Pentax 35m 180zoom lens Afterwork: Desaturated in Photoshop.

I loved this picture. It's taken at Monroe Reservior, but I hated the water color, earlier in the spring, rain run off made it muddy, and a uniformly ugly yellowish brown. So while flipping though my new deviant watches, and seeing a shot posted by my friend Seeker, I decided to try this. Remove the color completely and post it as a black and white. I'm not sure why I haven't tried that before, probably because I'm addicted to brilliant colors.

Sasha story goes something like this. My girlfriend Pam would see her tied up outside for days on end, no food, no water, no shelter, in storms and sunlight. She called one night on the phone crying about this puppy. Asked me if I wanted to help, of course I can't say no to a girl crying(Anyone reading this I'll deny the crying part gets to me) I said I'd help. So I forget about it you know, just comfort of the moment. Until a couple nights later and phone call. "I've stolen the puppy she's hiding in my basement, come and get her."

Well what could I do? Ignore the puppy I'd already promised a home too? No, so I get in my car, which btw this was about midnight, in a brilliant lightning storm and drive to Pam's. Sure enough the little puppy is in the basement, cowering inside this laundry basket. I pick her up and we put her in my car, with many furtive glances to the neighbor's house. Ohh did I mention the house we stole her from was RIGHT next door.

Yes I'm a dog thief, or harboring an escapee. I had to go out to Walmart and buy food, collar, leash, dishes, toy, that night. Walmart to the rescue, no one else is open at that hour. So I sleep on the couch, this little puppy next to me in the basket most of the night, though she did some exploring she wasn't very brave. I took her to a vet the next day, told them the story and they got her in, checked her for worms and all her puppy shots, estimated her age.

Now, this dog was four months old or so according to her teeth. A German Shepard remember, and she weighed 12 pounds. She was horribly malnourished, underweight and probably abused, though there were no obvious marks. So I got a lot of instructions, about only putting a little food down at a time, not letting her gorge, and in two weeks, two weeks mind you she'd gained 12 more pounds.

When I returned to the vet a week or so later, she informed me that Sasha would never regain the lost time. She would be smaller than most, and she is. She weighs only about fifty pounds or so today, all grown up. Most Shepards weight in about eighty to ninety, and her head only comes to my hip if she's standing on all fours. She is a wonderful dog, easy to train, and happy. But one thing lingers she hates thunderstorms, she comes and hides beside me, when they occur. I don't know if she's remembering that night, or earlier ones when she had no shelter.


`lns

**Editted for submitting to the ArtistForAnimals Community