The life and times of Tyler
I am lucky to work with some of the most amazing animals and their people and get to be part of their lives. I love those I work with, they grace my life with their presence.
However there is also great sadness in my work. Most of the animals I work with are old and they reach a time that they need to pass on. We are blessed to be able to help them with this passing. Mixed with the sadness of their passing is joy for who these incredible animals have helped us become and the love they have shared with us which we hold in our hearts forever.
Over the years I have received a wonderful collection of beautiful photos and reminders of animals I have loved and worked with. Many of these animals had great lives and many have stories to tell. People often times sent me photographs of their animals when they were young and I am able to see a glimpse of these stories.
This week I learned that a sweet little dog I treated named Tyler passed away. Tyler was one of those amazing older dogs who still seemed like a puppy to me. He had this soft curly hair like a puppy and a sparkle in his eyes when he would come in. I’m not sure exactly what his mix was but he also had a face that just made him look young. We weren’t completely sure about his age but he was at least sixteen, possibly older when he passed away. It was clear that Tyler was loved from seeing him with his mom Jen. You could see the love that would pass between the two of them when they looked into each others eyes.
With Tyler’s passing Jen and her husband Alex put together a beautiful slide show of Tyler’s life. I have never seen something so moving and that so shows the bond between a dog and his people. It is clear in these pictures who Tyler was and how important he was to Jen and those who surrounded her. Jen shared with me that as Tyler got older one of her wishes was for him to see their first child be born, as Jen put it, “having our two kids meet one another, even if only briefly..” Tyler fulfilled that wish and then passed on. The last photograph in the slide show is labeled Complete Family.
Life is a journey and that journey is made richer by those we share our lives with. It is clear everyone who Tyler touched had a richer life because of him.
Jen gave me permission to share her photographs and Tyler’s journey with you. There are almost 130 photographs here, all of them amazing. You can see them on the slideshow below or if you want to see larger photos with captions you can click on the photo of Tyler below the slideshow to go to the flickr page and arrow through.
I hope that you are as touched as I am by these.
