Ryker | January 2013. Photo by: Johnny Ortez-Tibbels

In 2012, I photographed about 30 rescue dachshunds. I first met and photographed Ryker (previously Malcolm) in March of last year. He was a diamond in the rough, like so many of these rescue pups I meet. Ryker’s forever family joined our local meetup group, LA Doxies, and I’ve been able to watch him transforms back to a beautiful, healthy and happy longhair dachshund. He really is a handsome fella, I think. Best of all, Ryker runs with his own pack nowadays. He has a brother and sister now which you’ll see in the days ahead.

Ryker | January 2013. Photo by: Johnny Ortez-Tibbels