I want a picture of a small dog with a long, narrow face, a pointy
nose, big brown eyes, and an expression that is somehow perky and sad
at the same time, but not especially bright.

I know next to nothing about dogs and can't find what I'm after by
looking at lists of dog breed names nor by laboriously searching dog
pictures that may or may not have a breed identified that would lead
me to other photos of the same breed and maybe to one that will work
for me.  I have tried those approaches.  I want an image match to an
image that's in my head, and even with the magic of G***le, that is
pretty hard.

The answer to this question is a photo (or a link to a photo) of the
face of a dog with certain characteristics.  I am hoping that someone
who knows a lot about dogs will recognize what I'm after and say, "Oh,
you want a Gorflammian Blammie" and send me to the right place, where
there's a good, clear picture.

Let me make this clear:  I am not certain that the dog in my mind's
eye exists at all.  So "close" will be good enough; with the help of
Paint Shop Pro, I'll take it from there.  I am not shopping for dogs;
I am looking for a picture that I can use in an illustration.

Here (thanks to endo and his/her wonderful assistance with my Q
#214602) is a very rough sketch of what I have in mind:

http://membres.lycos.fr/dbky/Apteryx/TwoDoggies.jpg 
 
There are two versions because I don't know what kind of ears this dog
would have.  I am hoping there's one like the one on the left, but
it's okay if it's like the one on the right.

The answer is *not* Doberman.  Dobermans (or is it Dobermen?) are much
too intelligent-looking for my purposes.

Thank you,
Apteryx

Hello again, Apteryx! I tried to sleep, but dogs kept running through
my mind. They were mighty fast dogs, too. They hounded me out of bed
and back to the computer to continue the quest for the perfect pup.
I've gathered a dozen greyhound pics for you.

Trap Falls Kennel Club
http://www.trapfalls.org/greyhound.jpg

Personal Pages of CJ Byron
http://www.cjbyron.com/photos/ximmeronF2.jpg

Whippet Racing Association
http://www.whippetracing.org/Greyhound-CollarsImage.jpg

Porcia's Greyhound Retirement Home
http://www.retiredgreyhound.tv/Smile.jpg

Monsieur Club
http://www.monsieurclub.com/greyhounds.jpg

Adopt-a-Greyhound of Central Canada
http://www.adopt-a-greyhound.com/graphics/bkgh.gif

Greyhounds of Eastern Michigan
http://www.gemgreyhounds.org/images/store/merchandise/cg-cal_2002.jpg

Flash Shower Italian Greyhounds
http://www.flashshower.com/image/top.gif

The Art Gallery of Tamara Burnett
http://www.tamaraburnett.com/images/toby&midnight.jpg

Evergreen Animal Protective League 
http://www.eapl.com/pix/greyhnd.jpg

Canine Connection
http://www.canine-connection.net/images/photos/Calendarboy.jpg

John Robert Morris Gallery
http://www.johnrobertmorris.com/gallery/Dogs/images/Greyhound%208279.jpg

Google search strategy:

Google Image Search: "greyhound"
http://images.google.com/images?q=greyhound&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en

Google Image Search: "greyhounds"
http://images.google.com/images?q=greyhounds&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en

Looking through all those photos of dogs was one of the most pleasant
research experiences I've had in recent times. Thank you for the
project. Let me know if you'd like me to further refine my search. I'm
not tired of dogfaces yet. ;-)

Best,
Pink

Oh, top-notch, as usual, Pink.  Two or three of these will almost
certainly be perfect:  Byron's and Porcia's, most likely.  I'll know
once I get my tools in gear, but I'm happy to say "well done" now and
let you go back to sleep.

Thank you,
Apteryx

Dear apteryx-ga;

I don’t know if this is what you are looking for, but I took a glance
at your sketch and thought they drawings looked an awful lot like my
Chihuahuas, Katie and Petey. Here are some thumbnail images of my
dogs. Neither of them are the most brilliant creature that ever chased
a tail but we love them anyway.

