Smiling for the Camera

I adopted Cleveland from a rescue group. I had gone to get dog food at the pet store and so many happy, excited dogs except my boy.  He was scared of the noise, shy and huddled in the back of his cage.  I visited with him and took him home that day.

I always take my time naming my family members.  If they already have a name they know and respond to I won't change the name.  Cleveland had been a stray and the rescue group had saved him from  euthanasia (killing due to over crowding) from a city shelter.

Cleveland suffered from separation anxiety and it took almost a year for him to become confident. He had thyroid and liver problems. And he got pretty fat - more to love. 

Cleveland would always smile for the camera. He let me put visors and hats on him and would sit a pose with a smile. I wish I still had the picture of him wearing a Hawaiian shirt and visor. Sadly my computer with my treasured photos (and better photos than these) is gone and so are most of my pictures of the dogs.

If I took my boy's collar off he would jump up and whine for me to put it back on. I believe he thought this was a token of being a member of the family.

Not all of my dogs will pose, Jax runs when he sees the camera and I haven't a clue why. But Cleveland always posed and was the only one that smiled, always. 

Cleveland and Tansy

Do your dogs smile? Doesn't it make your heart happy?