Thursday, August 21, 2008

Brag Blog

There is no reason for this post other than to show the gratuitous cuteness of two of the three roommates I live with (sometimes known as "my babies" when I'm feeling super affectionate.) Moms get brag books that they carry in their purses. (And I do so love the pictures that they give me. Seriously. They're on my refrigerator. Keep that in mind, mothers whose sons I don't see often but who I love to pieces. (ahem, Sam, ahem) Cell phone pictures sometimes just aren't enough...)

I don't get a brag book. Plus, it would be very weird if I carried around pictures of my babies and made everyone look at them since, you know, they're not my actual babies.
[Besides, I don't want to be that person. I volunteer with that person. I am well acquainted with that person. Please kill me if I ever become that person.] But lucky for you all, I have a blog. And on this blog, I can post pictures that my supremely talented photographer friends take of my babies, and I can brag about how beautiful my babies are. [I know it's splitting hairs, but I figure that at least on a blog, you only have to read it if you want to. It's not like I'm pulling the pictures out at a party or something. Right? RIGHT??] I can also tell you that this fabulously awesome photographer captured Blue's personality perfectly in this snapshot, and I've now made it my desktop so that it makes me happy every time I change applications*. I am now sad that I never decided to take up photography and that I don't have the eye or the talent for it. However, I willingly offer up my house/dogs/car/body for her to photograph if she can promise to make me look as great as she made my dogs look. (To be fair, with me it might take a little more work in the form of girdles, makeup and creative lighting....)

Wait, you need more proof that I have a great photographer for a friend? Well, I don't know about you,
but I don't think I've ever seen quite such a beautiful profile as this one. Those eyes...those mismatched ears... I might be biased, but I think she deserves to get hit on as much as Blue does. This one doesn't capture Casey's personality as much as the one of Blue does... but unless we caught Casey snarling at a stranger and being completely bitchy, I'm not sure she would get much closer. Regardless, I'm sure she will have many more opportunites to try because I'm completely convinced that after last year's debacle, she's totally taking my Christmas picture this year. I'm still not thinking we'll be able to get Laney in it, but with Tyson MIA at least we have a shot...

Oh, and in case subtlety isn't for you, I think you should visit Ann, and visit her often. The pictures are worth it. Her talent can only grow, and if you befriend her now, maybe she'll take your picture and make you look cute too. (Ann, in the future I am totally willing to trade portraits for vet care.)

*This actually led to the following conversation today (possibly more than once.)
[spoken in baby voice] "Oh. Blue is such a good boy. GoodBoyBlue. You are such a good boy! Blue'sAGoodBoy!!"

"Are you talking to your computer?"

"Maybe."

(muffled snicker)

"You're just jealous that you don't have a dog this adorable. [baby voice again] GoodBoyBlue..."

8 comments:

AnnD said...

Wow! I am speechless. I want to print that off and put it in my resume! I'm so thrilled that you loved the photos and even more thrilled that you wrote an entire blog about how much you love the photos. But, I love even more that you can have it on your desktop and smile. That's what I love about giving people photos!! Dang! If they made you THIS happy, I need to swing by and take some more of them! Then our friendship would be solidified forever via photos. Oh! I totally will take you up on the vet care thing. In fact, I have something for you to check out this weekend on B.B. Lee (my cat), don't worry though...it's not gross.

Anonymous said...

I heart your dogs. I would love to adopt a pit bull myself but I have crazy unbelieving family members who would never ever let their kids visit me ever again if I had one so, no bullies for me until the kids are grown up. :(

Moore said...

Dog owners always say to me "Oh, he (or she) won't bite, he (or she) is friendly." Well, at least they say that to me. Casey looks like he would bite HARD.

ems said...

Wow. I'm not sure if that was said to provoke, but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and take it like a question. I believe that any dog will bite. People who say that he/she won't bite are being irresponsible. It's true that some breeds might be more apt to be aggressive towards people, aggressive towards other dogs, aggressive towards smaller animals, etc. but that doesn't mean that they don't/won't bite. It would be more accurate to say, "He/She has never bitten anyone." Even I'm guilty of giving Blue too much trust because he's just so friendly... but he's also fearful in new situations, so I need to remember that if approached by someone who isn't familiar with dogs, anything could happen in that situation as well.

Casey (who is a she, by the way) doesn't like strangers. I'm a responsible owner so she's under constant supervision until she relaxes and decides that the strangers are friends. Once you're part of her pack, she'll vigilantly watch out for you like she does me. I know that if she DID bite, not only would it be her fault (in any situation - she is a pit bull after all) but I would have to put her down. As a pit bull advocate, I can't have a dog who has bitten anyone under any circumstances. So I feel double the pressure to have my dogs behave.

It's true that dogs can read emotions from people. If there was someone who had higher anxiety or fear around my dogs, they would sense that and it would heighten their anxiety. For that reason, I would just remove the dogs from that situation. So if you were around and afraid of my dogs, the dogs would not be. This is both out of respect for you and the safety of my dogs.

punkinmama said...

Next time I see you, you can definitely have a "real life" photo of Sam! (Yay! Sam got a mention in Em's blog... a blog about her dogs no less!) And when we get his 2 year pictures done, you can have another one. Be warned, you may regret wanting pictures of Sam! :) Perhaps I should inquire about Ann's excellent photog skills for some pics of Sam!

Farmerspice said...

As someone who has spent the night at your house and with your dogs I can say you are a very responsible pet owner. Your dogs are actually very friendly and I do agree that any dog can and will bite if they are provoked. My Joe is one of the most friendly dogs in the world, but when Betty Lou gets a little too close for comfort and antagonizes him just the wrong way he is sure to let her know. I don't always agree with the putting down for one bite. I believe that circumstances for whatever they may be need to be brought into consideration. This is from a girl who had two dogs nearly attack her at a very, very young age.

blue - you're such a good boy.
casey - no...slow down casey...that's a girl. :)

Candace said...

As a pet owner of a declawed cat I feel that if he bit someone it is because he was provoked and the person who provoked him would learn their lesson. As I have never had a dog for a pet I am not sure how I would feel in that situation.

Moore said...

No, I wasn't trying to provoke, I was just commenting. I should have mentioned that I don't find the photo of Blue scary at all, but because I'm me.... I'm sure I would be terrified during an in-person meeting. I'm the same person who in my youth had to outrun a cocker spaniel named Dickens, to avoid his jaws of death.... and succeeded. I could hear my friends rolling in laughter while Dickens tapped at the closed door with his paws.