This is Katie:
http://eseephoto.com/albums/29649/008793_084007.gif

This is Petey:
http://eseephoto.com/albums/29649/008793_084008.gif
http://eseephoto.com/albums/29649/008793_084006.gif

Let me know if these images lead you to other suitable images and I
will close the question for you. Also since I own these dogs and these
pictures I will gladly give you permission to publish them for your
purposes without additional obligation if my images are suitable as an
answer to your question. (I may also have other photos of them but
I'll have to look into it further).

Regards;
Tutuzdad-ga

Some helpful search tips perhaps (?)

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=chiuaua

http://images.google.com/images?q=chihuahua&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=chihuahuas&btnG=Google+Search

Ok, I see my links didn't work. Sorry about that. It's an access issue
that I will try to resolve. In the meantime, check out the Google
images of Chihuahua dogs and tell me if it's even worth posting them.
If so I will get my images online for you to see.

Regards;
tututzdad-ga

This guy seems to match up with your drawing on the left pretty well. 
Unfortunately, he seems to be of indeterminate ancestry

http://www.geocities.com/heartland/hills/5441/ozark.html

Hi, Tutuzdad--thanks for taking a shot at this.  I did think a
chihuahua might come close, but I couldn't find a picture that suited
my purposes.  However, I also thought a chihuahua might be *too* tiny
of build and not really furry enough.  Forgive me, I mean no offense
to Katie and Petey, but I want my picture to have the look of a more
or less standard doglike dog, if you know what I mean.

Endo kindly solved my picture-posting problem in my referenced
#214602; you could perhaps place your photos there and I could have a
look.

Thanks,
Apteryx

Thanks, markj.  Indeterminate ancestry is fine; the only use of
knowing the breed would be to go and explore a lot of pictures of the
same breed once I knew which one to look at.  Your link comes close,
but that little guy looks way too smart, and the face is not long and
pointy enough.  Right ballpark, though.  I like the ears.

Apteryx

Howdy, Apteryx.

My husband and I are affiliated with an animal adoption organization,
and we have friendly relationships with other animal rescue groups in
the area, including one which specializes in finding homes for
greyhounds who are not suitable for the dog-racing industry.

When I saw your sketches, I immediately thought "greyhound." The long
face, the big eyes, the charming lack of intellect -- all are typical
of the greyhound. These dogs are wonderful, loving creatures, but they
were behind the door when the smarts were passed out.

http://www.animalrescuecoalition.org/images/photos/greyhound.jpg

Hey, Pink--

Oh, yeah!  That is the kind of look I am after.  I've just been
peering at chihuahuas, and their little noses are too short, I'm
afraid.  This fellow has promise.  I am going to go try some greyhound
pictures now.  Thank you!

Apteryx

Another good candidate: the whippet. This dog is like a miniaturized
greyhound, and it shares the greyhound's reputation for dimness of
brainpower.

http://www.breedersclub.net/html/breeds/whippet.htm

Those are good, too, Pink, but their noses are wider and shorter.  I
think the greyhound is it.  Want to post your reply as the answer to
the question?

Apteryx

Would you like me to find some more photos of greyhounds for you, or
is the suggestion itself good enough as an answer?

Hi, Pink--

The question states:  The answer to this question is a photo (or a
link to a photo) of the face of a dog with certain characteristics.

You've supplied that.

What I have to look for now is one that is in more or less the
position in my sketch, but maybe with the chin tilted up a little and
a bit of the mouth showing (which I was not skilled enough to draw),
preferably with a perky-sad look, and also one that is easily
extractable from a background, so I can merge it with the photograph
of the person who makes me think of this dog every time I look at her
and who wears her hair like the ears in sketch 1.

If you think you can send me straight to a photo like that, I'll be
grateful.  If not, I can take off from what you've given me and find
it.

