Led by Paco in his bright pink sweater, Maria was being taken on a walk near Summit Slope Park when CHS caught up. Paco is a rescue — “some kind of mix. My vet tells me he’s a Chihuahua/Min Pin and German Setter. We don’t think about what happened. We just allow him to be. He can identify as he wishes.” A member of Maria’s family for four years, Paco is soon to turn 5. “He looks like a toy, but he doesn’t feel like a toy,” she said. “Don’t approach him, he’s a grumpy old man.” We often suggest saying hello to little furry friends, but with these two, perhaps just say hello to Maria.

We ask photographer Alex Garland to follow marchers in the rain and do crazy things like trying to make yet another picture of yet another huge apartment building look interesting. We thought we’d ask him to do something a little more fun. Capitol Hill Pets is a semi-regular look at our furry, fuzzy, feathered, and finned friends found out and about on Capitol Hill.