Pet Portraits of Beloved Aging Golden Retriever at Home in Charlottesville

I strongly believe that golden retrievers are angels walking around on this earth to teach us about love and loyalty; their only fault is that they don’t live long enough. Though it has been nearly 10 years since we said good-bye to our own sweet golden, the ache for him floods me with emotions to this day. The joy that pets bring to our lives is priceless, and the sadness we experience when their health fails us is overwhelming. I have known this precious golden since he was a lively puppy, so I was honored when his mom asked me through tears to capture him in his “senior years”. I know his family is cherishing and savoring every moment with him!

“’People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life — like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?’ a six-year-old explained, ‘Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don’t have to stay for as long as we do.'”