This would not be the first time I've doctored a photo for my own
amusement, after all.  I think you've seen my little ape.  I made the
t-shirt myself, mousestroke by mousestroke, and even put a crease in
the doctor's portrait before I laid it on the front of the shirt.

Apteryx

Looks a lot like my old dog Shiralee. A smooth haired Terrier [ black
and whitee3 with soulful eyes] Hope it helps. Pugwash

Apteryx,

I am retiring for the night, and will go on a quest for greyhound
faces tomorrow. I'm glad you liked my suggestion! Those sketches of
yours just seemed to me to have "greyhound" written all over them, in
invisible dog-language.

~Pink

You know, as soon as I read your description, I thought of "Santa's
Little Helper", the pet dog of The Simpsons; and guess what? He's a
greyhound too!

http://www.synergizedsolutions.com/simpsons/pictures/others/santalh2.gif

Hi, Apteryx

This is just the job for Daisy ... She's a Yorkshire Terrier and
decidedly not very bright.

She's very excited and is looking forward to the assignment.

However, I am afraid that there will be a modelling fee and I hope
that $50 fits within your budget?

For that you also get Daisy to keep.

I've just put my batteries on charge ....

Looking forward to receiving your esteemed instructions.

Bryan

Then there's Afghan hounds. They've got a 'greyhoundy' face but with
the long ears. They are the leggy, gorgeous, blonde, slender, slightly
flaky, "lights-are-on-but-there's-no-one-home" supermodel types of the
canine world. Here's some pics. 
http://www.starslion.narod.ru/portrets.html

Now, Bryan, I do thank you for the offer, but I wouldn't dream of
separating your Daisy from that seagull who dotes on her.  Who's going
to mind the nest?

Stressedmum, I love the afghan pictures you sent!  But they look far
too ethereal and lofty in intellect for my present purposes (even if
their appearance is at odds with reality).  In fact, they are so
beatific looking that I can see them in an entirely different sort of
picture, probably something slightly irreverent involving haloes and
long robes and small symbolic objects such as chalices or beads or
earthenware bowls (the sort of thing that often attracts lightning
bolts to the vicinity of the room where my computer resides).

A most unexpected side effect of this research and all your excellent
findings is the appeal that all these lovely dogs have exerted on a
confirmed cat person.  I've lived happily with cats since I was
eleven, but our present cat has been such an unsatisfactory exemplar
of his species that I have muttered more than once, "My next cat is
going to be a dog."  If I ever make good on that threat, I may just
come back to these sweet-faced hounds and look agan.

Thank you all!
Apteryx

Many thanks for the five-star rating and the tip!

If I ever find a nice pic of a Gorflammian Blammie, I'll let you know.
;-)

Oh, and regarding the matter mentioned earlier of whether one should
say "Dobermans" or "Dobermen," I think the current trend is toward
"Persons of Dober."

~Pink

You might also try the look of a Bedlington Terrier or a Basenji.

Ok, I don't know if you have picked a picture yet or not, and if you
have oh well, but I would like to suggest two dog breeds that that
seem to fit your description.

There is the Basinji -http://www.puppydogweb.com/gallery/basenjis/basenji_kim.jpg-

and my personal favorite/pet, and Italian greyhound. They have the
same figure as their taller cousins, but a a bit more refined.


Here are a few pictures of my dog Zinc:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/DareToDr3am/19841744205_0_ALB.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/DareToDr3am/post-3-1053472378.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/DareToDr3am/88841744205_0_ALB.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/DareToDr3am/39841744205_0_ALB.jpg

This is a litter of IG pups:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/DareToDr3am/1_3day42.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/DareToDr3am/5day48.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/DareToDr3am/5day46.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v331/DareToDr3am/Box28e.jpg


This also might be usefull. (If you go to the normal gallery there is
a long list of breeds that may help you):
http://www.puppydogweb.com/gallery/italiangreyhounds/e.htm