Twice on Sunday Bonus Photo - Don't Touch that Dial!

For this week's extra photo from my archives, we have this shot I took of Zeus the French bulldog when I was dogsitting yesterday. He had been curled up beside me on the couch with his head resting on my lap, but when I got up to get a drink he scooched over and snuggled up next to my backpack and rested his paw on the tv remote.

(Taken with my Nikon D90)

Day 262/365 - Adventures in Dogsitting

My friends Des and Chris had to be away from home all day today so I agreed to dogsit their miniature Australian shepherds, Chewie and Wicket, and the French bulldog Zeus they were watching for a friend. Walking three dogs at once is not an easy feat. They kept getting all tangled, twisted, and twined around my legs. We had a pretty nice day, though. We went for a few walks, sat on the grass in the sun for a while, watched a couple movies, and played Lego Batman on the Wii. Well, I played and they watched in between naps.

(Taken with my Nikon D90)

Day 244/365 - Little Lump of Love

My friends Des and Chris recently adopted a little sister for their miniature Australian shepherd Chewie. Her name is Wicket, after the ewok from Return of the Jedi, and this is her resting in my arms (thanks to Adri for an assist with the photo). She's a warm, soft, little bundle of fluffy fur and needle teeth and so far sleeping seems to be her favorite pasttime. She's much more mellow than Chewie, although she does have a sense of adventure. While I was holding her tonight she climbed up my shoulder and onto the top of my head and then moved from there to walk across the back of the armchair like a cat walking a fence. I thought Des was going to have a panic attack when Wicket pulled that stunt for fear that she'd fall to the hardwood floor. Only eight weeks old and she's already a daredevil tomboy.

(Taken with my Nikon Coolpix S200)

Day 92/365 - Put Me In Coach!

Tonight I went over to my friends Chris and Desiree's place to watch the OU-UF matchup in the BCS Championship Game. I wasn't that bothered about the game, really. Mostly I just went over to hang out and support my friends. They both went to UF and are huuuuuge Gators fans.

They did their part to bring good luck to their team by putting on their Gators gear and decking out Chewie, their miniature Australian shepherd, in a UF shirt and bandana. It must have worked because the Gators wound up beating the Sooners 24-14.

I think Chewie really wanted to be subbed into the game at running back.

(Taken with my Nikon D80)

Twice on Sunday Bonus Photo(s) - Special Guest Host

The subject of this week's photo from my archives is Chewie, my friends' miniature Australian shepherd, as he looked last February at their Super Bowl party. And, as a special added bonus for this week's Twice on Sunday feature, we have a photo journal chronicling a day in the life of my friend Desiree -- Chewie's 'mom' and a lawyer turned professional dog walker. Take it away, Des!

"A Day in the Life of Desiree" Slideshow

(P.S. -- If you still haven't gotten your fill of doggie cuteness, the The Littlest Wookie link on the sidebar will take you to Chewie's blog)

(Taken with my Nikon D80)

Day 17/365 - Sarah Palin Is a Real Dog

Today I went to a Halloween extravanganza in the Clarendon section of Arlington, VA that was being held for dogs (and their owners). I don't have a dog, but I went along to be moral support and designated photographer for my friend Chris and his miniature Australian shepherd Chewie. Normally Desiree (who is Chris' wife and another friend of mine) would serve in those roles, but she's in Florida for a bachelorette party this weekend.

There were about 20 dogs there, mostly the yappy little fluffball kind but there were a few regular-sized dogs as well. The costumes ran the gamut from pirates, pumpkins, hotdogs, fairies, Elvis, ladybugs, lobsters, dinosaurs, angels, lions, monkeys and Chewbacca the Wookie (that was Chewie) to Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. That's the crazy clueless right wing moose-hunting beauty queen herself pictured above.

The Palin costume was definitely the best. That dog had on a navy business suit, wig and glasses and was riding along in a jeep with guns in the back and was accompanied by another dog in a moose costume. Don't know if she won the costume contest portion of the festivities or not, but she should have. The event was organized by a funky little local pet store and in addition to the costume contest they had a full slate of activities scheduled, including professional dog portraits, a parade, and doggy trick-or-treating.

Seeing as how it was raining, however, Chris and I opted to bail before the costume judging was over. There was still a full hour and a half to go at that point, but we couldn't be bothered to stick around any longer. After hanging out with a bunch of frou-frou dogs in frilly costumes we felt the need to reassert our dude-hood, so we went back to his place and played a fighting game on his Wii. Then we ordered some hot wings, drank beer, and watched college football like the manly men we are. Grrrrr!

(Taken with my Nikon D80)