Everyone should have a pet.

As I was growing up I had, goldfish (one from a fair that lived 14 years), pigeons (they decided to adopt us and stayed for years) and eventually a hamster (a mutant from a genetics engineering lab experiment that went wrong I think - it was 2 or 3 times the size it should have been),... but I always wanted a dog.

Earlier this year we bought Oscar, the Soft Coated Irish Wheaten Terrier. A bundle of fluffy fur, from which occassionally a long thin pink tongue emerges and proceeds to soak your fingers. We had never had a dog before and were nervous that we wouldn't be able to look after him as well as we hoped, that he would wreck the house and that he would terrorise the children. Our youngest is 6 and we worried she was too young for a medium sized dog with enormous fangs and sharp scimiter like claws. But... we needn't have worried, they have become great friends and can often be seen, cuddling in the hall in greeting every morning, mini MacD with her arms out, Oscar on his hind legs resting his head on her shoulder. Neither prepared to let the other one go. This is the sight that greeted me yesterday as she chilled out watching some TV before our slap up weekend breakfast. So long as Oscar thinks he is human I think we should be OK. I'm just concerened that Daughter No.3 starts to think she's a puppy!

It's not a great photograph, it was snapped with a little point and shoot but it IS a great subject and it reminds me to use photography to record memories. It's not always about the art.

So if you are a dog lover, here are a few more images of Oscar Mild, and more importantly for me, a few memories of some happy walks we've had together lately (some of these were taken by daughter number one, she's getting quite good at the togging!).

This is a photography blog however, not just Oscars vanity page, so i should talk a little about pet photography here. The key thing in Pet photography, to my mind, is not so much exposure, focus and composition, (although of course they are important), but rather, character. The character of an animal must come out in a pet image otherwise it;'s just a picture of an animal, rather tahn a family member. With Oscar, these images have shown his love for the outdoors, the exuberance he greets every walk with and his love of water (at least I hope they do), lying on the sofa with daughter No.3, it aslo shows his soft side, that he is comfortable in our family environment and that he is a well adjusted wee pooch. I think that is more important than the slightly dodgy focus and lighting in that shot.

How do you capture all this - the answer lies in getting down to eye level, catching the dog in candid moments doing what he loves best and (in most cases) getting eye contact. Altogether like photographing humans really!