Over on Instagram we share adorable dog photos, and adoptable senior dogs, special dog-centric events and more. We meet sweet pups every week around the web, and across the Bay Area while out walking the streets of San Francisco. How can we not stop and share their sweetness with others?

There is something about these sugar faces that draws our attention wherever we are! Is it those come hither eyes? That aged to perfection face? The seriously adorable underbite? The impossible fluff?

Below are the nine more liked photos from our Grouchy Puppy Instagram account. We hope you will follow Grouchy Puppy on Instagram for a daily dose of adoptable and adorable dogs, or just serious cuteness to keep you smiling throughout the new year.

If you’re on Instagram, please share your profile in the comments and we’ll be sure to follow you back!

Candy cane striped street lights, and dogs wearing colorful coats are two of my favorite winter sights in the city!

I have been writing about dogs for awhile now, from the perspective of a passionate advocate, and as a guardian. For quite a few years, I have been talking about the many ways old dogs are important, and how they enrich our lives from first hand experiences with my own dog. This year I have been volunteering each week with Muttville Senior Dog Rescue.

You can understand why I was excited to get a chance to review the book, UNCONDITIONAL: Older Dogs, Deeper Love, by Jane Sobel Klonsky. If you haven't had the chance to have your life enriched by an older dog, the heartfelt words and images in this book could possibly send you straight to your closest rescue or shelter!

If you have known the love and companionship like I have from a senior sweetheart, be prepared for a rush of warmth straight to your heart, as you go down memory lane. 

And get ready to shed a few tears. This is probably the longest I have taken to review a book filled mostly with pictures. I probably averaged four to six pages, or about three dog portraits, between tissues.

You can't help but shed a few happy tears witnessing the deep, heartfelt love on these pages.

Jane has done a wonderful job of illustrating why I love celebrating how the human-dog bond is demonstrated by dogs, and those who love them, across Grouchy Puppy. This poignant collection of essays and beautiful photos is a celebration of the special bond shared in each relationship.

If you want to introduce what it means to have a dog to a young person, get this magical book. If like me, you already love old dogs the most, then these portraits and essays will remind you why caring about old dogs is important. You get to write the chapter in their life!

For everyone else curious about why dogs, and older dogs are the best, let me share eight reasons, some described in this book, to open your heart to an older dog:

What words come to mind when you look at a dog? How about after you spend time with one? Do you find yourself coming up with the same expressive words even if you are around different dogs?

I've spent a lot of time with different dogs over the years, and more since I've been volunteering every week at Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, and I realize now that the same words keep coming to my mind when I spend time with a dog.

Do you hear any of these words when you see a dog? 

Hopeful

The joy found outside between kids and dogs is contagious! 

 

Wait for meeeeeee 🐾 #adventureswithdogs #dogsandkids #mansbestfriend #getoutside #dogsthathike #dogstagram

A photo posted by grouchypuppy (@grouchypuppy) on Aug 20, 2016 at 8:59am PDT

When someone compliments me today, on my photo taking of dogs, I think of her. This old dog gave me lessons every day, and the price was love and kibble. A real bargain, wouldn't you say?

Guess who is famous for both her beautiful voice, and for her love of dogs? Hint: bet she didn't sing the blues when her dogs were nearby...

This year marks the 100th birthday of the legendary Billie Holiday. When you look at the many photos of Lady Day with her dogs, you can see what a positive influence they had over her. I bet they provided a wonderful companionship, especially given the era she lived in as a professional singer. Dogs don't discriminate or care about your looks or color, they just love you. 

This photo above is from a 1949 cover story for Ebony magazine, and it shows Ms. Holiday at home in her Harlem apartment cooking a steak with Mister, who is probably making sure it stays rare! The photo below is the two of them listening to records together. 

From quiet parklets, to beautiful landscaped hillsides, whether you have a dog and you're out on a walk, or you're daydreaming about one, you'll come across wonderful murals like this one.

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When you experience the love, devotion and joy having an older dog in your life, it's as if you've glimpsed heaven on earth. I will always remember my dog Cleo and how she made me feel as she became a senior dog.

As a way to honoring her positive influence over us, we're sharing on Grouchy Puppy beautiful images and stories involving the relationship between people and their older dogs, from Project Unconditional.

Read the following story about an amazing woman, who I admire greatly, dedicated to making a difference in the lives of senior dogs.  

