TGIF! It’s time for another 52 Week Project. This week’s theme is favorite toy.
This handsome guy is a retired hunting dog that was released to a shelter back east and then brought to the Maxfund. He’s a sweet old boy and pretty happy to carry around this stuffed toy for comfort. Hey, even a hunter needs a little security now and then. But I had to take it from him just for a minute so I could get a picture of his sweet face!
Retired hunting dog with a favorite toy.
Retired hunting dog with a favorite toy.
Now check out Sacramento dog photographer, Lisa Van Dyke and follow the links until you get back to StinkDog Photos.
Everyone deals with grief differently and figuring out when to get another dog is not always easy. Especially when one person is ready and another is not. Cleo hasn’t been gone very long and I felt such a loss that I didn’t want to get another dog. Not yet. I knew that a few months down the road I’d probably be ready, but not now. I miss him too much.
My husband felt differently. The house is lonesome without a dog. It’s harder for him because he does not spend his days working with dogs. I still had playtime and companionship with the dogs I work with. He did not.
Everytime I went to the Maxfund Jamie would say, “You can come home with a dog. Any dog.” It felt disrespectful to me. Cleo had only been gone for a couple of days. I was mad when he said it. “Jeez, Jamie. Don’t let the dog bed get cold!” I snapped. I know for sure that he’s not being disrespectful to Cleo and Jamie misses him as much as I do, but it still stung. I’m not ready.
A Friends Advice
Recently, one of my friends was telling me about his experience losing a dog and how he waited for many months before he adopted another one. Looking back he wondered why he waited because having a dog made him so happy and why postpone happiness?
Bringing Home the Spaz
I still wasn’t sure but I thought maybe we could foster a dog. I’ll check out the larger dogs at the Maxfund to see if there is one that could use a little help. Of course there are plenty of dogs that could use a little help! I picked Boo Radley and I brought him home for an overnight visit. Jamie was thrilled to say the least, “I hear a four legged!” he said when I came in the door. With that, work was done for the rest of the night and he played with Boo Radley for hours. I still wasn’t sure. “He’s kind of a spaz.” I texted a friend.
Boo Radley really is kind of a spaz, but he’s super sweet too, and we had fun playing with him. Jamie was not happy when it was time to bring him back to the Maxfund. I was still torn. But then I realized that loving Cleo and missing him doesn’t mean I can’t open my heart to another dog. If we had two dogs I would have loved them both. So why am I waiting? For a time when I won’t miss Cleo? I don’t think that will ever happen.
We did bring Boo Radley back to the Maxfund because it was just an overnight visit and while we were there we filled out the paperwork to bring him home. But, instead of filling out the foster parent application, we adopted Boo Radley. He’s ours now, part of the family, our home is his forever home, and he’s pretty cozy in his new dog bed.
Happy Friday everyone. We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.
This week’s theme is non work. What do I do when I’m not taking photos of pets? I love to read, hike, snowboard, hang out with friends, play or watch soccer, and for several years I’ve been making jewelry. I started off with a couple of metalsmith classes and have tried different techniques over the last few years. I haven’t made any jewelry this week but here are a few necklaces I’ve made in the past.
This was a really tough week for me. I wasn’t planning on participating in the project this week but my husband encouraged me to and once we saw the theme he wouldn’t let me not participate.
scratching my dog’s ears
As some of you know my very special boy Cleo became very ill this week and passed away. My bedtime pictures are not from our normal routine. They are during the day and I was trying to get my boy to lay still and rest in the hopes that he would get better. I laid on the floor next to him for two days, fed him, pet him, talked to him, and when I didn’t know what to say I read out loud to him. It was the part of the day that he got the most rest. I knew that he wasn’t really going to get better, the vet told us before we left that it wasn’t going to happen, but it wasn’t going to stop me from trying.
My last moments with my dog, Cleo.
I’m so lucky that I had such a wonderful friend and companion in my life for so many years. I’m heartbroken and I will love this boy forever. Goodnight my sweet Cleo. Sweet dreams.
A girls best friend
We don’t want you to be sad too so wipe those tears and go see what beautiful photos HMG Photography • Pet & Portrait Photographer in Parkton, MD has posted. Have a wonderful week and take care.
It’s Friday and time for another 52 Week Project. This week I had the pleasure of picking a theme and I picked naughty. Most of us have pets that do naughty things like digging in the yard or chewing on prized possessions. I thought it would be fun to capture that. However, Cleo is an older gentleman and at 12 he knows the rules, no chewing, no digging, no taking yourself for a walk. But food is too much of a temptation. If you leave any food out for even a second he will claim it for himself. I’ve walked into the kitchen to find a stick of butter with a tongue mark in it, powdered sugar on the floor with paw prints, and missing steaks. We’ve learned not to put food on the counter for any reason at all unless you are in the kitchen but this week I had to make an exception.
Naughty boy. But who can stay mad?
Naughty dogNaughty dogNaughty dog
I hope you you enjoy this weeks theme. Take a look and see what naughty things Tara Lynn of InBetween the Blinks Photography came up with and follow the links until you come back to StinkDog Photos.
