Featured in Petter Culley's To the Dogs ($32.95, Arsenal Pulp Press) is a gorgeous photograph that shows an impeccably dressed Valentino with his then-lover Giancarlo Giammetti sitting backstage during a fashion show. Two pugs are glued to Valentino's side; one beside him on the sofa and another at his feet. The Italian designer has long been known for his pug obsession. He currently owns six--Milton, Monty, Maude, Margot, Maggie, and Molly. They're constantly surrounded by butlers. They ride on private jets to wherever Valentino goes. They live a way better life than I ever have or will.

Culley's book celebrates the relationships between people and their dogs--or perhaps, dogs and their people. The writer accompanies his essay with dozens of beautiful photographs by various photographers. There's an elderly man kissing his dog on the lips. A proud owner showing off his put bull (and testing his patience) by prying open his jaws. Dalmations, Sharpeis. A mutt taking a shit in an otherwise attractive setting.

To the Dogs is a little pricey, but it's got plenty of content, making it the ideal coffee table book for your dog-obsessed friends and family. Hands down, my favorite photograph is of Valentino and his great loves. But the Chihuahua sneaking a sniff at her Christmas presents is cute, too... Okay, fine. Maybe that's my Chihuahua. I figure if she didn't make the book, I could at least squeeze her photo in online.

The four pound Pinkster lost in a pile of leaves...

If you've got holiday shopping to do and don't want to leave your pooch at home, South Lake Union's got you covered.

This Friday and Saturday all the retail shops at 2200 South Lake Union (Westlake Avenue and Denny Way) are welcoming dogs. In addition to having all restaurants and stores open to two and four-legged critters alike, there will also be a professional pet photographer on hand to take holiday-themed photos. You can also get your pooch micro-chipped if he/she isn't already. All proceeds go directly to the Seattle Humane Society.

Basically, you can get an assload of Christmas shopping taken care of, make your dog happy, and help the not-so-happy dogs that are in need.

The only stop I'm steering clear of is MaxMobile Pet Adoptions, which allows you to adopt dogs, cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs right then and there. I just know I'd end up taking home five dogs and I really don't feel like getting evicted during the holidays.

I will however, be stopping by the photo booth. Nothing annoys/endears people more than getting a Christmas card with your dog's face plastered all over it. Besides, Pinky is incredibly photogenic.

Like so many cat owners, Greenlake residents Michael and Deirdre Cross often wondered where their friendly three-year-old orange tabby, Cooper, would go when they let him out of the house. When Deirdre found Mr. Lee’s Cat Cams, a website that sells mini cameras set on a two-minute timer meant for kitty’s collars, they decided to give it a try, ordering and attaching the watertight camera to Cooper’s collar and letting him loose.

“At first it was really just an experiment to find out how far he goes,” says Michael, “Does he leave our yard, how many of our neighbor’s yard does he go into, or—heaven forbid—cross the street? We found out immediately, oh yeah, he crosses the street—including the really busy street that we live on.”

Cooper gets the camera affixed to his collar about once a week, and of the 6,000 or so pictures he’s returned, most are throwaways—black frames taken during one of Cooper’s many cat naps. Some, however, are truly outstanding. Snapped from only about six inches off the ground, Cooper sees things from a vantage humans would be hard-pressed to achieve: a street scene from the inside of a bush, a brightly colored fall tree snapped from the burrows of tall grass, or looking up towards rain-soaked lawn flamingos that from Cooper’s height seem larger than life.

“It kind of begs the question of what is art,” muses Michael (he and his wife are both filmmakers). “Some could argue it’s totally arbitrary, because he has no knowledge of what he’s taking a picture of or when the picture is being taken. Yet the result some of those photos are better than some pictures I’ve taken—and I put a lot of thought into focus, exposure, lighting, and composition. It’s interesting that something completely arbitrary can have such a beautiful result. It really changed my view on what art is, how it can be conceived and how it’s interpreted.”

Animal Planet came across some of Cooper’s shots on Mr. Lee’s website and contacted the Crosses. The station thought his story would be perfect for their television series, “Cat 101.” Cooper’s episode will air Dec. 6.

Think all cats are pussies? Well, ah dunno, I think surviving a high-speed trip trapped beneath the hood of a moving car is pretty damn Van Damme.

Area animal shelters have come under fire recently for providing substandard living conditions for orphaned pets (mainly King County's, not so much Seattle's), but the Seattle Animal Shelter in Interbay is starting a really cool program that waives the adoption fee for senior citizens and disabled adults who are willing to adopt older domestic animals. The program kicks off in November; full details after the jump.

I’m by no means fluent in hip-hop lingo, as I found out the hard way several months ago when my story on female emcess was published. Many of them got pissed off that I used their “street names.” Why? Were there warrants out for their arrest? Were they in the witness protection program? No. Apparently, it just isn’t cool to reference rappers by their legal names instead of their performance monikers. “People don’t refer to Diddy as Sean Combs in articles,” one girl told me.

Yeah well, Diddy is a complete fucking tool and I don't read articles about him.

But I'm willing to accept that I made a mistake and learn from it. Therefore I didn't so much mind reading -- ok, skimming-- Janet Penn’s Hip-Hop for Dogs: From Bling to Phat, Your Dog is One Cool Cat.It's an illustrated dictionary of hip-hop slang that explains terms like chedda (lots of money), doin’ a bid (spending time in jail), and busted (an ugly female). More importantly, the book contains plenty of adorable pictures of dogs wearing bling.

Hip-Hop for Dogs makes a good gag gift to give people who are obsessed with their canine friends. But don’t expect any awesome birthday/ Christmas presents in return.

Penn is an awesome illustrator. Note: illustrator. These are digitalized doggies! Yes, they're super cute. But the above picture would be way better if it featured actual pugs wearing red sweatshirts. These lazy pug homies simply got madeover via Photoshop. That's just wack, yo!

Hip-Hop for Dogs: From Bling to Phat, Your Dog is One Cool Cat comes out November 4, 2008. (Simon & Schuster, $12.95 hardcover)

more animals

Then put your money where your mouths are this weekend at Seattle Center. If I didn't have plans aplenty this weekend, I'd enter my cat, Quincy (pictured below), who would assuredly walk off with the gold.

Meanwhile, Maggie the Cat, who lives near the Duchess, would be runner-up: