At Ease

Like most young German Shorthair pointers, Spencer is constantly in motion and most of my attempts to photograph him produce only blurs. On days when he has been cavorting in the woods, the chances of capturing him with the camera are a little better, and that is what happened here. He was tired out from running about in Lanark yesterday and was about to collapse into a deep contented sleep.

The deep blue snows in our woodland are unstable, compacted by the "on again off again" springtime processes of freezing and melting. Running in the white stuff is hard work for Spencer at this time of the year, but he adores doing just that, and he does it at every opportunity. A moment after I snapped this photo, he was stretched out full length across the rear seat of the VW and snored happily all the way home, his tail with its expressive end curl thumping happily now and again to signal his pleasure with the great wide world.

Our beautiful affectionate boy came to us as an emergency adoption a few weeks after Cassie's passing in early August of 2008, and he is a joy, having bloomed like a rose and settled into life with us as though he has always been here and always WILL be here. We still think that Cassie arranged Spencer's coming from across the Rainbow Bridge, knowing how distraught we were when she had to leave us.