Blog

Last week, Keith, over at bagofnothing.com posted the video above. It show a terrified dog that was resceud from a shelter an hour before it was scheduled to be euthanized. What really got me was the pure terror the dog showed.

Three years ago, I experienced the same thing. We saw an ad on Craig’s list put up by the City of Canton animal shelter. They had a yellow lab that had been there for five weeks. They were supposed to put her down on Friday of week three, but couldn’t do it. Friday of week four came and went. The ad we saw went up Thursday of week five and said they would have to put her down Friday. The ad BEGGED someone to come get her. Friday morning the ad was up again. My wife convinced me to go pick up the dog. Even if we didn’t keep her, at least she would live. She is still with us today.

We believe she was bred and then dumped at the shelter in Canton while her puppies were sold at First Monday Trade Days in Canton. It was obvious she was young and had recently had puppies. She is the second of our three labs that came from a shelter (the first was from a friend).

Our yellow lab is an amazingly sweet and thankful dog. She was EXTREMELY scared of people when we brought her home. She is still terrified of strangers. She would sleep down the hall around the corner, away from everyone. Gradually she moved closer. After 6 months, she would stay in the same room with us for extended periods of time. Now she gives the most amazing hugs, buries her head into your shoulder, and lets us scratch her ears (something she ran from before).

I can’t imagine a world without this sweet dog. The sad thing is, animals such as this one are lost every day. The yellow puppy dog has so much love to give. She acts as if every day is a gift, and for her, it is. Before you decide to buy a puppy at a flea market, or a breeder, check with your local animal shelter or rescue agency. For more information, a great place to visit is the website of Sparky’s Pals, a non-profit humane education organization started right here in Dallas by a couple of friends of mine, Kevin and Virginia.

Watch at your own discretion…

Since my wife bought me a DSLR camera a few months back, I have scoured the web looking at photography sites. I have a few technical sites that I learn a great deal from and a few online photography magazines where I enjoy browsing the photos. (Note to self: add links to these on my photography site. But some of my favorite sites are those run by amateur photographers (though some are not so amateur) and independent professionals. Once such site that I have been following for 6 weeks or so is the
blog of Kim Pace Photography.

Kim’s site is well written, has large pictures, and is updated regularly. She has several regular features such as Wordless Wednesday and Weekly Winners, but the one I am looking forward to the most is What the Heck? Fridays.

You can read the introduction here and see the first post here. In this series, she “will share with you areas that I found to struggle with during this journey. I want to give back what others have given to me. Even if is the smallest tip in helping someone understand, or “see” will make it all worth it to me (my tips will range from equipment to Photoshop tips).” These are the kind of articles I love right now because I am where she was 18 months ago. I really enjoy learning from those who have recently been where I am. Kim is an example of why, she still remembers what it was like trying to learn all about photography and is able to write in a way that even I can understand. Stop by her site today and add it to your feed reader.

Ever in search of a comfortable place to lay, my dogs would find a way to get warm laundry out of the drier like this smart dog…

Many moons ago, the wife entered our sweet puppy dogs into the Dallas Morning News Pet of the Week Contest. Well, they are finally up for voting! Follow this link to vote for the sweet, sweet puppies.

Then send it to all of your friends, post it to your Twitter feed (shortened link: http://tinyurl.com/63fqg9) , and even get it tattooed on your person!