Superfluff

CLARK, a Mini Goldendoodle

Our first dog of the day, Clark, an adorable and undeniably super-fluffy Mini Goldendoodle (a Golden Retriever/Poodle cross), charmed us with his sunny disposition and serious modeling skills. Encouraged by his guardian, Paul McMillan, Clark was all smiles and inquisitively tipped head. It was tough to decide just which of Clark’s funny and very cute shots should make it into the magazine. We swear this dog poses.

RAJAH, a Collie

Next up was rescued Collie Rajah. Beautiful Rajah was adopted through Cross Our Paws Rescue (crossourpawsrescue.com) by his new dog-mom, Breanna Carey, just a week before our shoot. He was sweet, laid-back, affectionate, well trained—in short, the perfect gentleman and a poster-dog for rescue. It’s true: whatever breed or mix you’re looking for, puppy or senior, you can find it in a rescue.

RUBY, a Pomeranian

We would be remiss were we not to include the fluffiest of toy breeds, the Pomeranian, in the shoot. Rescued Pom Ruby brought her all, looking like a little lion with her golden mane. The smile you see in her photo was induced by her dog-mom, Tannis Kokotilo, producing a tiny morsel of hamburger. And that’s how it’s done, folks.

SASHA, a Samoyed

Samoyeds Sasha and Blaize are an irresistible pair of snowball-white cuties. Sasha and Blaize’s “mom” Carrie Corbett runs Carried Through Animal Rescue (carriedthrough.com). We were surprised to learn that Sasha was a Taiwanese street dog in her former life. Through TUAPA, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping homeless animals, Sasha was rescued from the streets of Taiwan—hard to imagine this Northern breed as a stray in Asia—and sent to her awaiting home in Canada with Carrie.

CHLOE, an Old English Sheepdog

We desperately wanted an Old English Sheepdog represented but, rather surprisingly, we were having some difficulty locating one available to take part in the shoot. But thanks to our awesome Facebook following (Rupunzel Book, you rock!), we found our dog. Old English Sheepdog extraordinaire Chloe arrived, a perfect cloud of fluff, escorted by her comb-wielding guardian, Christina Zander, and proceeded to knock it out of the park.

MURPHY, a Coton de Tulear

Coton de Tulear Murphy’s adorable white ‘do made him an instant “yes” when choosing the dogs to be included. Encouraged by his guardian Stephanie Lampman, he posed his way through his session like a professional model, offering smiles, head tilts, and a variety of moods and attitudes. Someone notify Top Model, this one’s got tons of personality and style!

ISABELLE, Siberian Husky

Furry Siberian Husky Isabelle is part of our very own Nicole Perry’s pack. Nicole is a trainer and writes our Dog Trick column so, as you can likely imagine, Isabelle knows all the cues, even, impressively, “back up.” Smiling center stage in just the right position, the beautiful Isabelle breezed through her shoot.

ROSE, Longhaired Miniature Dachshund

Longhaired Miniature Dachshund Rose has been part of the Modern Dog team for four years. A rescue from Washington State, Rose is spending her golden years in Canada (a reverse Snow Bird!), residing with Modern Dog’s Editor and Creative Director Jennifer Nosek. Thus she was brought along to the shoot, ostensibly as a lighting stand-in. (C’mon, she’s furry and super-cute and who wouldn’t try and finagle their dog into the proceedings?!)