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?”