Above: Zinnia, the sweetest dog I’ve known and a close friend of Bud, about as loving as Zinnia but much smaller. They trust one another completely as the picture (in Maria’s studio) attests. Maria took the picture.

(Note: Flash pictures are ones I come across but sometimes forget to post. They are photos I love.)

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Bud loves the sun. I was struck by this image of him moving with the sun to sleep as it moves through the farmhouse. Bud is the most courageous dog I’ve had; he has suffered the most and been cruelly treated, and comes through it with nothing but love. He still gets weak in hot or cold weather, but he never misses a spot of sun.

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Some of you may remember Red, a wonderful therapy dog and the best sheep herd I’ve yet to encounter. He was raised and trained in Ireland and came to me midlife. Our vet put his photo up on her wall, the only local dog whose image she has put up in her office. When Red got older and sicker,  she used several innovative procedures to keep him going to the end. The sheep were in awe of him and followed orders. Fate worshipped him for obvious reasons. Red is buried in the pasture right below this photo I took of him, one of the last. We connected so strongly that I rarely needed to give him a command. He always knew what I wanted to do before I did. And the sheep never once disobeyed him.