Asha & Kate

Are you guys ready for some cute dogs? I know I am! My friend Sarah from high school contacted me via Facebook to have some pictures taken of her parents' dogs, Kate and Asha, as a Mother's Day gift from her and her sister, since the dogs are kind of the children now. (We all know how that goes!) It was such a great idea, so we worked it out and I headed back to the hometown last weekend to meet the puppies!

Seriously, you guys, how am I going to do this? I have SO many good pictures of Kate and Asha, and I want to show them all to you, but if I do that we'll be here forever. I'm going to have to pick and choose some favorites, which will be the challenge (and torture) of my day. And, as promised (if you're my Facebook friend), they are so cute you might actually die. But it'll be a good way to go. Ready?

Okay, this gorgeous girl is Asha, and she is a stunningly beautiful dog. Very soft ears and much, much better at catching a frisbee than me. (Which is to say, I don't. I don't like what is essentially a plastic plate whizzing at my head, especially when I can't catch to save my life.)

And this is Kate, who decided to be my BFF when she realized I would rub her tummy!

So we started the day outside and it was really hot, but we thought it might be fun to get some pictures of Asha retrieving, since she's so incredibly good at it. Witness:

I'm nearly positive she caught that in her mouth, which I'm so impressed by, because I can't catch anything with two hands and opposable thumbs. I know I already said this, but truly, it cannot be stressed enough. I am a KLUTZ. Asha? Not even kind of.

And she's so proud of herself for catching it!

Meanwhile, Kate's not actually THAT into the ball, except that she knows Asha gets attention when she has it, so ...

... in a very little sisterly way, Kate makes a game of stealing the ball and trying to eat it. But she's SO cute, so you can't really hold it against her.

It was pretty hot (for the dogs AND the people), so we took it inside, and I loved this picture of Kate with the shoes in the shot. The people didn't want to be in the pictures, but I did sneak in their feet. I'm so BAD! :)

While Kate lounged at her master's feet, Asha cuddled up with Joanna (hopefully I came close on the spelling there) on the floor, and hammed it up for me just a little! Asha was definitely the more timid dog, but she came around a little once we got her into some air conditioning. Trust me girl, I know the feeling!

Here's another shot of Asha in the same basic position that I thought was so adorable that I couldn't resist posting. She's a very photogenic girl!

And speaking of, OMG, you have got to be kidding! This is Kate after she started really loving me and throwing herself in front of me for scratches. I saw this picture while I was editing and it made me so happy all over again--she is SO CUTE.

Next, the puppies had treats (Greenies), which apparently they get on Sundays. They had already had one, but they got another since I was there, so I like to think that they got something out of the deal. Kate scarfed hers down so fast that all I could get was a picture of her licking the floor.

Asha was much daintier with her Greenie. :)

And then everyone just sat around being cute for awhile! (Me included.)

The family had this great little room that we were in--it was a split level that led out to the backyard, and it was lined all the way around with built-in bookshelves that went halfway up, which had been built by Sarah's dad. Fun fact, my first job ever was at the Plainfield Public Library, where Sarah's mom worked and continues to work! Sarah is now a librarian in Florida and Joanna works at the Plainfield Public Library also, so naturally, this is a family that loooooves books. My kind of people! I keep hauling around boxes and boxes (and boxes) of books every time I move because someday I want built-in bookshelves and I think books are just the greatest decor item in the history of ever. Oh, and reading them isn't so bad either. :)

And Asha took a little nap with her tennis ball! I wonder if this is the doggie equivalent of a teddy bear?

And one more beautiful shot of Asha before we head outside again!

Okay, this one I love because their tails are just so perfect for the composition of the shot. I was really happy that we managed to eventually get some of the two dogs together (accomplished by showing them a new frisbee).

But this one, you have to see because Kate's face looks SO CUTE, AGAIN! She is such a doll--of course, I have a shaggy terrier myself, so I may be a little bit biased. :)

A little play time! Asha likes to chase the frisbee, and Kate likes to chase Asha. I told you she was the little sister!

And finally, to end our narrative, a sweet action shot! That poor frisbee, it maybe lasted five tosses, but it was very well loved while it was with us. :)

I had SO MUCH FUN doing this shoot. Honestly, I would run around and play with dogs and take pictures of them all day every day. Dogs are awesome.

The family and I got into a great discussion about adopting dogs from shelters and just about how many dogs there are out there that really need good homes. We all have dogs that came from shelters and I felt like it was something that was important to all of us talking, and I just really wanted to take a minute to encourage anyone who might be thinking about adopting a dog to consider going that route. I know it's not always possible, but it's a really good thing to do. Some of these dogs have really sad stories and you could be the person to turn it all around and give them a happy ending! And I think that's what we all really want in life, and it's so special to be a part of that for someone else. Shelter animals are really near to my heart, since I have a couple, and they're full of love for you too! (Well, except my cat. She's kind of coming around, but she still sits around plotting my demise. But she's a cat, you know? You know what you're getting into.) So I'm just saying, think about it. :)