Do you remember Snoopy’s brother Spike•, the one that lived out in the desert with the cacti? He had a long mustache and wore a fedora. Well, I thought about him recently in Sydney when I met Boo Boo, my friend John’s roommate’s chihuahua. (I’ll give you a second to make that connection)

I decided that Boo Boo is my chihuahua Diego’s long lost Aussie brother. Really Boo Boo should have a more Aussie name like “Ozzie” or “Roo” or “Digger”, I think. “Ozzie” over here barks a lot, but is pretty placid. I’m thinking an international chihuahua exchange is in order.

*In doing my research on Snoopy’s brother Spike, I found out that he actually had 7 siblings and Belle was his only sister. (I thought she was his girlfriend, oops!) Some of his sibling’s names are: Andy, Marble, Molly, and Rover.

Have you ever seen the photos that Robbie Cooper took of kids while they are playing video games? Actually, he used a RED video camera and took stills from that. Either way, they are really intriguing portraits. You get these unbelievable faces, totally locked in concentration and showing incredibly real emotion. As a portrait photographer, it’s really hard to capture such authenticity in a person when they know they are bring photographed. Yet, it is what I strive for.

When I was out on the beach with Bella last week, I took my camera as I wanted to try and capture her mid flight as she ran around like a maniac. These photos of her shaking out her ears make me laugh every time I look at them and remind me of how much fun it is to capture those raw expressions.

Someone’s got water in her ears.

Happy Birthday, Bella! I’m a little wary of being characterized as a crazy dog person, but, well… let’s admit it, I kind of am. And today we are celebrating Bella’s 2nd birthday!

There will be no doggie birthday parties or anything of that sort. But there will be an early morning run for her on the beach, probably followed by a sausage biscuit, or something else decadent that she’ll swallow in one gulp.

Bella is a Vizsla, a type of sporting dogs that originated in Hungary. They were kept by the aristocrats and are known for being high energy, loyal and very affectionate. I’d say! That dog will lick you to death with her enormously long tongue.

Bella LOVES: squeaky tennis balls, sleeping under the covers, chasing chihuahuas, stinky cow hooves, the possibility of going on a walk, toting around my shoes, bacon, stuffed animals, any kind of food on the counter or off my plate.

This was the scene when I went to pick out Bella at the breeder’s:

Bella, 6 weeks

Bella on the way home form the dog park. She’s one happy dog! Here’s to many more birthdays.