Photo: © Jane Sobel Klonsky, Project Unconditional

The Golden Years

Patty Stanton’s first experience with the joy of senior dogs was watching her childhood dog, Happy, age along with her. Decades later when it came time to adopt a dog for her own family, she luckily found Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco.

When it comes to adopting a senior dog, the decision is easy for Patty. “They come with manners,” she says, “and what you see is what you get.” The gratefulness of adult dogs is apparent from the beginning too, and Patty relishes the unique opportunity to shepherd senior dogs through their golden years. Patty now serves on the board of directors at Muttville where she can continue her passionate commitment to creating better lives for senior dogs through rescue, foster, adoption, hospice, and education.

Project Unconditional by Jane Sobel Klonsky is a collection of photos and stories focusing on the powerful relationships between people and their older dogs.

Visit Project Unconditional for more photographs and information, and keep up with the project on Facebook.

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As a way to honoring our senior dog's positive influence over us, we'll be sharing on Grouchy Puppy beautiful images and stories involving the relationship between people and their older dogs, from Project Unconditional.

Read this story about a wonderful family who opens their hearts and home to frightened older dogs. They offer compassion and love to those who need it the most, senior dogs looking for a forever family.

Photo: © Jane Sobel Klonsky, Project Unconditional

Fostering Compassion

Photographed here with their senior rescues Stella (11, French bulldog), Roxy (11, Chihuahua-Dachshund-mix), and Cocoa (10+, Chihuahua-mix), Joe and Rafael introduced me to Patty Stanton and my new friends at Muttville Senior Dog Rescue in San Francisco.
 
Joe and Rafael’s first senior foster dog was named Misty Kay Maybelline. She was, as Joe describes, “odd looking,” but they quickly fell in love with this “cranky old lady.” Misty Kay became a permanent member of the family until she passed away three years later, and during that time many more dogs came and went from their home.
 
Over the past few years, Joe and Rafael have fostered around thirty senior dogs in need. Theirs is a safe and caring home for senior dogs in a moment of difficult transition. “Saying goodbye to our foster dogs is always bittersweet,” Joe says, “and although we miss every single one of them, the need is too great not to continue. So with a heavy heart we say goodbye, wipe the tears away, and then say hello to the next frightened dog.”

 
Visit Project Unconditional for more photographs and information, and keep up with the project on Facebook.

Don't miss out on anything, get the Grouchy Puppy blog delivered by email. Sign up here!

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This year I lost my sweet old dog Cleo. She was my first adopted dog. I say first because our experience of having her as a member of our family was so completely life changing, odds are we'll be adopting future canine family members. My husband and I remain incredibly grateful for having had the chance to bring Cleo into our lives and family.

As a senior dog, life with her only got better too. As a way to honor her positive influence over us, we'll be sharing on Grouchy Puppy beautiful images and stories involving the relationship between people and their older dogs, from Project Unconditional.

Photo: © Jane Sobel Klonsky, Project Unconditional

A Family of Rescues

Jean Kind is surrounded by rescues. “Everyone is a rescue in my family,” she says. Each dog that arrives at Jean’s home has its own unique story, and in the face of the enormity of the need in rescuing abandoned dogs, these stories have helped Jean realize how profound it can be to make a difference in the life of one dog in the moment.

Jean has been involved with Grateful Dog Rescue in San Francisco for many years. Her work with rescue dogs in that time has made a profound impact on her life too. “As it turns out,” she says, “I thought I was making a difference in their lives when all along they made all the difference in mine.”

Project Unconditional by Jane Sobel Klonsky is a collection of photos and stories focusing on the powerful relationships between people and their older dogs.

Visit Project Unconditional for more photographs and information, and keep up with the project on Facebook.

Don't miss out on anything, get the Grouchy Puppy blog delivered by email. Sign up here!

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Where do dog lovers go on vacation? They hang out in Monterey with sea dogs!

It would be nice to have a current photo with my old dog. We have so few together that a month ago it seemed like a good idea to embrace the selfie trend. 

Dog lovers, you're in luck! Here is the cutest yet practical little tote! Don't you love it when you find necessary (sometimes boring) items, like a doggy bag, constructed with soft, eco-friendly material, while still looking fresh and adorable?

What is great about having a dog? They remind you of the important holidays not found on the average calendar.