Mount Pleasant Magazine March/April 2018

81 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasant.Pet | www.MountPleasantBuilders.com feature session scheduled at a park, so I’ll ready my gear and start planning my time. It may be an event day, and I know that in just a matter of hours, I’ll be swooning over puppies. Or maybe it’s a senior pet session and my heart will be melting as I document the incredibly special bond between an older dog and his or her people, always in the back of my mind remembering fondly the years I was blessed with my own senior pets. Like many of you, I can’t see a dog on the street and not want to approach it. Our dogs even travel with us – by choice. I have not had an actual vacation without one or more dogs in tow since 2003. Yes, 15 years – because they are my world and I don’t feel whole without them. And I know that when people commission pet photos, it is because their pets are their world, too. I respect and deeply appreciate that connection. Pet photography is different than family or wedding photography, for example, where a photographer may include the pet in a few shots. They have a different priority, even though they may take lovely photos of dogs for clients occasionally. A true pet session focuses on the pet and then incorporates the family to capture that aspect of their life, too. It’s physically demanding – I am usually on the ground, contorted in some way – it requires patience, good humor and a total comfort level working with animals that range from gregarious to shy and skittish. It’s truly meaningful work. I enter every session fully aware there will come a day when the only reminders of a pet’s earthly time will be memories and photos, and I always strive to ensure that the photos will stand as a legacy and bring comfort long after goodbyes are said. It’s true when you find something you love, it will never feel like work. I often wonder what I would do if I couldn’t do this anymore, and I always come up with a blank thought bubble. This is who I am now, who I have become over the last decade in business. I work with families who want to document their pets’ lives; those suffering through the impending loss of a beloved pet; others starting out with a new puppy; or through volunteering with pets in shelters. This work fills my soul, and I can’t think of anything I’d rather do with my days. My workday will eventually end, and I will spend my evening in the company of my very supportive husband and our two maniacal, loyal, affectionate, ridiculous Catahoula leopard dogs. I will rest my head at night knowing I have spent my day doing something I love and giving back, and, when morning comes, I’ll wake up grateful. pets