Molly Mutt

I woke up at 6am this past Saturday morning to get out and photograph Molly Mutt dog beds “in action” for submission to a little sum’n sum’n taking place later this year. I thought about heading to the shelter with the beds (typically too busy on a Saturday), and I thought about setting up the beds at a local pet store (very late notice). I also have about 12 dogs within quick reach around the Cape, thanks to friends and family.

In the end though, the fact is, we adopted a SUPER MODEL a year ago. I can’t think of another dog who’d play Gumby for a couple of hours and let me position his paws around the adorable birdy on the beds. And labs are very commercial (right Tyra?), particularly when they have this quirky, preteen hound quality tossed into the mix.

Next question is where do you photograph them? A dog bed in-action is usually in the home. My own home doesn’t even have a spot where I could fake space and exquisite design taste. I’ve certainly photographed inside some amazing Cape Cod homes, but who could I call for this?

I couldn’t help but want to snap a few shots at the beach. I know you’re not going to roll up to the beach with a full dog bed in hand (or hands, as the case may be), but c’mon. Chocolate lab, red bed, 6am sunlight?

Much more believable is the “shop dog”. The dog who sits at the store and greets everyone with a paw shake. I plopped the gorgeous Molly Mutt bed down in front of a row of stores in Osterville, MA. Here we’re lookin’ at about 7am sunlight and six old men for whom the coffee shop is apparently the highlight of the weekend.

Boy, did they think I was crazy… Girl pulls up, drops dog bed, retrieves dog from car, molds dog, lays down on ground and snaps photos. Leashes up the dog, picks up dog bed and drives off.

Finally, when Sunday turned into all rain and I knew I needed to catch some indoor shots, I cruised on over to my parents’ house. The upstairs is full of natural light, and they’ve recently been painting all the rooms with cool colors. Except, it turns out that most of them are very close to Golden Retriever color. Rigley tried sooo hard to be a good model, but he always looked ready to pounce!

Molly, thanks for sharing your incredible beds with us! It’s so brilliant to have a stuff sack you can fill with all the old sheets, towels and more from your own home. And appear uber stylish while you’re at it! It makes for the most cozy dog experience, that’s for sure. At least that’s what Brewer tells me!