This time last year we marked National Homeless Pet Day next door on Cleo's blog. Look at how cute this old dog is. Living with her, it is always a surprise to me when I read that senior dogs are often left behind at shelters. Puppies are not the ones, but big beautiful girls like Cleo are unwanted. How is that possible?

via www.desiretoinspire.net

Dog photography...underwater! What made me laugh out loud, is these dogs don't take their eyes off the prize i.e. the ball, even while under the water. Wonder what a Shar Pei would look like underwater?

Have you ever taken photos of your dogs underwater? 

via littlefriendsphoto.blogspot.com

Seth Casteel of Little Friends is a volunteer photographer with Los Angeles Animal Services, photographing shelters pets to give them a better chance of finding a forever home. 

His work is pretty amazing, and worth supporting. Visit Little Friends Photos to find out more.

Yes, we are all about dogs, but, we are equal opportunity lovers of awwwwwww..especially on Fridays. This bunny bath time photo series is for all our friends (Hi Vicki! Hi Kim!) who love the bunnies...

via www.buzzfeed.com

via seattletimes.nwsource.com

Sometimes I really wish San Francisco was closer to snow for my dog Cleo to experience it.

Tails of Seattle readers shared photos of their pets in the snow. If you have a picture of your dog or cat enjoying or otherwise encountering the weather this weekend in the Seattle area, click here for instructions on how your photo can be included in their gallery.

via egotvonline.com

It is one of those days. We need to look at a few dogs in top hats before lunch.

Crimes against dog lovers. It should be a crime that my dog looks this happy in the photo. She seems to have a secret ability to positively shine at will. 

This very morning, I was on a plane flying above her head toward Utah. They dropped me off at the airport, and because it was a beautiful early morning, went straight to the beach. Moments after getting out of the car, and producing a "double-bagger" for my husband to pick up, you get this perfectly snapped image.

The image is so perfect, when he emailed it to me in Utah, I thought it was a fake.

Can you guess I love photography? With the hundreds of photos on Grouchy Puppy, of my dog Cleo, and the thousands more I have stored on an external hard drive, you might say that dogs and photography are important to me. A passion of mine.

Besides wanting to capture my beloved while she is with us, my reason for loving and appreciating photography in general, is the beauty. In a moment, an expression, the light, we all have a chance to share an extraordinary emotional experience together.

Did we say laughing nut or should it be a happy mutt? Cleo and her gang at Grouchy Puppy wishes everyone a very Happy National Mutt Day!

They say love is blind. Many of us with dogs, knows this is true. You might be shocked at how many photos I have of my dog Cleo, which are also out of focus. But, I keep them because I can still how cute she is in them.

Awkward Family Photos. Our Christmas card includes our dog - she is part of the family - and I plan to keep working on taking that perfect family picture, if it kills me. I'm grateful for digital photos, because you can imagine how many embarrasing photos are deleted.

But how about the photos that don't get deleted? How many of you have cringed yet couldn't look away from AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com??

These photos pop up in my Facebook stream from friends all the time. This hilarious site lead to a New York Times bestseller. The authors of both the site and book, Mike Bender and Doug Chernack, found that the pet photos quickly became the most popular and the most commented upon photos, so in June 2010 they naturally created AwkwardFamilyPetPhotos.com.

On November 1st, their new paperback book - a tribute to the unbreakable bond between people and their pets - goes on sale..just in time for the holidays!

And you can WIN your own FREE copy by entering our GIVEAWAY!

Taking my dog's picture is something I love to do. Like every dog lover who is in love with their own dog, it is easy to snap away. Click.Click.Click. Cleo looks amazing to me. Her face is expressive! She does cute things with her paws. Every year she adds a new trick to her adorable arsenal. This could be how Cleo snagged a spot in The Impossible Project.

I want to document every second of our time together. We don't know how long we will be together. Granted part of the reason for this intense coverage is blog-related, but truthfully, I would be doing it anyway.

Like a new parent, I think my dog is the cutest dog in the world. I am not surprised when people ask to pet her or tell us that she is beautiful. I expect strangers to smile at Cleo and I am shocked if they do not when we pass them on our daily walk.

Naps courtesy of @HWAC volunteers and for the Awwwwws you're experiencing blame Petunia's Puppy Posse.

*Sleepy sweetness courtesy of @HWAC Helen Woodward Animal Center foster family for Petunia's Puppy Posse.