In 1999, we moved to a rather spacious house in Spring Valley, CA. The house was thousand square feet, two-story and had a nice big back yard with a nice tall fence. It’s the biggest house we’ve lived in to date.

But the yard and the house were missing something. We needed a dog.

My boss, Peggy, knew of a young dog that was in need of a home. The dog had just had a litter of puppies and she was at the San Diego Humane Society waiting for a family to adopt her. Peggy brought the dog to her house so my family and I could meet the dog. Her name was Goldie.

We decided that Goldie was our dog. We took her home the next evening after filling out all of the paperwork and paying the appropriate fees. As soon as we pulled into our driveway, Goldie jumped out of the car and ran into the house. A few minutes later, my husband needed to go out to the car to get her stuff, and I told him he should let the dog go outside with him. He argued with me that it wasn’t a good idea, that she didn’t know us yet and wasn’t familiar with the neighborhood. I talked him into letting Goldie go outside with him, he didn’t need the leash and she’d be fine.

She immediately took off down the street as fast as she could. My husband immediately got into the car and drove down the street, around the corner, out to the main road looking for Goldie. Nothing. We thought we had lost her forever. Marty said she was probably just a rescued street dog, maybe from Mexico and that we’d probably never see again. We shouldn’t have let her outside without her leash; I was wrong.

Hours later, Goldie made her way back to the house. She decided I was the alpha female of the house and since that first day that she took off, she’s never too far from my side. Wherever I go in the house, Goldie is right there – she waits outside the door while I’m in the bathroom, she follows me into the kitchen, follows me outside, and sleeps under the bed. She hasn’t taken off like she did that first night again.

Goldie is a part of the family and only fitting that I take her portrait.

The other day a friend asked how many pictures I had to take to get a good shot, so I thought I’d also include a “proof sheet” which shows all the images I had to take to get an image with which I was happy. That’s the beauty of digital – instant gratification. The last shot I took ended up being the best – in focus, composition and emotion. The picture I chose had the best of all three elements – especially the look on her face, which is such a perfect representation of Goldie.

Next week I may try some color shots. Maybe. I prefer black and white over color, but I am curious what the new camera will do on the color setting.

Shawna is all about the instant gratification.

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