I am so fortunate to have met and photographed Bear this past weekend. If you follow this blog, you may recognize his Mom and Dad who were recently married in March at Willowdale Estate. At their In Home Viewing Session to decide on some beautiful Wall Art from their Wedding Day, Bear was first to gregariously greet me at the door. I had been “forewarned” about this big love bug before I arrived so I made sure that I stopped in to see Judy at Just Dogs Newburyport to get him a big homemade Easter treat. He was, of course, thrilled and we became fast friends. Sadly, I learned this night that Bear has a congenital condition called renal dysplasia that results in under developed and deformed kidneys. The early detection when he was a puppy led to helping him get the meds and care he needed to improve his quality of life. Unfortunately they were unable to help with the duration of it. At five and half he is now starting to show signs of rapid decline. Wanting to capture some beautiful Portraits of him, they booked a Photo Session. The first part of the session Bear stayed with me in the studio. We then headed over to Oldies Marketplace to take some Family Portraits together. Although this is clearly bittersweet, I want to stress that Bear was full of energy and happiness the whole time. He is not in any pain. His life may sadly be shorter that it should be, but he has had one full of unconditional love and adoration. I got to give him one more Bear Hug last night when he was back in the studio for the Viewing Session and am really so grateful I had the opportunity to photograph him. Hugs to the humans who love him too. xo

“What we have once enjoyed we can never lose; All that we love deeply, becomes a part of us.” ~ Helen Keller

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©Kerry Hook of Kiki Larouge Photography. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Play nice.

Timeline 5/2/15