I have spent a lot of my life with dogs and increasingly I find myself looking at them and thinking to myself this very sentiment from Mr. Hockney, famous for painting his pudgy little doxie friends.  A big part of travelling, to the coffee shop or with a passport, are the scruffy mongrels I find along the way.  On my first trip to Sayulita, Mexico last year I met a Xoloitzcuintli in an artisan’s shop and proceeded to visit him everyday (sometimes twice a day) while I was there.  I was completely enthralled by him, he was hairless and leathery and warm and had the ugliest/saddest attempt at hair on his face, much like the Asian sprouts on my brother’s chin.

Supposedly they are good at generating heat so people with joint problems have added health benefits to dog snuggling.  I hope to own one someday when I have rheumatoid arthritis.  Another added bonus? Frida Kahlo had loads of them and they were her best friends often appearing in her art.  The unibrow herself had numerous health issues throughout her life, it’s good to know she had many of these little creatures to snuggle with.

Frida with four {via}

Frida with two {via}

Frida, Diego and their Xolos {via}

Art imitates life {via}

Frida and her menagerie {via}