This is how the end of a dog’s life should look. All-you-can-eat peanut butter. A final roll in the grass. Peeing on that one mailbox that has always been your favorite. Ice cream and snuggles.
This is the beautiful way Anna and Ben chose to celebrate their pup Bhoebe’s final day and they asked me to capture it for them in an end-of-life pet photo session in Augut of 2022.
Bhoebe was Ben’s dog of 15 years. Bhoebe’s body was fine. Her mind was slipping away. Anna and Ben shared their experience in making the decision to say goodbye to their dog, why they wanted to celebrate with an end-of-life photo session, and how these photos have helped them heal.
Tara: When did you know it was time?
Anna: To be honest, both my husband and I were incredibly torn on knowing “It’s time.” We were both on the fence even up to the time of the final appointment. I think we’ve really only felt certain now in hindsight.
At the time, there was not a real clear way to be totally certain because Bhoebe was dealing with Canine Cognitive Dysfunction or doggie dementia. We were especially surprised because her physical health was otherwise perfect; her organs, bones, and bloodwork were always stellar according to our vets.
When I took Bhoebe in for a deep, dry cough at the end of September, I was floored when the appointment ended with the vet encouraging Ben and I to develop end-of-life plans based on behavioral assessment. Some of the key clues that Bhoebe was nearing the end of her battle with dementia were nightly sundowning and pacing, disinterest in activities and people she loved, and getting ‘lost’ or ‘stuck’ in familiar places like our back deck. The final factor was the frequent loss of bladder and bowel control, especially without awareness that an accident occurred.
At this appointment, our vet lovingly and factually shared that euthanasia would be well within the realm of consideration in order to say goodbye to our old queen while she was still able to recognize my husband and independently do things like eating and drinking.
Tara: Why was it important for you to have your photo session on your last day together?
Anna: After deciding euthanasia would be a kindness, we knew we wanted Bhoebe to have her best day ever! Since dealing with dementia, however, we knew she wouldn’t remember if we had Bhoebe’s Best Day on any day but the present. In retrospect, scheduling the photos for day-of might have been the easiest decision in the whole process. While anticipating this being way harder on us, we knew that taking our final photos on the day of Bhoebe’s euthanasia appointment was the best way to ensure she did, in fact, have her best day ever.
Tara: What surprised you the most about our photo session?
Knowing that we scheduled our photos for the day we were saying goodbye to our Old Queen, Bhoebe, I was totally anticipating being an entire mess of emotions throughout the whole shoot. As I was putting my make-up on in the morning, I was 110% certain that I would cry allllll of it off within the first 5 minutes.
As the day came, I was surprised by how much time I spent laughing. Bhoebe truly was having the best day, and her energy and excitement made it much easier to sit back and smile.
Anna
Of course, there were ebbs and flows over the morning. I ended up getting the most emotional watching my husband. He adopted Bhoebe five years before we met, so she’d been with him for the entire last decade. While I did spend the last five years with her, too, Bhoebe and Ben were definitely each other’s loves. Seeing Ben’s muted energy was harder than watching Bhoebe because I could just feel how much was going through his mind. Ben is usually so lighthearted and jovial that the weight of the day’s decision was super evident by his more reserved presence. The quiet moments between Ben and Bhoebe were the hardest and most special for me.
Tara: What means the most to you now that Bhoebe crossed the Rainbow Bridge?
Anna: During the shoot, there were ample opportunities to laugh and celebrate, which is what stands out to me now when I see the pictures. You captured some truly great flashes of Bhoebe’s personality that I cannot help but crack up about now.
Some of my favorites are her grumpy faces—like on the front stairs or on the living room couch—where she is clearly at maximum Old Lady. Or, when she taps into her younger self while partying in the grass as we walk. Those moments are much easier to laugh or smile about because I knew that meant she was feeling like herself.
Interested in scheduling an end-of-life pet photo session?