by Robyn | Apr 1, 2023 | Personal Ramblings, Pet Loss, Pet Memorial, Senior Pets
Watching your senior pet age or losing a beloved pet to illness or an accident is never easy. John and I lost Peter, Luna, Jamie, and Guinness over the course of 4 years. Each one of them has left an incredibly deep void in our hearts.
Even if your pet has already crossed the rainbow bridge, you can still explore new ways to carry them in your heart. Creating new memories during your pet’s senior years or finding ways to celebrate the memory of a pet who has passed-on can help you on your own healing journey.
How you honor your pet is up to you and will help make sure their life story continues on. That’s how I felt when Peter passed. Since he was the first one of our pack to cross the rainbow bridge, I wanted to create a beautiful memory necklace that I could wear with a lock of his fur inside. That way I could feel him close to me, even though he was no longer with me. That is how I chose to honor him.
If you’re searching for a way to celebrate your pet’s life, I’d like to share these 5 ways that can help you carry them in your heart.
1. Hire a photographer for a portrait
A professional pet photographer is an expert at capturing your pet’s personality. That’s what we do here at Muttography® & Co. Our goal is to capture your pet’s personality through soulful images that will last a lifetime. We’ve been photographing pets for close to 14 years, and sadly, many of our past clients have had to deal with their own loss in that time. It’s always an honor when our clients reach out to tell us how meaningful the photos of their beloved pet are to them.
2. Create a custom piece of wall art
You can make or hire someone to make you a piece of art that celebrates your pet’s life. One of my favorite artists, Ron Krajewski, paints beautiful watercolor portraits of pets. He will paint a custom portrait, or you can choose a breed from his collection of art prints.
3. Donate a memorial brick, bench, or financial donation to a shelter near you
Organizations like animal shelters depend on these types of donations. Check with your local shelter to see if they have a memorial program like a brick patio, visiting room furniture, etc. What an amazing way to honor your pet! The personalized patio brick or bench will serve as a physical legacy for your pet.
4. Celebrate their birthday, gotcha day or the anniversary date of their passing.
Take the day off work. Go for a hike in a place you shared together. Invite an animal-loving friend to share the day. Think about the special days of the year and plan remembrance celebrations ahead of time so you can look forward to them. Our Jamie’s birthday fell on St. Patrick’s Day, so we always celebrated with a nice long walk, and lots of treats. We still celebrate her, but now we do with our new pack, Hannah and Wyatt. We tell them that these treats are special because they’re from their big sister, Jamie.
5. Keep a lock of their hair or fur
You’re not crazy if you do. It’s a tactile way to remember what they felt like. Some creators can use the hair or fur to make jewelry, like I did with Peter’s fur, or other memorial items. My mom bought me these beautiful little handcrafted boxes to keep a lock of each of my pet’s fur in after they passed. It brings me so much comfort when I open the boxes and see a real piece of them in there.
Watching your pet age or dealing with the grief following a pet’s death can be heartbreaking and difficult. Don’t be afraid or ashamed to seek out professional support if that feels right for you.
#petloss #petlosssupport #petmemorial #griefandloss #petgrief #healing #petlosshurts #pawprintsonmyheart #petbereavement #losingapet
by Robyn | Mar 12, 2021 | Personal Ramblings
Hey friends! I know it’s been a while since we’ve posted anything to the blog (ehm, maybe two years) but I assure you, we are still here. If you’ve stumbled upon our little blog, you may have noticed that all the blog posts are messed up (missing photos, etc.) That would be because I feel the need to always tackle projects myself, instead of enlisting professional help. Well, somehow when I rebuilt the website, the blog didn’t transfer over all the files (whoops!) so, I will be spending the next few weeks trying to recreate 10+ years of blog posts. It’s actually not so bad since the frequency of my blog posts in embarrassingly low. Yay for being a slacker!
Tell me, is there anything that you’ve done or built that you wish YOU hired a professional to do? (maybe the guy who laid down the tile in my kitchen – I wish he hired a professional, LOL!)
by Robyn | Apr 14, 2019 | Dogs, Travel
When John and I were planning our anniversary vacation last year, we wanted to keep it as affordable and simple as we could. We managed to get two free tickets on Delta by using our frequent flyer miles, and we booked a resort in Sedona for half-price via Homeaway. When were were looking at places to stay in Tucson, I scoured Airbnb for a central place at an affordable price. I saw some nice places, and some sketchy places within our budget, so I saved a few of the nice ones in my Airbnb favorites and revisited them a while later. This Airbnb kept popping up in my search, and it really seemed to fit the bill. The place was centrally located. It was beautifully decorated. It was just the right size and price, and it was available! But best of all, it had a host-dog – a Yellow Lab named Tugboat! So, duh…..we just had to book it!
When we arrived, Tugboat greeted us very enthusiastically! It was the first time since our boy Peter passed away that I had been around a Yellow Lab, and all the feelings started coming back. This boy looked so much like our boy, and even made the same kind of “groans of contentment” that our boy did when John rubbed his velvet ears.
Each morning, Tugboat waited outside our door, until we were ready to start the day. I’d take a peak through the curtain, and there he’d be – just curled up in a furry ball, waiting for us to say “good morning” and give him his morning butt-scratch. We only stayed with Tugboat for a few of days, but he managed to steal a little piece of my heart. We’ve made a forever friend with this guy – and his mom, Carly, too!
by Robyn | Aug 12, 2018 | Dog, Dogs
What can I say about this guy! This is Carl, and he is a typical Lab – goofy, playful, clumsy, adorable and sweet. We met Carl a few years back. Carl’s mom also hired us to photograph her two other pups, Sadie Mae and Briggs. Carl was supposed to be a foster pup, but there were a few unfortunate (fortunate?) circumstances that kept him from being adopted – so his mom made it official and adopted him herself! I think that’s fate’s way of telling us Carl was exactly where he was meant to be!
by Robyn | Jul 7, 2018 | Dogs
Laci is one of those happy-go-lucky pups who manages to put a smile on your face just by looking at her! Laci’s mom was looking to surprise Laci’s dad with a few nice photos, so when we arrived, Laci was super clean, smelling fresh, and ready to go! So off we went to the backyard to get some pretty “nature-inspired” shots. Well, it took her all of about 3 minutes to end up in the stream in the backyard! Way to go, girl! It was so much fun – she was having a blast, and I think that’s what is so amazing about our job. We just go with it! Isn’t that what you want to remember about your pup anyway…your pup, just having the time of her life?
