Foreword from Amy, vet nurse at Old Mill Veterinary Surgery
I begged Lynn to let me write this foreword for her website, because photos of pets are very important to me. She can tell you all the reasons why she makes a great photographer, but I wanted you to know why she makes great memories.
You see, besides being an animal lover, a dog owner and a Boxer fanatic, I’m a vet nurse. I am there for the birth of quite a few pets, the odd puppy and kitten cuddle here and there, but much more so, my day is filled with being there for the last breaths of many pets. And, I have been asked on more than one occasion to take photos of deceased pets. Let that sink in.
The family’s last photo – and in some cases, the only photo of their elderly pet for some years – is after she had passed. You see, it was only after that incredibly sad time of her final sigh and she got comfy in her ‘mums’ lap to go over the Rainbow Bridge, that the grief-stricken owner realised that her faithful 16 year old dog had not featured in photos for many years. She’d passed the cute puppy stage more than a decade ago and her arthritis in her later years meant she didn’t really do anything particularly naughty, cheeky or ‘photoworthy’. So, as I draped her in her favourite pink Dora the Explorer blankie, and propped up her now-heavy head, I shed a tear for this family who will look back on that photo with a certain memory that can never be changed. I still do.
Unsurprisingly, our home is filled with photos of pets, both living and passed. The ones who have passed are immortalised in badly-lit candid 6×4 prints on our fridge, in a time from our childhoods when pet photography wasn’t really an option. On the hall table though, sits a beautifully framed print of my 8 year old Boxer, Truman (in all his jowly glory) from his birthday party last year. You can see one of his handsome photos in Lynn’s portfolio , with his party hat and bow tie on.
Only now that I reflect on those photos, do I realise that I didn’t print any with us humans in them. Truman is perfect, just by himself. I keep a postage stamp sized one in my purse, and another image made for a great Christmas tag when printed multiple times at that size too.
Whilst these photos will last forever, it is the awful reality that Truman won’t, and your dog, cat, chicken or lizard won’t either. So please stop what you’re doing and email Lynn to find a time to meet her, now. She gives you so much more than a mere photo of your pet – she brings to life the unique expressions and spark that you thought only you could see. Tell her Truman sent you.
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