A personal post.
Last week, we lost our beloved dog, Harlow. It was sudden and unexpected and our hearts have felt broken ever since. The following day would have been her 7th birthday (which we always made a big fuss about and would have spoiled her with extra love and fancy dog treats). Needless to say - it has been a very difficult time for our family and we miss her immensely. Even after a week, it still doesn’t seem real. She was the best dog we could have had. She was loyal, protective, loving, and so good with our kids. No matter where we were, she was there too. She kept my husband company whenever he was tinkering in the garage. She kept a watchful eye on the kids when they were playing outside. She kept me company when working from home, and she has been my faithful walking companion since she was just a pup. She was always so excited to greet us when we arrived home - even if we hadn’t been gone for very long. She was our big, beautiful, cuddly polar bear. She was just the best and our home doesn’t feel right without her here.
As we do when we lose someone we love, we go straight to looking at photographs to remember them. I urge you to take all the photos of the people and pets that you love! (You can never have enough, in my opinion.) And listen to those subtle “whispers” if you experience them.
I took the above photo of our sweet girl less than 2 days before she was gone. It wasn’t planned. I had wanted to capture the last of the apple blossoms before they disappeared and kept putting it off. I knew that there may only be a day or two left before they disappeared, so while dinner was in the oven, I grabbed my camera (it’s actually not very often that I grab my “big camera” for personal use) and I headed out into our backyard. Harlow followed me, as she always did. She sat herself down under the shade of a nearby tree and kept a watchful eye as I photographed the blossoms. I happened to glance over and thought that she looked really sweet. The light was pretty, but the composition wasn’t great. And I didn’t have my preferred lens. I thought about running back to the house to get another lens. I thought maybe I’ll plan a blossom session with her next year, in the main orchard, earlier in the season when all of the blooms are out in full bloom. But I had a little voice or whisper in my head just telling me to take the opportunity and capture the moment the best I could. And so I snapped the photo - and I’m so grateful that I did. The next evening, she wasn’t acting like herself and her condition started to deteriorate quickly. The following morning, I took her to the vet and after running some tests they found that unbeknownst to us, she had had a tumour growing on her spleen. It had ruptured and was causing her abdomen to fill with blood. There was nothing they could do. Just after noon, she was gone.
We may think in the moment that it’s easier to put things off until we have more time, but as we know, time is never guaranteed. Make and take the time to document your loved ones, and your experiences and memories. Whether it’s using your phone, or booking that family session that you’ve been putting off - just take the time to do it. Your future self (and your family) will be grateful that you did.
