The brindle Cookie

People often ask what the hashtag '#brindlecookie' on some of my Instagram photos means. Cookie is the name of my 1.5 year old JRT-mix rescue puppy, and brindle is the type of coat coloring pattern on animals--particularly dogs. At a glance, the color and markings look like tiger stripes. We have had numerous people exclaim, "Look at the leopard dog!" when we walked past. Her coat is confused with that of the tortoiseshell cat, which has similar markings; but while a brindle pattern takes the form of irregular stripes, the tortoiseshell cat has black and orange areas that are mottled or mixed together. Either way, it is fascinating to see such explosion of color on a dog.

Cookie has been a great model for most of my shots. This is one of my favorites. It was taken some time in the early morning, not long after we had woken up. She is always so full of energy, but she sleeps in more than I do when it comes to cuddling on my bed. What a #lazybones.