This week's pet photography theme is Rainbow Bridge Day.  My fellow pet photographer's that are part of this pet photography blog circle were kind enough to alert me that August 28th is officially "Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day".  How fitting that this happens to be the day before my birthday?  In doing a google search (what we all do now, right?) I find that a woman named Deborah lost her beloved cat, Mr. Jazz, on this date in 2013.  Deborah published an emotional book that detailed her journey of letting go of Mr. Jazz.  The book had an overwhelming experience as so many of us each experience similar emotions when letting go of our pet.  In 2015, Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day, became an official day to remember your furry friends.  

As a child, we had a lot of cats - my Mom loved cats and cats were always a part of my growing up.  I'm not sure that I can remember all of them but I'll see if I can give a quick rundown! Tom, Yachi, Grey, Sam, Momma, Chocolate, Smokey and Bobbi.  Hopefully I didn't miss any of them.  Course, all these kitties were in the pre-digital images days so while I have photographs of them somewhere, none are digital and easy to put into this blog post.

Also, as a child, my first dog - Buddy came into our lives.  All of us children talked my father into one of the puppies that our neighbor's dog had and well we had Buddy a long time!  Buddy was born in 1969 and seems that he was there all of my childhood, then into my college days and maybe even into the beginning of my working career.  We loved that dog so much that when he was going off to obedience school he flunked because we didn't let him finish (back in the days when they actually went away for a few days to learn the skills of life).  Photos weren't to good in this time period - all those little instamatics that kodak came out with - I'd say it was the photographer, but nothing is sharp, so think it's the world of instamatics.

After I was an adult and moved out on my own - I had cats for a number of years. 

Simon - my only long haired cat, a brown tabby

Cleo - I got her from the local grocery store - a family giving out kittens from a cardboard box

Marvin - By far, I would have to say that Marvin was the best kitty I had as an adult.  Marvin didn't believe that you should over sleep for work - if the alarm went off and you didn't get up, well - let's just say Marvin made sure you did.  Marvin would play with the weather alarm and darn if you were awake!!

Cody - a tuxedo cat, came from a litter that one of Jim's cats had before we moved into the same household  He was a good little kitty. 

In time, Jim moved in and his kitties came with him. So Milo and Mindy moved in.  Then we began our family of animals together.

Dillon (1) - a gray tabby

Angel - a tuxedo cat that Dolly found at Riverhills park by our house (found as a very small kitten)

Late in the list of cats, came Dolly.  Dolly followed my step-son around while he was skateboarding and they didn't know what to do when it was time to leave.  She had no collar, no name tag, nor any evidence that she had a good home - so she came here.  We couldn't find a microchip, she wasn't spayed, and eventually Dolly became our dog.  And a wonderful dog she was!  She went boating, canoeing, hiking, fishing, scalloping, walking, running and travelling - through out Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana.  The memories we created with this girl are wonderful, never to be forgotten.  On her first road trip to Blairsville, Georgia - Dolly took a sunset boat ride with us on the lake.

Many years later, Jim and Dolly sitting on top of the highest mountain peak near where we were staying in North Carolina.  We had been hiking for a good while and eventually made it to the top.  As the sun was setting we now have to get back down to the beginning of the trail before it is dark - so the trip up the mountain was leisurely, but the trip down was much faster.

Thank you Dolly for being the wonderful soul mate that you were and for spending your life with us.  We will never forget you!

I remember the song I put to your photos after you left us, Please Remember Me .....written by Rodney Crowel.

All our tears have reached the sea
Part of you will live in me
Way down deep inside my heart
The days keep coming without fail
New wind is gonna find your sail
That's where your journey starts

........

Please Remember Me!

Since losing Dolly, we have experienced this lost twice more.  Angel, our blind little tuxedo kitty that Dolly found, left us several years after Dolly.  And most recently, Jimbo.  Again, the tears will flow as I write this blog post - the hurt is still strong, the love is strong, and definitely we will "Remember You"!  And not only on this special day that Deborah created for all of us just five years ago.

Our dogs by far we have created the strongest bonds with as they do so much with us.  We have been fortunate that our dogs all love to travel and be with us - by far, what they want most is to be with us.  I share one of my favorite face portraits of Jimbo - one I see almost every day in our home.

I'll share the sunset photograph I took of Jimbo at our favorite place - Riverhills Park, just blocks away from our home.  The sun has set on his physically being here with us - but the memories will live on forever.  As the lyrics of "Please Remember Me" say, ...."Part of you will live in me".

Dog silhouette at sunsetDog at Riverhills Park watching the sunset.

That's it for this week's pet photography blog.  For more pet photographers sharing their take on this theme, head over to visit Angela of Noses & Toes Pet Photography in Spokane, WA, remembering Dexter on his last day on Earth.

If you would like to book a custom pet portrait session, send an email to [email protected] or give us a call/text Linda at 813-610-2671 in the Tampa Bay area (Florida).