After a horrific seizure last Friday in which he injured himself and showed little sign of fully recovering over the weekend, my vet and I decided it was time to let him get the eternal rest I'm sure his body wanted. Naturally it was a sad day, but I knew this was my last opportunity to capture moments with him - so I pulled out both my Nikon D90 and my Sony Cybershot point-n-shoot to capture some last shots.
I'm posting three shots. This first two shots are from his last day with me (both taken with the point-and-shoot). I wasn't worried about the background, composition, etc. as I normally would be - he was sick and I had to consider just getting the shot without making him uncomfortable. The first one shows him posing with a picture frame I made when I found this wonderful saying and wanted it in the house, "Dogs crawl into the secret places in your heart. And they never leave." (and the picture in the frame was shot with the DSLR).
The next shot is a happy moment I captured when my neighbor brought him his own individual miniature size cup of Hagen Daz ice cream to enjoy before the vet arrived at the house (check out that tongue action!!)
The last shot was taken last spring when I used him as a model for practicing the techniques learned in Rod's adult education class (taken with the DSLR). I captured him sitting in our backyard enjoying the weather and listening to the birds chirping.
And although he may not look it, he was about to turn 16 in June - so you can only imagine the years of photos I have of him - especially in the last year with all of the IFLC homework!!
Thank God for cameras and the ability to capture precious moments we can never get back!
So sorry for your loss. I know, it's like losing a family member. And your right about the photos, memories for ever.
ReplyDeleteI feel your sorrow. I had to let my dog go home last month. He too was having seizures (brain tumor most likely) and I couldn't stand to see him suffer. The vet agreed it was the right thing and the right time. ( I love my vet!) I wish I had more photos of my dogs that are now gone. Yours are beautiful and yes, our pets crawl into the spaces in our hearts and never leave.
ReplyDeleteYour friend was lovely and you took wonderful photos...am so sorry for your loss.
ReplyDeleteDorothy
Thanks, Ladies - yeah, it's been a rough week with the house being so quiet. I'm working to put some pictures of him up in the house to fill some of the empty space.
ReplyDeleteJWillits - my vet said the same thing - most likely a brain tumor and each seizure was getting worse so this one (where I found him stuck between the couch and the wall and he had hit his head so severely against the wall during the convulsions that the wall had blood on it) was the worst yet and she said they would only get worse. I love my vet, too - she came to the house to do the procedure. Who do you go to? My vet is Dr. Betty Hall in Carlsbad.
My vet is Paul Fenner in Rancho Bernardo/Poway area. He is so sweet and calm and "calming". They do a little paw print and cast it and give it to you as a keepsake. It was very touching and now I have two of them.
ReplyDeleteThat's great about the keepsake...I think I would have receive something similar if I had opted to keep my dog's ashes, but I decided not to - I didn't want the reminder of his death, but rather I just want to remember his life - which my pictures will provide. My vet did send flowers with a sympathy note, which was very thoughtful. I will go through the grieving process and perhaps next year I will consider bringing a new photography model into my world again :)
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