Ruby

I saw this gorgeous little creature sitting on her owner's lap at a sidewalk cafe in Newtown on Sunday, and just had to get a picture. Asking people if you can take their picture is hard, it taps into my big store of shyness, but appreciating something that they feel proud of, a pet say, or their personal style, goes a long way to being an icebreaker.



It's a curious thing, this taking pictures. The camera can create a wall between yourself and other people sometimes, but at other times it creates a bridge to communication. Ruby's owner was quite happy for me to take her picture, and while I did he opened up about how he came to rescue Ruby from the pound. When he rescued her she had 2 broken back legs, possibly from having been thrown from a moving vehicle. She's at least part Chinese Crested, with probably some Chihuahua mixed in, with little odd tufts of hair here and there and a couple of bald spots. It's this slightly grizzled charm that makes him sometimes address her as "Monty Burns".

We chatted for about 5 minutes and it was a really lovely moment. There was obviously a lot of love between the two of them and I felt a little bit privileged to be let into their world, if only for 5 minutes.