pretty, very soft fur. And just get a load of those fuzzy ears.
At the start, I had no idea what to make of this pup. I’d never seen anything her size that looked like her before. And she wasn’t much help, being the silly mistress of disguise that she is.
However, her dad told me that she was in fact a Llewellin Setter, and that it was the most wonderful breed. And after a nuzzle and a few licks, I had to agree that she was a pretty wonderful dog. Two more pictures, and two more very different expressions, after the break.
This is a seriously goofy expression, and definitely not the typical look for this dog. Also, special bonus dog shadow!
This is a first for DoSF: a ‘where are they now’ post! Yes, you might recognize this guy from a little while ago. You don’t, you say? Well… that’s because he looks a little different than he did the last two times we saw him, here and here.
That’s right, it’s Bailey! And while he’s quite a bit older, and a little less rambunctious, he’s still a happy pup. And, I hardly need mention, adorable. Second picture after the break.
Aw, man, look at that attentive pup. He's staring up at the woman who is walking him, trying to figure out what she's saying.
So, I ran into this guy in Dolores Park. He was gallivanting around when I stopped to watch. The guy who was throwing the frisbees saw me watching and put on a little show. First he threw the dog four frisbees, and the dog caught all four. Note what I didn’t mention: dropping them. This is because he didn’t. He caught all four in his mouth, without dropping any in between. Then the guy yelled, ‘okay, drop them!’ and he did. And the guy threw three more and told him to drop them in between, and he did. Then the guy yells, ‘Okay, bring ’em back!’ and the dog gathers up four of them in his mouth and carries them back, and then runs back and gets the other three or four and carries them back.
Second picture, after the break.
This snap was taken a split second after the command 'drop it!' I love the expression on the dog.
Quickie today, because I’m late and it’s tired. (Wait… strike that… reverse it.)
You can tell when someone really loves her dog, huh? Plus, I'm not a big fan of dog clothes, but that's an awesome sweater.
While we were walking away from this dog, after we’d gone up and visited a bit, Autumn said “Wow, it really was an Irish wolfhound!” And I said, “Well, yeah… what, weren’t you sure?” And she said, “No, I figured it had to be something else, it was so tiny!”
I looked over at her to see if she was joking. She wasn’t. Apparently this is tiny for an Irish wolfhound. It’s pretty decent-sized for a great Dane though.
Second picture after the break.
Edit: Bronte’s mom found these pictures and identified her in the comments below, seven years after I posted her. Sad to say, she passed away early this year.
She was definitely dainty for an Irish wolfhound, but she had panache!
Also, I gotta say, that purple leash and purple-and-gold collar looked great on her.