I was dogsitting for some friends this past weekend, so I did not have a chance to go out into the wild with my camera. So I decided to try to capture some images of Apollo, my weekend companion. Apollo was adopted from a shelter and is still a bit anxious and a little hyper, so I decided that it would be less disruptive for me to come into his environment than for him to come into mine.
In the first image, I captured one of the rare moments when Apollo, who I believe is some variety of collie, was relaxing. Most of the time he was really alert, as you can see in the second image. His favorite spot was in front of a sliding glass door that allowed him to keep a close eye on activity in the back yard. When we went outside, he seemed to think that it was one of his responsibilities to chase away any birds that dared to perch on the ground.
Over the course of our time together, Apollo warmed up more and more, though he does not appear to be a snuggling kind of dog. On Sunday morning, though, he curled up on one end of the sofa as I participated in a virtual church service while seated at the opposite end. I really like dogs and my time with Apollo was a welcome change to my pandemic routine—a different kind of encounter with wildlife.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Apollo realy looks a nice dog with lovely and friendly expression in his look.
Mike, this post made my morning. I’m a dog lover and so my soul companion, Finley, is the subject of many of my pictures. Apollo is beautiful. There’s something about a dog’s eyes…glad you had a break from your typical and a blessing to boot!
Thanks. I really do love dogs, but have not had one of my own for several years, so I was thrilled when I was asked to dogsit for my friends. My friends thought I was doing them a favor without fully realizing that the reciprocal was true as well. As for a dog’s eyes–I think my photos show how much I was focused on highlighting them. I am glad you enjoyed the posting. I never know for sure how folks react when I share parts of my life rather than showcasing wildlife.
You’re welcome, Mike! It sounds it was a win-win to dogsit. Thank you again for sharing this!
Apollo looks like a total snuggle bug once he feels 100% safe. Though I will say, much of what human’s count as snuggling, dogs do not see as love. Prolonged eye contact, head petting, big hugs, noises kisses near their sensitive ears – all rather scary to pups, I think.
Very sweet of you to spend time with him. 🙂
Thanks, Cindy. Some dogs, like my former dog, who was a pitbull mix, like to lean into me when we are sitting together, while others seem to be happy to keep a distance. I considered it an accomplishment when Apollo was willing to share a couch with me, albeit with a bit of separation between the two of us. As for us showing affection for them, I think you are right that dogs have a different love language–we have to learn what is comfortable and reassuring to them.
Gorgeous dog! Wise choice to maintain his surroundings – we are one year into training (and ourselves adapting to) a rescued Labrador who has anxiety issues. My husband (teacher for years) says our Ramble exhibits much like his special needs kids. Not what we’d hoped for in a companion dog, but she can be soooo sweet between sporadic leaps forward and tail-between-legs cowers backward.
Thanks, Jazz, for sharing your experience. My friends have been with Apollo for almost eight months and from what I can tell, he has made a lot of progress. Although they have had dogs before, they seem to be a bit over anxious themselves regarding Apollo, filling me full of instructions on what to do. When it was just the two of us, we kind of figured things out on our own. 🙂
Aww….Apollo is beautiful. Such sweet eyes. ❤️
Thanks. As you can tell from the photos, I was definitely trying to draw attention to his beautiful eyes.
🙂
Nice portraits, Mike. Collies are guard dogs (traditionally for sheep), so alertness is in their DNA. 🙂
Thanks, Eliza. That is a good point about what collies were bred to do. Apollo definitely had that “guard dog” vibe.
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