Speaking of Dogs Rescue is an organization that I have worked with in that I have taken some of the adoption photos of their rescues. Photos that were put up on the website in the hope of helping each and every dog find their forever home. Not only did it allow me the opportunity to photograph dogs, which is something I think we all know I like doing. It also gave me the opportunity to spend some time with a dog that could use a little extra attention. Know that it wasn’t a one way street, I needed attention every bit as much as the dog did.
Over the years I have met quite a few canine characters and today I want to tell you a bit about this wonderful senior beagle named Pappy. I rarely get the backstory of the dogs when I meet them, so I can’t tell you how Pappy came to lose his eye, I can only tell you that it was gone. It was interesting to see that missing orb did not slow him down in the slightest. He was pulling this way and that because he wanted to see and experience everything.
I met Pappy on a December day a few years back. It was one of those winters where we actually had a significant accumulation of snow. We needed a suitable location to start shooting and the entry way of a nearby building strongly resembled a home. As we were making our way there, Pappy’s demeanor changed quite suddenly. One minute he was happily walking along the sidewalk and the next he was angrily stomping through some very deep snow. Pappy was struggling through snow that was easily chest high and regardless of how difficult it was to negotiate Pappy was a pup on a mission.
Pappy put his front paws on the window sill and began to bark and growl at the dog in the window. A one eyed dog who was barking and growling back at Pappy. As you can imagine my first reaction was to burst out laughing. I kid you not, Pappy shot me a dirty look and went back to giving that other dog what for. Not to be deterred, I tried to explain to Pappy that he was barking at himself. Pappy just turned around and shot me this look that said, ‘Quiet woman, I am busy here.’
When that pesky beagle had been suitably subdued a very proud Pappy climbed out of the snow. In fact the second image was taken just after he made his way out. I took it as he looked up at my friend as if to inform her that, ‘he had showed him.’
Pappy eventually found his forever home where he loved and was loved as he lived out the rest of his days.