Soul Dog Life Lesson
This is my perspective, filtered through the lens of photography.
Are you lucky enough to currently live life with a soul dog, or have you had a soul dog in your life? According to the website Sundays For Dogs, as well as other sites with similar definitions, the term “soul dog” refers to people with an uncommonly deep emotional connection with their pup.
Which means, your soul dog probably has eyes that don’t look at you- but into you — speaking to you by looking deep into your soul. This is what Tedie, was to me. My soul dog. And I learned some things from him.
Why I’m Sharing This
This post came to mind because I’ve had a few friends recently whose soul dogs have crossed the rainbow bridge.
Cancer or old age. Quickly… or over a few days or weeks.
It all cuts so deep.
What I’ve heard over and over again isn’t about how their dog was so pretty or handsome, or whether their best buddy was purebred or not.
Not even what the last few days were like.
No — there was a different thread, and I said the same thing when I lost Tedie.
What were they all saying?
“We had so much fun together! We went so many places and did so many fun things. I don’t want to forget. I wish I had better photographs of him, and I really wish I was in the pictures so I would be able to look back at the hikes we did, the beach where we chased each other, and the park where we had fun on so many weekends.”
That means while your soul dog is still here, you have some choices…
- Waiting — and regretting not having awesome pictures of you and your soul dog
- Or not waiting — but only having your dog in the picture – without you in it – if you’re taking the photo
That’s ok for some photos… but I promise you’ll want some with you together.
If you really don’t want to be in the photo…
No worries!
There are so many ways to show what you do together without making you the focus.
- just your legs or feet
- photos from behind
- not close-up
- silhouette or environmental framing
There are so many options — and they still tell your story beautifully.
Reasons people wait (and why I say… don’t)
You might be thinking:
- your dog needs to be more trained
- you want to lose that [insert #] of pounds
- or you’re waiting until your grays / highlights are done…
…or any of the other reasons people tell me hold them back from photographs of — or with — their dog.
You never know how long they’ll be here.
I don’t want to sound morbid, but that’s the cold, hard truth. Dogs just don’t live long enough, even if they live to the ripe old age of 16, like Tedie.
Don’t put it off.
We’ll have fun, and you’ll have the memories to smile at forever.
Learn this lesson from my soul dog.
Want to know what a session with me is like?
Click this link and I’ll fill you in on:
- how I work
- what you can expect
- and how much fun we’ll have!
Grief resources for pet loss
If you need help grieving the loss of a pet — or know someone who could use some love because of the loss of a pet — here is a link to a wealth of information and support (videos, TED Talks, and other resources):
https://bestfriends.org/pet-care-resources/grieving-loss-pet-resources-coping
Contact me if you would like to schedule a session or for more information. I would love to meet your dog, horse, cat, or other furry friend!
P.S. If you’re obsessed with your dog, like me, you’ll get this:
I have an Aura digital frame and there are 632 images going across this frame for today (there are always more I can find to add!). Many are cell phone shots that aren’t that great but they’re still awesome memories. And some of them are beautiful pictures I took with my camera once I started taking photography seriously. I’m only in about 10 of them- maybe. Which really stinks so learn from my mistake!
Cheers,
Every wag has a tale
