My little buddy Sebastian is having a difficult week.  Please send prayers and healing thoughts his way. 

I’m a sucker for small furry dogs!  [Oh come on…who am I kidding?  I’m a sucker for ALL dogs!!!]  I first saw the Coton de Tulear in the ring earlier this summer at Bloomsburg, Pa.  It was love at first woof!  This breed is darling!  Up until this year I had never heard of them before.  They are shown in the Miscellaneous Class at shows because they are not yet registered by the AKC.  The breed name is pronounced “coTAWN day two-LEE are” and they originated in Madagascar. The breed’s name is from the French word coton, meaning “cotton,” and from the Madagascan port of Tulear.  It’s always a treat to see them at a show!

The Lehigh Valley Kennel Club show in Macungie, Pa. included a Keeshonden specialty show hosted by the Keeshond Club of Delaware Valley.  Here’s one of the MANY Keeshond [pronounced “Caze-hawnd”] in attendance that day!  This is a beautiful breed and just today I learned why the “en” is sometimes added to the name.  Keeshonden is used to indicate more than one Keeshond.  The breed originated in Germany and is a member of the Spitz family.  No, not Mark Spitz, but the Akita, Alaskan Malamute, Finnish Spitz, Chow Chow, Pomeranian, Samoyed, Siberian Husky, etc.   Throughout history the Keeshond has been bred to be a companion dog and they prefer to be indoors, with their people!

Meet my new friend Trader – “GCH CR Wicca’s Trade Secret” – the #1 Akita in the country!  I recently had the pleasure of photographing him at several shows and a few of my images were used by his owners, Tom & Ann, in ads for dog magazines!  I am honored and thrilled that they liked my images!  You can view the ads on the “Publications” page of my website here [scroll down the page a bit]:  http://www.betsydallasphoto.com/Publications.html  Thank you Tom & Ann!  Trader is super handsome!  Can’t wait to see him again!

Say hello to Doc – “GCH. Riversong’s Doc Holiday” – an adorable 2 year old champion Pug who I had the pleasure of watching a couple weekends ago at shows in Macungie, Pa.  How can you not fall in love with this “pug mug”?  Such a profile!