RIP Valentin

Tonight's post is to remember Valentin the Borzoi, a very special guy that I had the honor of including in my book, Project DOG. Valentin represented the Borzoi from a breeder in my book. He recently lost his battle with heart disease and crossed the rainbow bridge... he will be sorely missed. When I first started Project DOG two years ago, I looked at the AKC's list of dogs and thought to myself, "I'll never find all of these." I hadn't even heard of most of the breeds, including a Borzoi. It took me months to find a Borzoi living in the SF Bay Area who would be willing to be part of my project, and I was so lucky to find Valentin just in time. What a loved guy... Valentin had outfits and costumes for every holiday and celebration, and was a local celebrity down in his hometown of Moss Landing. He loved going to parades and parties and just being around people. Here's one of my favorite B-side photos of Valentin from our photoshoot. And here's a shot of Valentin that his mom sent me of him with his book (I love this one). ...Happy travels Valentin!