Dear Readers,

Yes, loyal followers, it’s true — I have recently endured yet another photo shoot. I know many of you will recall, I hate them. I actually think I suffer from Paws Traumatic Stress Disorder because of them.

First, there was the disaster in Florida when we did a shoot for my (first award-winning) book, Lina Unleashed, when we almost got arrested for trespassing on private property. I will never forget the officer — who was with Animal Control Services — yelling that the dog (me!) was also trespassing and not on a leash.

Then there was the “funny farm” shoot in Minneapolis that Momma “won” because I was named doggie of the month at daycare (let me tell you, they saw us coming a mile away). The entire session was like a war zone, with so many honking loud noises and blindingly bright lights flashing that I finally crawled into a corner and hid. You can probably see the look of sheer terror on my face in the photo below (although, admittedly Momma likes the big eyes and uses it for my business cards as she shamelessly promotes me).

So I was dreading this shoot last Sunday. We were taking part because our agility trainer, Annelise, invited her students to a session at her facility with a photographer who specializes in dogs. Momma was especially excited about this one because it actually took place on November 7, the seventh anniversary of her abduction/adoption of me! She wanted the perfect photo that would reflect our enchanted life together.

Just as with all the other shoots, Momma spent an eternity getting ready. After hair and makeup, she tried on several tops, scarves and baubles trying to get just the right look — both for Christmas (Momma refuses to call it the Holidays) and our anniversary. Next, she brought out all of my Holiday toys and outfits, and made me try on each one (see photo right). Finally, giving up on which went best with her look, Momma threw them all in a bag and off we went.

And guess what — this shoot was almost fun! I loved Laurie Erickson, the photographer. She was very gentle with me and you could just tell she is a dog lover. In fact, you should check out her website at https://laurieerickson.photography.

Laurie also couldn’t have been nicer and more accommodating to Momma’s endless requests for backdrop, costume and prop changes (not to mention photo touchups). Here we are in our official joyous anniversary photo! Holiday photo to follow — Momma says we can’t let the cat out of the bag yet.

Big time thanks to Annelise for arranging and to Laurie for the non-traumatic shoot! And thanks to Momma fur the memories.

Lina, Professional Poser

WOOFDA!