On Dogs and Devotion

Sep 29, 2021

Dogs enrich our lives immeasurably.  For instance, if you go for a trip to the drive-thru pharmacy to pick up a prescription by yourself. 

 

BLAAAAAAAAaaaaahhhhh.

 

On the other hand, run the same errand, but take the dog with you and you've got High Adventure. The leash comes out and doggo jumps up and down like a 6-year old who is about to meet their favorite Disney character at Disney World. Doggo bounds into the car, surfs the car floorboards for Goldfish Crackers and french fries, then pops up to look out the open window so that a good high-speed sniff can be had.

 

Best. Errand. Ever.

 

ln a previous Newsletter, I introduced you to my dog, Bluebell. If you missed it, here's the link.  

Those crossed legs and coquettish look!  

 

I'm sorry to say that about a month ago, Bluebell let us know that she was ready to go and everyone who loved her was able to be a part of her final goodbye. 

I miss her constant presence---we were together nearly 24/7. Her devotion was complete. You know that saying that goes something like:

 

"Lord, help me be the person my dog thinks I am"?

 

I feel that saying on a mitochondrial level.

If you have known a dog then you know what it feels like to be ridiculously important to another being. You leave the house briefly to take the trash out and return less than a minute later to find the dog ready to CeLebRaTe. There are streamers and confetti everywhere and a container of Organic Chicken Broth is chilling in a silver-plated champagne bucket.

 

"Je t'adore."
Photographer: Julia Rigler (www.juliariglerphotography.com),
who specializes in pet portraits.
If you haven't had photographs taken with your pet, do it! 
You won't regret it!
 
 
I have wanted for a very long time to make a work of art that captures that unflagging love.
 
And then it happened: I found a tree's branches that outlined a person snuggling a dog. The profile of the dog and the outline of the person holding the dog in her lap absolutely leaped out at me. Finally, I found what I was looking for!

But working on it was challenging. I'd work on it a little, and the image wasn't communicating what I envisioned in my head. I wanted the finished product to tell a story and have emotional depth. I'd come back to it again and again, only to feel like I was getting nowhere.
 
Last week, something clicked, and I knew the answers to all of the things I couldn't see before.   
 

"Devotion"

So, here's to the dogs whose presence enriches everything we do.  


 
Even a quick trip to the pharmacy.
 
 
All the best to you and yours,