The Fur is My Family Project
Our doorbell rang, and we looked at each other in panic.
She’s here, she’s here, I kept thinking. My husband answered the door and his jaw dropped.
“How big is she?” I asked.
“She’s pretty …. big,” he replied.
I crouched down on my knees and waited to meet this puppy I had heard so much about.
She had brown eyes and black lines that made it look like she was wearing sunglasses. Her long tail reminded me of a fox and it slowly waved back in forth like a giant furry flag. I put my arms out, and she slowly approached me, taking each step so carefully, as if she was stepping onto ice. Step by step, I was so close to petting her for the first time. Here comes our bonding moment, I thought, then all of the sudden she froze. Her eyes stared past mine, and before I could blink, she was tripping over her paws running the opposite way. Did I smell? Was it my smile? What did I do? It took a minute to figure it about, but she had caught her reflection in the garbage can behind me.
After spending the whole day getting to know each other, she climbed into her kennel with her squeaky purple hippo and fell right asleep. She was precious, and after that first day, she became our world.
She is our child, she is apart of our family. She has her own spot on our couch where she snuggles up with her favorite orange pillow. We go on camping trips together. We celebrate her birthday by making her a steak and buying her a dog friendly cupcake from the local pet store down the street.
She has attitude and all the emotions. I can always tell when she’s happy from the way she wiggles her hips as she walks. I can tell when she’s bored because she will stare at me with her big fangs then go over to the power cord where we plug in the internet and she will paw at it. I can tell when she’s exhausted from our day when she sleeps on the cold wooden floor with her paws straight out. Nothing but unconditional love on all ends.
Now I have an assignment for you- its three questions. You don’t have to close your eyes, but you can’t look on social media or through your photo albums.
1. How many photos do you have of you dog? If your anything like me, hundreds ranging from candids at the dog park to attempted dress up on halloween.
2. How do you treat your dog like a family member? Do you greet them hugs and kisses every time you come home? Do you face time with them when you are out of town? Do you show people their photos?
Alright, final question and the most important- how many do you have of your family AND your dog? That means YOU are also in the photo?
When you’re behind the camera, you miss out on a real family photo! Since you treat your dog like a member of the family, shouldn’t they be photographed like one?
My new project, “Fur is My Family,” has a single mission, and that mission is to photograph families whose pets are just as important as a child would be (or is if you also have kids)!.
Their memory is just as precious and because their lives are shorter than ours, there’s no time like the present than to get everyone together and smile.
Fur is My Family are 20 minute mini portrait sessions happening Sunday, September 30th in St. Paul, MN. Wether your pet is your only child or you have several others, this session is open to all families who love their pets.
Want the details? Reach out to me using the form below, I would love to send something your way!
[gravityform id=”6″ title=”true” description=”true”]