Seasons Greetings 2009 Year
Winter holidays are very close and the tradition that I have followed for the past few years is to send my seasons greetings to all my former, current and future clients and friends. With the current global economic crisis, the second half of the year was quite intense and stressful for many people across the world and I hope that the next year 2009 will bring us more positive news with stability, peace, prosperity and happiness in our lives!!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you, your relatives and friends!
This week I was with several of my repeat clients who currently work in Moscow or had a short business trip here just before the holiday. My clients told me that at the end of a the year they are very tired and dreaming about returning home and meeting relatives and friends. As usual, the last month of a year goes faster than the others as people try to finish up their business or household tasks, buy gifts to be ready for the upcoming holidays, or to meet their family and friends. Of course, in the big cities such as Moscow, during this month there are terrible traffic jams on the roads and long lines at the stores with crowds everywhere. People are rushing and a bit nervous to finish their shopping and plans for the holidays. For many people in the world, the winter holidays are the favorite time of the year.
In different countries there are various traditions and customs for Christmas and New Year's Eve. From the request of one of my former clients (currently a very good and close friend), I will share with you how we celebrate New Year's in Russia. If you are wondering why I am first telling you about New Year's Eve and not about the most beloved holiday of Christmas (December 25th), the answer is simple enough and with my pictures that I took for you recently you will find out the reason as you read about our traditions: part I The most favorite holiday in Russia, part II Celebrations of New Year's Eve in Russia.
Four years ago at the end of December 2004, my wife Olga requested that we purchase our first Chihuahau which we named Kimberly. We already had a hairless cat (Lilu), but because Olga dreamed of getting a dog (she likes pets and even before our marriage had a dog), of course I could not refuse her request! So, a good friendship began with a breeder who then sold us this puppy. After meeting other breeders, I offered to develop a website for the breeders and dog club for the purpose of selling these Chihauhas and Russian Toy Terriers. We called our website "Mini-Dogs.Ru" (sorry only in Russian), and with the help of my great friend and professional web-designer from Kiev, we started our business. During the past 4 years some difficulties developed in the relationship with several of the breeders, or others left the business, but some also became our friends. We were always hard working at our family business and nowadays we are quite well known in Moscow and sales have been good (Thank God). You might be very impressed to know that currently in our very small apartment we have 5 cute dogs which includes 1 long-haired Chihuahua and 4 smooth-haired Russian Toy Terriers, all females for breeding.
I told many of my clients from the USA, Canada, the UK and of course other countries about our dogs and many of them were very curious about them. Most of my clients knew about the Chihuahau breed, but almost none of my clients knew about the Russian Toy Terrier. Because of this, we have specialized in the Russian Toy Terrier and we consider this breed our favorite. I would like to explain to you about the most interesting features of the smooth-haired Rusian Toy Terriers ("Russian Toys").
Russian Toy Dog is very interesting and unique dog breed with special features. Doggies of this breed look as like little tiny deer. It is also one of the smallest breeds in the world (weight can vary from 1 - 2.5 kilos or 2.2 - 5.5 pounds) Their coats can be long-haired as well as smooth-haired. Our preference is the smooth-haired because of their temperament, which is stable, energetic, cheerful, intelligent and they are also good as house pets. They can even be house broken in the same manner as cats! Whereas other dogs can bark incessantly when guests come to visit, or when owners have multiple dogs, our dogs are silent when people who come to our house. Guests are so impressed with this behavior and also with our dogs' ability to understand and follow commands. Russian Toys can resemble a small deer and they have long legs, a strong body, a long neck with a big head and little muzzle, big smart eyes and large stand-up triangular ears. The classic hair colors for this breed are considered to be black and brown, although 7 years ago red-colored coats with different tones were seen. As an example of very rare colored coats, here is the picture of a puppy called Snezhann (made from snow) in a very light red coat, by the way, he was reserved just today, on the last day of 2008!
If my story about Russian Toys was interesting to you, a bit later I will continue to tell you about our dogs. But now with only several hours before the New Year, with our friends, our new puppies Volt, Vivien and Vista (from left to right in this picture), I would like to wish you the best of everything in the New Year and a quick end to the current global economic crisis!
Russian Toy Terrier; season's greetings; Happy New 2009 Year
Note: These Moscow Photos are to help you familiarize yourself with Moscow's Sightseeing and my services. The photos in my albums are protected by international copyright law. You may keep my photos in your personal albums or, you may use these images as personal wallpaper on your computer, but, they are not for distribution (commercial or non-profit). If you would like to buy a specific photo, feel free to make your request via E-mail. I do hope you enjoy my work as photographer. Many of these photos were taken during excursions with my clients. You can find my pictures in Internet under nickname "ArtLook" (short from Arthur Lookyanov) at the follow websites:
Moscow, Russia 
Contact Info: Arthur Lookyanov