Sometimes with the bigger, stronger dogs, I take a moment longer to evaluate their personalities before opening the kennel door to take them out. I have no such need for concern with Madison. She is the most timid Boxer I've met at Toronto Animal Services South - not timid in a snappy-snarly-if-you-get-too-close sort of way but in a please-be-nice-to-me sort of way.

Madison is the type of dog who plays against type and just makes you want to take her home and wrap her in a fuzzy blanket.

She loves other dogs so it would ideal if she could go home to a family which already has a dog, especially a more confident around people dog who can show her that humans can be pretty good friends too.

Now when I meet a dog whom I know is going to be euthanized, I no longer get upset about it or at least I've learned to turn down the volume on that upset so I can carry on with my day, do my laundry, vacuum the floor.

I may spend some time with the dog but usually only in its kennel because often it's in no condition to be taken outside. It's usually a dog which even under more ideal circumstances would be forcing its owners to consider end of life options.

The more appreciative the dog is with my company, the harder it is, of course, so I have to turn down the emotional volume even further. And when the dog leans into me or licks my hand or tries to play, I am already as cold and soulless as a polished black granite block. Everything, the dark, the light, bounce off me. Nothing pierces the surface. Nothing enters. Nothing is allowed out.

I hold this old Jack Russell on my lap. All his teeth are rotten and I try not to breathe in his foul breath when he looks up at me with his foggy eyes. He is incontinent, maybe something wrong with his kidneys; his hips are ruined; he knuckles over and he teeters and falls when he walks; his vision is going, of course; he has a severe heart murmur; later, I am told, he is infested with fleas. But this dog, like every old dog I've ever met, cares not about his ailments, pushes them all aside and spends his time enjoying the company of a human. He does not realize or perhaps doesn't care that I've turned myself into a distant, impenetrable thing.

He nudges my hand with his muzzle. I give him the touch of my hands. I hold him, I scratch his ears, rub his chest, pat his back, hold him. Hold him some more. I give him my hands. I cannot give him anything else.

I don't think about his confusion, his loneliness, his abandonment. I don't think about how he must feel forsaken - but I know of course he feels forsaken. His owner was his god and his god has forsaken him. I don't think about the coward who threw this dog away, this coward who couldn't carry this dog to his final moments of life, or maybe the person was too lazy or too stupid or too selfish. I don't think about those things until later. Later I think maybe this person was just an asshole.

How many billions of us humans are here weighing this planet down, complaining daily about the mundane, always wanting more even though we've already taken over this whole goddam world. Everything is ours already and we bitch and moan and kill for more and then we don't even want it, get tired of it and throw it away. And yet, here is this pathetic, sick, abandoned and about to be euthanized animal who has nothing in the world, who is about to lose his last small foothold in this world, and right now, at this moment, it is everything I am not. It is happy. It is hopeful.

This is Simone on her bed when I leave her in the morning for work:

A very noble animal.

I've never seen a Pointer point before, at least not live and right in front of me, until I walk Enzo and then there he goes, points at the bushes, waits for me to pull out a rifle to shoot the shrubbery.

Teddy and Bear came in together but they appear to be more quarreling siblings than bonded pair. These Bichon Frises are both great dogs on their own but together, one is constantly trying to hump the other one and that only leads to growling and escalation. I made the mistake of walking the two of them together and not paying well enough attention and at one point a noisy but harmless fight between the two pipsqueaks broke out. All the snarling and barking turned quite a few heads over in our direction. I'm sure people were wondering if I was training the two for the dog fight circuit.

So, for their sake and everyone else's, these two are being adopted out separately. I wish I could tell you for sure which one is Teddy and which on is Bear but I can't. Like I said, they're both adorable, on their own or maybe even with other dogs, just not together with each other.

This is the first one, the humper:

Or maybe Japanese Chin mix.

Chins are toy dogs and were bred mostly for laps and amusement and this guy excels at both. He loves being picked up and lording over other much bigger dogs from the vantage point of someone's cradled arms.

Get ready for some snarfling.

Joka's a big, looming Cane Corso Mastiff mix and once belonged to some lowlife, small dicked dirtbag who hacked off his ears when he was a pup to make him look tough, and sure, he looks tough until he swings his hind end against your leg and leans into you and gazes back up at you waiting for butt scratches.

I'm glad I don't own a house at the moment because if I did, I'd probably have a new dog right now. No one should ever adopt a dog on impulse but if I were ever going to break that rule, a dog like Joka would be the cause of my infraction.

Big bowling ball head, good on a leash (he pulls but only slightly), gentle with people and he appeared okay with most other dogs - though I didn't have time to do any up close and personal dog to dog introductions.

Joka will clear the sidewalks for sure and that always attracts a certain type of douchebag who will want him for an ego boost, so the trick will be to find him an owner who will treat him kindly and well and allow his gentle nature to flourish.

From the owner of Rocky, now Alfie:

Alfie had his first birthday with us on October 23rd - can't wait for many, many more!

A couple of photos of Maddie with her new best doggie pal:

From the owner of Moose, now Walter, who, I'm guessing, is also a "Breaking Bad" fan:

I just wanted to give you a little update on (formerly known as Moose) Walter. I have adopted him. He has been in our home for almost 3 weeks. We fell in love with him thanks to your phenomenal photographic skills of capturing these dogs' souls. I love him with all of my heart and with the help of our vet he has been given a good bill of health.

He seems to have allergies/asthma which was causing his breathing most noticeably when he is stressed out. Since I have asthma too, I completely understand how it can be a vicious circle of panic. He has bonded with us so well and has a brother named Hank (a 10 month old Boxer/Cane Corso). He is a wonderful boy and loves our horses too. By the looks of things he will be around enjoying his new life for quite some time.

Thank you again.

Three Bernese mix pups, a brother and two sisters, came in a couple of weeks and were quickly adopted out maybe within a day of one another.

Following the photos is an update from the woman who took the two sisters.

The brother: