Let me introduce you to Harriett, a.k.a. Pea Pod. Her other aliases, of which I use randomly and often, are stinky rat or just plain old stink, BeBop, Teapot, little mutt, Larriett and Marriett.
Harriett is an 8 year old female Jack Russell terrier. Like most Jack Russell terriers, Harriett has an endless supply of energy and thinks that she is about the size of a labrador retriever or larger. I have witnessed her ability to quickly subdue two Weimarers into complete submission, herd them off of her property and then turn around with that "look who is in charge now" expression. That energy/tenacity combination also allows her to jump 3 or 4 feet in the air to chase down an inflated balloon (looks like a ball) for as long as it takes to get it. This activity can go on for hours until she drops from sheer exhaustion. Tenacity is a descriptive term that applies directly to Harriett and, I am discovering, the entire breed.
Being the good dog owner that I am I decided to take the opportunity to participate in the Dog Shotz photo shoot sponsored by Ann Torrence of Ann Torrence Photography. Harriett knew we were up to something and as soon as I mentioned the single most important word in Harriett's vocabulary "GO". We were off and running to have her picture taken. Never mind that Harriett had no idea where we were going or why, we were just going, and going at the speed of light.
A photo shoot...great! What was I thinking? Harriett + photo shoot = chaos. Harriett sitting still for a few minutes to have her picture taken? What was I thinking? In any event, we arrive at the photo shoot and immediately Harriett has tapped into her energy reserves so she is amped up from the start. Ann has graciously purchased a few toys and treats for the canines participating in the photo shoot and Harriett quickly zeros in on the rubber fish that contains a squeeker inside. I have already mentioned that Harriett is tenacious? that tenacity becomes obsession in a blink of an eye. Harriett is obsessed with life in general and completely obsessed with squeeky toys that resemble anything close to a ball (e.g., the rubber fish). Did I mention the sitting still part? Forget the treats, Harriett is so obsessed with the rubber fish that she can't sit still for even a minute and has no interest in treats. She gets that all to familiar wild look in her eyes that she will never see that rubber fish again and the photo opp turns into a chaotic scene and all the while she stares up at me with those crazed eyes that say "but the fish, where is it?!?".
Okay, we made it through the photo opp and I have this picture to prove it. This picture shows Harriett doing her best (under strict owner verbal command and the threat of no more balls or fish...whatever), to sit still. I would guess that this picture is one of possibly 45 pictures that were taken of Harriett in the span of an hour that downloaded from the Smug Mug site. I suspect that there are only a handful of pictures where she is actually sitting, much less remaining still enough for the camera.
All in all, we had a great experience although I am certain that Ann will want to screen all of her potential canine participants in the future and seriously consider banning energy/tenacious/obsessed Jack Russell terriers in photo shoots.
Harriett enjoyed the outing. She played with the fish for about an hour and successfully removed the dorsal fin, tail and the squeeker on the fish so that it was reduced to a slimey ball with extra parts. A great outcome of our photo shoot adventure is that Harriett burned off some energy and was all around happy to be outside on a walk with her owner. I had a great time and now have a great picture of my little Pea Pod. On the way home we spotted a kitty cat...did I mention that Harriett really loves kitty cats?