Stop what you’re doing – you’ll thank me later – and come meet this adorable 6-month-old rescue puppy, Porter! He was recently adopted from a rescue organization in the Little Italy area of San Diego. And as his dad cleverly says, Porter comes from a long, established line of street dogs! :)

My favorite part of their story comes from the first time Porter met his dad: they had gone on a walk around Little Italy, to get acquainted, and afterwards Porter fell asleep on his shoes when they were done. It speaks volumes to me that he would immediately trust him that much! Porter’s trust isn’t earned very easily – trust me on this one – so I think that story is all the proof I’ll ever need that Porter & his dad are the perfect match.

My second favorite thing about Porter and his dad’s story? Turns out Porter is a little timid around new people, due to some anxiety issues. He’s had some sleeping issues at night, and separation anxiety too – so his dad has kindly worked with him by busting out the sleeping bag to be near him, just outside of his crate, all night long. Once the sleeping bag was working to keep Porter calm & happy, he “graduated” to sleeping on the couch! This went on for weeks – all to keep Porter as comfortable as possible. Isn’t that wonderful?! That story just blew me away with how dedicated he is to his boy! Thankfully, Porter is doing much better in his crate now, and his anxiety issues are lessening. Their connection is real, and as a result, it’s safe to say that Porter only has eyes for his dad.

The nice thing about Porter’s nervousness around other people & wanting to stay close to his dad was that he was able to be off-leash in some relatively crowded parts of town. No issues, no running away whatsoever – which is amazing for a puppy! If he got distracted by some smells, he was always quick to come trotting right back. I lovingly nicknamed him the “velcro puppy”, since he never wanted to be more than a couple of inches from his dad. I wonder if that’s a personality trait that will stick around as time goes on…

We started our photo session at the Spanish Art Village at Balboa Park, and then headed over to Coronado Beach. I think Porter’s favorite part of the session was playing fetch on the beach!

This is Porter. That face… what a handsome boy!

When I say he looks up to his dad, I mean it literally & figuratively.

We got alllllll that puppy energy out at the beach!

I’m pretty sure these two can handle anything life throws at them, as long as they’re together.

Jay, thank you for such a lovely afternoon with you and Porter! I can’t wait to show you all the images we were able to capture – we have quite a few! See you soon!

Tags: beach, coronado, coronado pet photography, puppy, san diego dog, San Diego dog photography