Lifestyle | Beloved Family Dog, Peaches

I think anyone who knows me well knows I have a huge heart for animals. For a long time Michael and I were known as "that couple with five cats," and recently we added a Great Dane puppy to the mix. Throughout my life I've had a lot of pets and I've seen them leave this world multiple ways. However, the three that have always stuck out the most were Chance, Levi and Luna. (I know I know, I'll get to Peaches in a minute I just need to provide some context here.)

Chance, Levi and Luna were three cats I had as a teenager. Each of them died of cancer (various types of cancer) within a year and half long span. It was a horrible, awful thing that happened to them,  and to all of us as a family. Owning a pet means having to make very difficult decisions for them, and deciding when their quality of life is compromised. The hardest thing is knowing when it's time to let go. While we had many beautiful photos of Chance. Levi and Luna were cats we'd mostly shot images of on early 2000s cellphones. We didn't back them up, and my mom ended up losing her phone some time later. Two and half years after the images were lost my mom found the old phone buried under the seat of her car. There they were; our few pictures of Levi and Luna in all their glory. I could've cried. 

And so enter Peaches, a dog with cancer. When I read the simple request for photography the words really hit home. "Beloved family dog recently diagnosed with cancer." Within 48 hours I was meeting Peaches and her sweet family. We went through all her favorite activities; laying bedside while reading stories, playing ball in the backyard, taking a walk through the neighborhood and down her favorite trail, and even getting to sit on her mom and dad's bed. (Because this was a special occasion.)  I am overjoyed I was able to take these images for Peaches and her family. Peaches is a beautiful dog, and while her prognosis is uncertain, it was wonderful to get to see her as her happy, content self in her home, surrounded by her people, and all the precious day to day joys of dog life.

IMG_2615edit.jpg
IMG_2566edit.jpg
IMG_2584edit2.jpg
IMG_2834edit.jpg
IMG_2875edit.jpg
IMG_2733edit.jpg
IMG_2708edit2.jpg
IMG_2787edit.jpg
IMG_3110edit.jpg
IMG_3026edit.jpg
IMG_3085edit2.jpg
IMG_3195edit.jpg
IMG_3260edit2.jpg
IMG_3361edit.jpg
IMG_3379edit.jpg
IMG_3391edit.jpg
IMG_3464edit2.jpg
IMG_3495edit.jpg
IMG_3572edit.jpg
IMG_3655edit.jpg