He did it. Sampson Coomber has made it to the printed pagein his first modeling gig. He was, perhaps, the most unlikely of the wild pack of family dogs to excel (physically or mentally) but he has showed us that he has the hammy personality and structured facial features to impress the photographers, in addition to the self reservation to not eat an entire bowl of treats.

Not that Sammy is not a cute dog, he is. I just was shocked that had IT. There are tons of dogs out there, but immediately, in my small little sphere, there are just seven. And out of these seven, I am still shocked that Sampson was the one to make it into the glossy Mags.

Let's Review
Livvy the Pug
-no contest, she is quite "homely"and terribly behaved. She would have peed and pooped all over the set whilst barking at all things that moved or remained still

Wheezy the Pug
-She is cute, and strange looking...there is an allure. I will give you that, but wheezy cant keep quiet, sit still or basically do anything that doesn't involve sleeping or barking.
And with the pugs (this means livvy too) any food is fair game, and all who stand in the way are in peril of losing fingers and face.

Bukis
- Buka is cute, and pretty. Its hard to pull off. She seems simple enough to be just a dumb old dog, but she is pretty enough to want to look at her...But Buka cant be photographed. She is like bigfoot: few pictures exists, and their credibility is debatable. She sucks all the light from the place in the photograph she is alluded to being, and leaves you with a picture that has some questionable imagery.
Also, Buka prides herself on doing the exact opposite of what Jay asks her to do...but only when its really important to Jay. So in a situation where Jay wanted Buka to behave (as her performance was financially weighted) it is more than likely, that she would misbehave in a paramount manner. This is the type of scenario where she would be the worst she has ever been (worse than the dead animal jersey turnpike roll of summer 07)
I am scared to predict what such behavior could entail, but a simple indoor turd does not even come close.

Otis
-clearly the cutest in his dumb large headed way, and wildly expressive, Otis would physically please any viewer eyeballs, eliciting "Awws" and "ooohhh"s. He also tugs heart strings because he is such a "hard luck" dog - and i use that term loosely as he is spoiled and babied by myself and wendy. But alas, Otis needs to be within 10 inches of people. His desperation to be hugged and kissed and petted and snuggled would reflect in a ton of failed shots that catch just Otis's huge fleeing butt. I know this from experience, as Otis posed nude for the LHS 2008 Calendar. He did give the photographer (and her quacking camera, no joke) the shot they needed, but it took a lot of struggling. Otis is Bush League. He is not high fashion, Otis has more of a commercial look.

Elston
-Like Buka, Elston is a cute AND pretty dog. Unlike Buka, Elston shows up in pictures. Much like Buka, Elston's wacky dogsonality would smash any dreams of a successful shoot. If Mike were there to keep her well behaved, Elston would have a fighting chance, but her nervous energy could prove to be too overwhelming for parents and photographers alike. In addition to that, she might take one of her famous "vacations" on account of the larger staff neglecting to close a door all the way. And that has proved to not end well.

Ziggy
-Poor Ziggy, she is a sweet old lass...and that's exactly why she isn't a candidate. She looks too old, not to mention that it is very unlikely that Ziggy would have any interest in doing such a thing. She is trying to enjoy her golden years from the passenger seat of her favorite buddy, Will's car, not be annoyed by flashing lites on a set full of strangers.

So considering that Sammy is not the cutest, not the goofiest, nor clever-est dog, and considering that he is not the best behaved, or worst behaved...he is the perfect candidate. He will work the shots and stay put when told to.

So, congrats Sammy, you did it. We are proud, but Otis and Buka still rule.