Project 52 - Week 32: Don't Worry Be Happy

This week's theme is Happy!  I took a bit of liberty with the title, because I got to thinking about my own dogs, most of whom come from rescues.  When they come, we hope to give them happy lives, where they won't have to worry about food and shelter, and they will be solid members of the family.

So this week I did some candid shots of a few of our dogs enjoying themselves. Because they are candids, I am not going to any great lengths to edit them.

Little Luke is a glass-always-all-the-way-full dog.  I am not sure he could ever be unhappy.  He has brought a lot of joy to a few of our pack who might not have played much with each other.  EVERYONE plays with Luke.  Give Luke a ball and you have won him over.  He is happiest chasing it, or running the fence line looking for squirrels.

A few words about the photos this week.  I forgot we are (dare I even say this?) nearing the end of summer (aaauuuugghh), and that means at 7:15 p.m. mother nature starts turning the big lights off.  I had to crank up the ISO to grab these shots, so you will see noise in the photos, and odd, late-in-the-day colors.  It was the only day I had to catch photos this week, so it is what it is.

Lilah, to be honest, is a worry wart.  And she whines.  A LOT.  ALL - THE - TIME!  She needs some of Luke to rub off on her.  But when she is outside in the evening playing, she stops worrying (and whining).

Here she is doing one of her gangly, orangutan-like, quick turns.  You never know where an ear will end up when you turn abruptly.  She wanted the ball you see in Luke's photo above.  She has no idea how to really play and get things off other dogs.  She tries to distract them into dropping whatever she wants, but that hardly ever works.  The entire escapade always makes us laugh.

Finally, there is Moe.  Moe simply takes what he wants and then sits there barking at it.  What could be better than two Kong balls?  Seriously?

.The Kong balls have become a favorite in our dog household.  They squeak, and seem to last for quite a long time, as we have very strong chewers.  They aren't expensive, come in packs of three (for the regular size) and two (for the larger size), and can be easily brought inside as contraband by dogs who already know that ball playing isn't allowed in the house.

On the technical side, I used a 70-200mm 2.8 lens cranked up to 800 ISO, with a shutter speed of 125.  With this lens I was able to sit on the ground and get eaten by mosquitos.

I hope this glimpse into our pack made you Happy, and that you have a very Happy weekend!

To find even more happy things, stroll through the blog circle starting with Jessica Wasik of Bark & Gold Photography, celebrating the joy and love between Pittsburgh pets and their people.