I rarely photograph pets. Outsourcing the whole endeavor to a portrait artist is arguably the smarter move, since no amount of squeaky toys or treats held above the lens ever gets a real dog to hold a pose, keep its ears up, and wear glasses without immediately trying to eat them, whereas a pencil and a steady hand can produce a golden retriever grinning like he’s hosting a late-night talk show and a doodle looking primly bookish in a bow, both indefinitely patient and never once smudging the frames with a wet nose.