Sunday, January 4, 2009

Introducing ----

"Coal"

Coal, one of our dogs.

Jeanne G. left a comment asking about our dogs and why there aren't any pictures of them on my blog. I replied that they both hate to have their picture taken. However, this is a photo of our "purebred Lab" (joke) female who is not happy but will even put up with the camera if she's allowed to lay her head on my lap.

You can see how unhappy she is about the camera by the way her ears are plastered so flat to her head. Normally they are are in a relaxed state and sometimes (especially if there's food involved!) they're even all perked up!

We have both a male and a female Lab (?) mix. They are not litter mates but are about the same age. Both are rescues and little is known about their lineage. We got the male first but since I was working everyday at that time, we thought he might enjoy another dog to keep him company.

We like Lab mixes and try to adopt black animals whenever we can since they're often overlooked by people desiring a dog. When a local rescue group advertised a purebred, black Lab puppy, we decided to go take a look at her. When we arrived at the foster home, we saw a short, squatty black puppy with ears that nearly reached the floor! We instantly knew that this was no purebred Lab! But, she was sweet and housebroken so we took her home with us for a trial run to see if she would get along with our male.

She has the temperament of a Beagle and who knows whether the black coloring came from a Lab or just some neighborhood black dog. But, we've had her for over 13 years now and have become used to her un-Lab-like quirks.

I guess we'll keep her!

10 comments:

Teresa Mallen said...

Well she is a heartbreaker Jan! She looks like such a sweetie. How could you not keep her? :-)
Thanks for sharing!!

Christine Perry | Graphite Art said...

Loool @ Jan....I had to laugh out loud at your description of your dog. She looks like a sweety! Her markings a quite pretty, and her soulful eyes speak to my heart. I think you ought to keep her too..LOl

Jan said...

Heartbreaker? Well, sometimes, I guess. She's an escape artist even at her age and loves to go running through the woods next door or the cow pasture across the road! It breaks my heart when she comes back soaking wet or covered in cow poop! lol

Thanks for stopping by, Teresa.

Jan said...

LOL, Christine! Everybody loves Miss Coalie until they have to live with her!

She is a cuddly sweetie but very stubborn and imperious to her brother. She's first in line at meal time and thinks it's her right as queen to take her brother's treats if he doesn't eat them immediately!

And those markings on her face? She didn't have them a few years ago! She'll be 14 this spring!

~Barbara~ said...

Good picture of Coal... she's not so coal anymore. Old age will do that to ya. lol. Glad you got a picture while you could.

Jan said...

Hi Barbara! Yeah, she won't let me use any Clairol on her! lol

Jeanette Jobson said...

Awwww, she's adorable, what a face! Perfect portrait material there Jan.

I always rescue animals too and usually end up with the oldest, oddest animal at the shelter. :)

Funny how some hate being photographed. Tripod, the cat, is the same way now. I just pick up the camera now and he heads for the door. LOL I think I've burned out his retinas with some many photos in the past...

Jan said...

Hey, Jeanette! I don't think this photo looks like her much at all & wish I could get some good photos of both the dogs so I can paint them. The backside of the male is about all I can get of him and I don't think that would make a very good portrait!

Good for you adopting from a shelter - I think they make the best dogs anyway!

"JeanneG" said...

Jan thanks for showing her. She reminds me of my female red golden retriever. Her ears are always drooping and looks at the camera with the whites of her eyes while her head is turned away. Sounds like she has the personality of my yellow lab Penny. She hogs all the toys and wants to eat first. Love the name. Red retrievers look funny with grey hair too.

Coal is a beauty and looks so sweet.

Jan said...

Hi Jeanne, glad you were able to stop by and see her.

Yes, she's sweet and we named her Coal as we always said she was our little diamond in the rough!

Your dogs sound great - you have my two favorite breeds!