He was named before we actually adopted him because we wanted to have a name to give him that was ours and only ours and so Bob found a Celtic name meaning the little brown warrior because Duncan was part Cairn terrier with Yorkie thrown in and that fit him to a tee. Not long he had us wrapped around his fingers and he was our little heartbeat at our feet. A while later we decided he needed a companion, but we literally went through five rescues without success. Duncan was clear on who he was going to allow into his world and he was one tough customer with each and every dog we brought in. We thought a girl would be good, we thought another boy would be good, we thought smaller, larger, whatever would work and he summarily let us know none of them were right. But one day we were in a pet store and I spotted a dog with the biggest brown eyes, who never lost eye contact with me as i walked around the crate he sat in. Mind you, he had two sweet little girls playing with him and petting him but even that didn't matter because he had made contact with me and that was it. That minute I knew that he was my dog...and so we took him home and the poor thing was sick, so he was very quiet and very subdued. What we didn't know was that he had kennel cough, the equivalent to having a bad cold and he was miserable...but Duncan actually let him in the house and for the first week or so, his actual behavior was also subdued...and when Dink, who was named for his small size, began to feel better, it was game on. Duncan could not cow Dink and vice versa and there was a silent truce that was made between the two of them. Personally I think Duncan tolerated Dink, but Dink loved Duncan. They weren't buddies, but Dink would get so excited whenever Duncan came in and out of the house and just hassled him to no end. This year we lost our sweet Duncan to kidney disease. It was rapid, progressive and terrible and he lost his battle on March 8th when we had to say goodbye and see you later to this true warrior. My photography again lost it's muse and the business was derailed while I cared for this little guy in the last six months of his life. I felt I couldn't be creative and happy if he was home without me and so I stayed in the house, by his side for almost all of the time we had left. Let's just say I love animals, love dogs, cats, anything with four feet actually. I have never been one to turn away from a dog or a cat and if they need help, I'm there, no matter what it means. I have been this way since I was a baby and my first words were "cat"...needless to say my muse has been a pet of some sort. Some of my best work, and I mean some classically good photography have been of dogs and cats and their owners have praised my work because I have been blessed at capturing the personality and the dog or cat in their element. My favorite photos were taken the last month of Duncan's life and when I say they were the best, I mean they finally were the photos that said, Duncan, with all of his personality showing through. This was even in the midst of a terrible disease when you wouldn't expect him to feel so great, but he showed me such a spark of life even to the end. I loved him and with that love, I was able to see him and photograph him as he was. Photography for me is an expression of love and that is what I think all photography should be about. My journey is not over with photography or my business. I will resurrect it again and hopefully capture those photos that remain cherished images for the rest of my client's lives as well as mine. Let's catch the light together became my catch phrase because really it's about the light in someone's eyes or your fur baby's that makes me happy and that gives life to that image and that person forever.
