{wo}man's best friend

I often run in to pups when I'm photographing other things, and more often than not they distract me from what I'm doing. I just can't pass up the opportunity to capture their adorable mugs. I started archiving these surprise encounters a couple of years ago and thought I'd give them some airspace on the blog today.  

I saw this dog at a winery in Oregon and couldn't resist snapping a few photos. His human told me what kind of a dog he is, but I didn't write it down, and of course now I don't remember. All I know is this: he's cute on a stick. 

This is Dudley, a chihuahua I met at Sweetish Hill Bakery. He did NOT like my camera. I tried to get a shot of him lunging at me (because he did) but I didn't want to keep antagonizing him. The closer I got, the more nervous he got.

This guy on the right is a Greater Swiss Mountain Dog that attended a wedding I was shooting in Oregon. My friend Anne used to have one named Jeb and he was the sweetest dog. (No, the hand in the photo isn't pulling his hear. It's holding it.)

These were another couple of dogs that wandered up to Sweetish Hill. This guy wasn't camera shy at all.

This is the winery dog at Alamosa Cellars. Beautiful and so good natured. 

One of the two winery dogs at Perrissos Vineyards.

 These two were taken at the first Austin Color Run in 2012.

And this is Sam, the happiest Golden Retriever I've ever met. She was the 2011 Therapy Dog of the Year in Texas, and you can read about her story here.

And this is my grand dog, Lolly. She's an eight month-old Australian Shepherd and she smiles. Look at those pearly whites.