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Where’s a camera when I need one? I missed two great photo opportunities this weekend.

First, we went to a local outdoor concert. We took Luna, not so much because she likes to groove to 80's hits but because it’s a great opportunity to learn good doggy manners. Lots of people bring their dogs to socialize them.

Scanning the crowd, I spotted a woman cradling a giant purple bow tie attached to a chihuahua puppy about the size of a baby squirrel. The puppy couldn’t have weighed much more than half a pound, bow tie included. The woman with the chihuahua happened to be standing near a man half hidden behind a 240-pound Old English mastiff. The head of the mastiff alone was bigger than a Thanksgiving turkey.

We knew the mastiff was friendly, because earlier Luna had greeted him by nearly shoving her entire head into his mouth. I would have loved to get a shot of the chihuahua next to the other dog’s head, just to further ponder the possibility that these two animals could be of the same species.

My second missed photo came yesterday when I took Luna for her morning walk. Luna was the first to spot the scruffy brown creature by the river near our house. We see coyotes here occasionally, but it’s usually in the misty haze of early dawn, and the coyotes have always been moving swiftly through the brush. This guy was lollygagging, out in the open in the late morning sun. I’m glad Luna decided to keep her yap shut; she looked as bewildered as I was watching the shifty-eyed beast snoop around in the dirt. For the first time I could have easily gotten picture proof that we’ve got wild dogs in our neck of the woods.

Those are the shots that got away. A couple of dog shots. Dog-gone.