A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to #capture a family that's very special to me. When we moved to our beautiful St. John's Florida neighborhood back in 2013 from Virginia Beach, I didn't know anyone in the area. The Shapiro family was among the first to introduce themselves to my family and invite us over to meet some of the neighbors. From this meeting blossomed a beautiful friendship. "The Yard" was formed. The Yard is a group of over 8 plus families that lived in a certain part of our sub division. Over the years we have laughed and cried together. My family eventually sold that home, moved away to Rhode Island for a year, and then moved back to FL after spending a year up north. We ended up buying another home about 3 miles up the road from The Yard. Even though we no longer live in The Yard, we are always welcome and invited back to family gatherings. To this day we are all still great friends and find every excuse to get together.
A few months ago The Shapiro's #Rottweiler was diagnosed with #cancer. #Cancersucks It's been a long road of ups and downs for this family, with constant visits to the vet and increasing amounts of medications to help keep Zeus comfortable. As the days went on I would check in with my favorite #Rottweiler from time to time. As his health continued to deteriorate, it became apparent that he only had a few more weeks left on this side of the #rainbowbridge. I wanted to do something to help preserve his memory, because I saw the pain that his family was enduring, watching him slowly decline, going from happy and healthy, to sleeping most of the day away. From this, the idea of a celebration of life #lifestyle #photoshoot was born.
"Today's Timeless Moments, Tomorrows Priceless Treasures"
The day of the photoshoot was nothing short of amazing. To watch and capture the Shapiro family as they interacted with their fur baby. So much love was in their home. Even at Zeus's worst, you could see his devotion and love for his family. He was so happy in those last few days. His family gave him special treats and meals and made sure he was comfortable.
Fast forward to today, as I started writing this blog post. My very first blog post, I reached out to my friend to check on Zeus. Unfortunately the news was not what I had hoped. I wanted to hear that he was doing great and still had so much life left in him. But today was not that day. Zeus will cross the #rainbowbridge at 4:30pm this afternoon with his loving family right there by his side, holding and comforting him, letting him know it will be ok. Zeus will be in a better place free from pain. I like to think he will be up there somewhere looking down and waiting for the day he will be reunited with his family again. Until then.... see you on the other side of the #rainbowbridge #cancersucks #alldogsgotoheaven #osteosarcoma #petfluencer #hundeliebe #dogsofinstagram #petphotographer #stjohnsflorida #jacksonvilleflorida #aberdeen #nocatee #julingtoncreek #rottweiler #jacksonvillephotographer #familyphotography #pontevedraphotograpy #behindthescenes #dedication #bloggers #ontheblog #timelessmomentsbypresha #chasinglight #determination #love
Zeus was 8 years old.