The Small Dog Walking Club

The Small Dog Walking Club

Today I went for a walk on country roads with my friend Pat and the poms, and two of Pat's neighbours and their dogs.  Pat calls it "The Small Dog Walking Club".  Cosmo was the biggest of the four dogs.

I figured it was a good chance to play around with the new point-and-swear camera I bought yesterday, so I might not make a too-hasty decision about returning it.  Of the two hundred shots I took on the walk (plus another fifty or so around Quamichan Lake on the way home), I think twenty were usable.  All of  those were taken on the 'action' setting, as any attempt to change to anything else resulted in a meltdown (mine, not the camera's).  I'll give it one more test tomorrow, when I'm off for a hike-and-explore day with my friend Sally, before deciding whether to commit to the demon camera that requires a PhD to operate.

Here are the usable shots from my walk with The Small Dog Walking Club.

This is Beamer, a six year old shih tzu-yorkie cross (I think).

Beamer

And this is Teddy, a nine month old toy poodle.

Teddy

Both were very mannerly and a pleasure to walk with.  They were a little difficult to photograph as every time I knelt down to get a photo at their level, this happened:

Ooooh....what's that in front of your face?

After a while, they became used to the camera, and I was able to get a few more shots:

The route is one Pat and the Poms and I have travelled before, with very little traffic and a few fun farm animals enroute.  We passed some chickens running around a field, and some horses in a paddock,

and then came to the little farm where we've always said hello to two donkeys and some sheep.  The sheep were in a field well away from the road this time,

and there was only one donkey waiting to say hi to us.

Sadly,  the interference of a passerby had resulted in the death of one of the donkeys, as noted by this sign the owner posted on the fence:

It is a sharp and tragic reminder that one should never feed other people's animals without their permission.

I'm lonely now!

We stopped to say hello to the donkey, and then continued on our way.  Further down the road a sweet yellow lab named Tessa came to greet us through the gate to her yard.  She reminded me a lot of my Emma, both in her build and in the thwack thwack thwack of her happy lab tail.

On the walk back, we saw an eagle fly across towards the huge nest Pat had told me about, and I was able to test out the zoom to capture a shot of the eagle sitting in the nest by the time we drew even with it.

Beamer was hitching a ride home in her Mama's arms, so I snapped a few more of her as well.

Beamer gets a lift

Pat requested I take one more shot, this one of the Fashionable Dog Walker's Outfit being modelled by Teddy's mom - coordinated leggings, runners and poop bag!

Matching poop bags and shoe laces! 

It was a lovely walk, and so nice to meet two of Cosmo's and Lexi's canine friends.  See you again, Beamer and Teddy!

Bye!