I'm coming at you in this blog post to tug at your heart strings hard so you've been warned! This is a topic that is so close to my heart and I can't stress it enough. The short explanation is: time flies and our time with them is so short. As much as we hate to think about it, our fur babies aren't with us as long as we all wish they were. Things happen. Serious health conditions sometimes take our pups much sooner than age. One minute they are a rambunctious ball of squishy pudge and the next minute they are lagging behind us during a walk and taking a lot longer to get up on the couch with us. It's the hard truth that we have to face every time we bring home a puppy.

Let me tell you about this handsome guy, Romulus. He was my first companion dog. Although he belonged to my aunt, (who I spent most of my time with) him and I grew up together. I remember when she first got him and he was a wild man that LOVED to play! We did just about everything together. He would sit with me while I watched cartoons and beg for my breakfast. We played outside for hours! As he got a little older and became an adult he was more than content just basking in the sun while I laid in a hammock on a nice day and read a book. My aunt would always get the dogs Christmas gifts every year so we would open them together and let me tell you, he was a pro at opening gifts.


Time sure fly by though. Romulus was slowing down and I was getting busy with the adult life. My aunt called me to tell me that she thought he was going blind and was running into doors and walls. Soon after, we got the diagnosis that he had diabetes. He fought this like the stubborn husky he was. After switching food and getting insulin daily, he was doing well for a dog who couldn't see. He still spent most of his afternoons basking in the sun but didn't feel like playing much with her other dog anymore. Then we had to face the facts. I went out to see him a few days before his kidney's failed. It all happened so fast.


Romulus lived an amazing life. He was an amazing dog and was my best friend. He had this goofy unique personality that I still haven't seen in another husky yet and always made us laugh. Here's the thing though...my aunt took so many pictures! She has albums dedicated to just her dogs throughout their lives. There's some of me too but ya know. (HA!) I have so many tangible memories of him to look back on for the rest of my life without him. Sure, it makes me sad sometimes and it's hard. But I'm grateful that I have that. That goes for all of my dogs that I've had over the years. I will never forget the pattern of his coat or the bright pink stripe in the middle of his nose. I will always get to remember the miserable look he had during bath time or how absolutely majestic he looked laying out in the summer sun.


Our time with them is so short. If I had to rely on phone pictures to see my boy I'd be a mess because I've lost so many pictures on my phones over the years. They just aren't reliable. Booking a session will give you that same security that I have thanks to my aunt. I love capturing images of the dogs but the best is catching you AND your dog in the moment just being you. The genuine smile on your face and the loving look your dog gives you is something so hard to catch on your own. My job is make sure you have amazing images not just to share with your friends and brag about how amazing your dog is. It's about giving you a physical memory to look back on one day. It's so you never have to forget that warm, loving look your dog gives you every day. People worry a lot about if their dog is going to behave for a session or pose well. That's not what it's about at all. If your dog is a wild man like Romulus that loves to play and act like a crazy man, THAT is what I want to capture because that is who your dog is. Yes, the pictures of them sitting pretty are amazing too but we catch it all during BellaReese Photography sessions!


So now that I have a lump in my throat and you may or may not be sobbing heavily while hugging your dog (if you made it through this whole post) what is stopping you from booking a session? Do it for yourself because one day, he will cross the rainbow bridge. That's unavoidable. But having tangible memories of him on the wall or in a book that you can pull out is something so easy for you to control! Photography, to me, is more valuable than all of the riches in the world because having those memories forever is absolutely priceless.

Dedicated the best boy ever, Romulus. I miss you every day, buddy.

This post is a part of a photography blog circle featuring photographers specializing in a variety of niches. To see what the next photographer is sharing for our weekly theme, “The Value of Photography...,” check out Yvette Graham with Two Sisters Photos, Capturing life one image at a time. Continue to click the link at the end of each post in the blog circle until you eventually find your way back here.