Get a bunch of Beagles together waiting their turn in the show ring and there is bound to be some serious sniffing going on.  After all, Beagles are scent hounds and they let their noses do the talking, so to speak!  I know that I see some of the same dogs at every show, so the Beagles are bound to run into some “old friends” from week to week.  Above are two Beagle pals getting nose to nose to say hello.  These 2 Beagles had such different tails….see the image below.  The darker Beagle’s tail is more “pouffy” and the lighter one is more straight.  I’m partial to pouffy tails!  If I had a Beagle I would train him to run that pouffy tail across the coffee table….one less thing for me to dust!  🙂 

No trip to the mall is complete until I’ve visited with all of the dogs, cats, hamsters, ferrets, and bunnies who call the pet store their home…hopefully temporarily.   Today I dropped in and there were several dogs in open top pens so that you could pet them.  I was petting an adorable Lhasa Apso when the little devil grabbed my sweater and wouldn’t let go!  Store personnel had to come and “unattach” him from me because my other arm was full with my purse and a shopping bag.  My cats were mysteriously sniffing my sweater when I got come because it probably smells like “doggie breath”!  🙂  This image of a Yorkie at the Mid-Susquehanna Valley Dog Show reminded me of the Lhasa’s pearly white teeth and how much those little puppies love to chew!   Speaking of Yorkies, I met an adorable one today, named Duke.  I will be photographing his mom’s wedding in a few weeks and I’m sure that Duke and his feline brother will somehow be included in the photos.  

For the longest time I kept getting the Norwich Terrier and Norfolk Terrier confused.  Norwich Terriers have prick ears and Norfolk Terriers have drop ears.  The way I finally began to remember this is because I associated the prick ears with witches hats because of their shape….i.e., Norwich…has witch hat ears!  Pretty silly I know, but there are over 150 American Kennel Club registered breeds and I am trying my hardest to learn them all so that when I see a dog I can easily identify the breed.  If I have to make up crazy associations to accomplish that, so be it!  Originally the Norwich Terrier breed had 2 ear styles – prick and drop.  But, in 1979, the drop ear variety became the separate breed known as Norfolk Terrier.  I have no idea where this obsession about learning all of the breeds came from but I’ll bet my dad would have said that I was probably a dog breeder in a former life!  🙂

I love the black and white coloring of this Miniature Schnauzer.  Especially those so darn cute white eyebrows!   When I was little, we had a neighbor who always owned poodles.  She so loved her poodles and even had a painting of them above the sofa.  I remember my friends and I giggling about the lady who had paintings of her dogs … we thought that was nutty at the time.  I think I’ve turned into my old neighbor!  Okay, so maybe I don’t have paintings of poodles….but photographs of cats?  Pretty much the same idea!  But, but….I don’t have the photographs above the sofa…..um….they’re on the TV stand, and the fireplace mantle, oh, and the nightstand in the bedroom!  Ruh-roh!  🙂

If I were looking for a dog, I would definitely be going to a shelter or rescue to find my new best friend!  While I love purebreds, I can’t help but want to rescue a pup that needs a second chance at life.  One that has had a rough start and needs someone that will not hurt or abandon him.  Rescues have unconditional love to give…they just need a chance!   Today I saw the Extreme Canine Stunt Dog Show at the Fair.  All of the dogs performing in the show are rescues…..and they are amazingly talented.  Above are Petie and Spitfire Spinelli.  Petie (in red) is an Australian Cattle Dog mix and expert frisbee catcher!   He also runs agility at top speed!  Spitfire (blue) is very adept at frisbee catching and can jump rope – using only her hind legs!   The dogs were having a ball showing off their talents!  From rescue to super star ….. how cool is that?