A few canine friends

I often am asked who the dog in this blog header (also in a lot of my marketing) is. People who know I have a Rhodesian Ridgeback often think she's my dog.

She's not. In fact, she's not really anyone's dog.

In June we took a trip to a little town on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica called Puerto Viejo. There are stray dogs everywhere, and contrary to what I've encountered in other countries these strays are loved by the locals. They don't shy away from you like they're expecting to be kicked, and they don't look mean or intimidating. Sure, they're sandy and dirty, but I have to say all in all they seem relatively happy. (Still, I have the urge to pack every one of them up in my suitcase and take them home with me so they can sleep in my bed every night).

This particular dog was a step above a stray, she was the resident dog at one of the hotels we stayed at. I marvelled at how beautiful she was and tried all week to get a photo of her, but she would always bolt away as soon as I crouched down with my camera. Finally on the very last day when we were all packed up and waiting for our cab to the airport, something caught her eye and she held still long enough for me to get a couple shots. The lighting, the background, her expression - all lucky coincidences. I didn't get paid a dime for it, but it's one of my favorite photos.

This one is also dear to my heart, mostly because I think it accurately reflects this silly little dog's personality. Every morning she'd wake up and run as fast as she could back and forth through the common area, sliding on the slippery floors when she got to the ends, spinning around and sprinting back the other way. I will always love how happy dogs are. I truly believe the we'd all be a lot better off if we could take a few lessons from our canine friends.