Sundog Pet Photography

Friday, May 31, 2013

Dogs can be such special gifts in our lives and Mercy, an eight year old Boxer, was no exception according to her owner (and for privacy reasons I won't go into more detail).

However, the detail I can share with you is that this gal had a big, loving heart as all dogs typically do. And, she was no stranger to happiness despite having MS that eventually took away her ability to easily walk and later take away her life.

Mercy had a physical marking that would leave an impression on anyone who met her—and maybe on anyone who reads this.

Amazingly, Mercy's hair grew in such a way that it left a heart imprint on her chest! How special and memorable.

My time with her was short, but she was a wonderful, friendly, lovable dog to photograph, and I remember feeling amazed to see her run seemingly uninhibited despite the illness.

She didn't live long after the photo session, but her big, happy, hairy heart left me with a big smile and cherished memory.

Enhanced detailed view of the heart shape.

Happy go-lucky

Website: www.sundogpetphotography.com

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(c) 2013 All Rights Reserved. All photos are property of Heidi Marcinik.

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Portrait of Jesse

There’s an exciting, encouraging moment when you first start a business—attracting your first public customer and making your first dollar. That moment for me came shortly after I lost my beloved cairn terrier, Josie.

Josie was my soul dog, and when I lost her to kidney disease, I was overcome with grief. An impromptu decision to build a dog memorial garden ended up being the best measure taken to move through the loss of my best friend.

And—wouldn’t you know—just as I finished planting the last flowering plant in the garden, my phone rang. Colleen began to explain that her dog, Jesse, was just diagnosed with lung cancer, and she needed a photo session—soon!

Jesse loved playing frisbee

Wow, I thought. I didn’t hesitate to share that I just lost my dog and had just been finishing up the memorial garden when she called. We cried together on the phone sharing our stories and the grief of losing our dogs.

I was a bit incredulous over the timing of the phone call with planting that last flower in the garden. It felt as though Josie, now running free and happy on the other side of the rainbow bridge, had something to do with that first phone call, and it comforted as well as encouraged me.

Jesse died less than three months after the photo session and these are some of the photos from his photo session with his family—the Crawfords.