Mutts, Glorious Mutts!

BELLA, Border Collie/Labrador/German Shepherd

Krissy Nordstrom-Young and her dog, Bella, were our last pair
of the day and another duo that traveled over four hours to join us. After a quick
jaunt to the nearby dog park to work off some energy, goofy, loving, and motivated
Bella settled right down to business.
Krissy figures Bella is comprised of Border Collie, Labrador, and German
Shepherd, her parents two farm dogs in a small farming community, allegedly
Border Collie/Black Lab and Border Collie/German Shepherd mixes. Krissy
tells us, “Bella came from a litter of 14 puppies, believe it or not. The day we
took her home we were not intending to come home with a dog. The litter was
unplanned for on the owner’s part so they were pretty overwhelmed by the extra
14 dogs in their house. The mom had stopped feeding the puppies so the owner
told us it was now or never… we of course could not walk away without Bella!”
Best part of this particular mix? “Bella is extremely loyal and loving, super energetic,
and yet she has the ability to be calm and quiet when needed,” Krissy
says. “We have the best of both worlds with her.”

BENTLEY, Schnauzer/Fox Terrier/Wirehaired Jack Russell Terrier

Our day started off on the right paw with the arrival of
mixed-breed cutie Bentley. Bentley’s person, Naomi Robertson, drove fourplus
hours to squire Bentley to the shoot and, despite the journey, Bentley
knocked it out of the park. We kinda wanted to steal him.
Bentley was listed simply as a terrier-cross at the Penticton, BC SPCA Naomi
adopted him from, but Naomi theorizes there is Schnauzer, Fox Terrier, and
Wirehaired Jack Russell Terrier in the mix. At any rate, he is lively, comical,
intelligent, and mischievous. Naomi says, “I recommend adopting shelter
dogs because they are so unique; you’ll never find a dog that looks or acts
the same.”

SOPHIE, Chihuahua/Border Terrier

Our second dog of the day, the adorable, smart,
and affectionate Sophie, thought to be Chihuahua/Border Terrier
mix, was adopted by Tracy Armstrong through Dhana Metta
Rescue Society (dhanamettarescuesociety.org). Tracy tells us, “I
saw Sophie’s profile and fell in love. I instantly filled out the adoption
form, had a home visit within a couple of days and then one
(very long) week later she was mine! We’ve been best friends since
December 2009.” Tracy describes her as a “clever little monster,”
noting Sophie is happy to snooze on the couch or go for a walk
outside along the seawall. “For me, adopting a rescue dog was a
no brainer,” says Tracy. “Thousands of animals are abandoned and
euthanized each year and even if I could help just one I felt it was
freeing up space so that one more could be saved.”

MOLLY, Papillion/Chihuahua

There are certain perks to working at Modern Dog
magazine. One of them is getting your dog in photo shoots. Vanessa
Dong, Modern Dog’s talented design and production assistant, emailed
a picture to photoshoot@moderndogmagazine.com with the subject line
“Number One Contender;” there was something verrrry familiar about
the dog in question. As counted on, we were entirely unable to say no
to Vanessa’s dog, Molly, who, on her days in the office, gets all the
other dogs riled up before napping on an office chair pulled up next to
Vanessa’s.
Vanessa’s family fell in love with sweet, lively, and playful Molly, thought
to be a Papillion/Chihuahua cross, at the Burnaby SPCA, where she had
been brought in as a stray. Why rescue? “You’re giving a dog a second
chance,” Vanessa notes. “And we all are deserving of second chances.”

FOXY, Terrier mix

Occupying the one pm time slot were Janice and Scott Fraser
and the über-cute and curious Foxy. A close friend of the Fraser’s recently travelled
to Utah to volunteer at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, in
honour of a beloved Pug who recently passed away, and sent back photos and
updates of her time there, including stories and pictures of little Foxy, a solo
puppy who had been found as a stray. “Within a couple of short weeks, Foxy
was on a flight to Vancouver to join us, and we’ve never looked back!” Janice
tells us.
Foxy’s breed mix is a mystery, but they’re pretty sure she’s a terrier mix (some
Westie, perhaps?). Other common guesses including Schnauzer and German
Shepherd (those perky ears!). Janice says, “It’s very fulfilling to know that the
happiness our dog has brought to us is reciprocated by the happiness we’ve
brought to our dog.”

FINNEGAN, Chocolate Lab/Mini Phantom
Poodle

Calm yet gregarious and eager to please—despite being a puppy
still, six-month-old Finnegan, a cross between a Chocolate Lab and a mini Phantom
Poodle, was an absolute dream to photograph. Jamie and Nick Osborne hadn’t sought
out Finnegan—a friend had a litter and asked them if they would like a puppy—but
Jamie tells us, “after seeing what a fantastic dog he is, we would most definitely pick
this mix of dog again. He has the loyalty, gentleness, and kindness of the Labrador,
with the quick intelligence of the Poodle. He is the ideal family pet, which is good, seeing
as he lives in a family of eight humans. But best of all is the way he looks: with the
mix of the two breeds, he looks like a Black Lab that has yellow feet, a red beard and a
mohawk running down his back!”
Why get a mixed breed? “Mixed breeds are unique dogs for unique people,” Jamie says.
“With a purebred dog, you generally know exactly what kind of dog you will get in
personality and appearance, but a mixed-breed dog presents a bit of a wild card—who
knows what the particular mix of genes will bring forth?”