Oceans of dogs

I had several shoots yesterday and ended up at the dog beach in Huntington. I should have brought a chair; I could literally sit and watch dog beahavior at the beach for hours. I was there to try and get a particular shot; not easy when your models are there strictly for fun. So I did my best and got some great action and candid shots. I did add one more breed to my book as well.

There was one dog at the beach that stood out and could I have pulled it off: he would have been coming home with me. (just kidding) I couldn't stop smiling at this dog. I'd been at the beach probably 20 minutes when he arrived; at first I just saw a glimpse of him over the sand hill. I needed a closer look so up the hill again; and there he was, approx. all 4 lbs of him. He looked like a rough coated chihuahua; tiny, white and black and scruffy all over. Not only was he adorable in appearance he was adorable all over.

Many dogs are apprehensive about my camera; not this boy he came right up. He tried to reach my face to say hello by climbing into my lap, I was smitten. I don't like to shoot dogs unless I ask their guardians first so I yelled up to his. He told me that he found this little guy in a shelter and when they met him; this was him, friendly, happy and warm. Who wouldn't want to bring him home, I did and I had only just met him.

On one of his trips to my lap I asked him how anyone could dump a guy like him as he wriggled and soaked up the attention. How could someone dump any dog let alone such a tiny guy? My guess was he was from a pet store; someone fell in love at first sight but soon fell out of love when they discovered that there is work to having a dog. I can't imagine how cute this little guy must have been when he was a puppy, could he be any cuter than he already was?

So for the duration of my beach visit I was used as a safety net for this little guy. If he was feeling the least bit worried about his size and the other dogs he ran and dove into my lap. And every once in a while he would look up at me from his games and dive into my lap for a bit of attention. I have to admit I am a sucker for a little scruffy face and this was the smallest of scruffy faces I've seen in a while.

This little boy was definitely a diamond in the rough ;)