Captured

The thing about photography is that sometimes you don't know what you've got until you know you've got it. So was the case yesterday when I played with Gemma (red) and Saber (gray). Gretchen was taking photos, as she always does to the point of being annoying. She holds her finger down on that shutter hoping to capture a certain moment and sometimes she gets it and sometimes she doesn't. The photo right before this one was actually the photo she was going for, but she held her finger down for a split second longer and this is what she got.

She didn't even know she got it until she came home and uploaded the photos. But what she's captured here is more than a silly moment of our play. She's actually captured our dog-analities. First, there's Saber who is nosing his way under Gemma, which is something he does all the time. He literally tries to lift her up off the ground and since he's remarkably larger than Gemma, he often succeeds.

Gemma, on the other hand, is all about biting -- legs, ears, necks -- whatever she can get her mouth on. She never bites too hard (if she did, Saber and I would both have pierced ears), but her mouth is always working, her teeth always bared, and her intent is to grab onto something, generally a part of our bodies. so in this photo, she's going after my neck.

As for me, well since I'm the oldest in the bunch and can dictate the level of play with a play bow or a growl, Gretchen captured my often-used strategy -- get the hell out of the situation and take off running. Since I'm an agility dog, this is precisely what I've done -- used my agility skills.

And at that exact moment, with the slip of a finger and a moment's hesitation, Gretchen captured not only our fun, but exactly who we are.

Not bad, not bad at all!