My dog Bruiser who recently crossed the rainbow bridge is the reason I'm a Doxie person! He was about 15 when he passed away. He passed away from liver cancer but also had congestive heart failure and it took a village to take care of him. We had many specialists that we worked with to manage his heart disease. Before he was diagnosed with heart disease we determined what his bucket list may look like and I'm so glad we did.
My recommendation is to consider your bucket list when your senior dogs are doing well - don't wait... These images are from our senior "bucket list" photo shoot. A photo shoot is at the top of my list as I'll cherish these photos forever. We did this with Lindsay Hile of Sit, Stay, Pet Photography and they were also used in City Dog Magazine for a story I wrote (and Lindsay shot) on Newport, Oregon and why it's so pet-friendly.
Spending the day with Lindsay and Bruisy was such a special treat! The shoot took about 4-5 hours. We went into the city of Newport, found a pet-friendly restaurant, walked to a lighthouse and of course spent time on the beach.
Since the images were initially for a story for City Dog Magazine, we had a shot list in mind which helped so I recommend plotting out your day and hiring a professional photographer. Many of us take our own photos as we're bloggers and all on social media but I love that I'm in these pictures with Bruisy!
It's really nice when that pressure is off of you and then time spent with your dog is the main focus - letting someone else capture the special moments was worth it. Not to mention - I was so happy with the images. I had one framed and it's the picture I'm using is many posts about Bruisy.
I'm thrilled to have such wonderful memories from our time together on the coast.
Daily Dog Tag is a wonderful blog that focuses on pet photography and images from various shoots. If you want to see other photo shoots like this one that focuses on the lives of animals and their pet parents, check this out! It also has great photographer recommendations.
Here are some of my faves.
So I would add the following to your dog's bucket list:
- Hire a pet photographer when they're healthy
- Get a photo session on the books at a fave location whether that's on the beach or in your neighborhood
- A pet portrait session is fun too and can be done in a studio
After Bruiser got sick, he definitely aged and he couldn't get around as well so a photo series when they feel good is what I recommend over everything else. You'll cherish the images forever.
What do you think about a bucket list for your senior dog? Please let us know in the comments.
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