I am feeling reminiscent and a little heartbroken as sweet Delilah had her Going with Grace session last night. I’ve photographed this family for the past 8 years – before they even had human kiddos. And now they have 3 fantastic little ones. I am so thankful for their friendship and how they’ve trusted me to document every major event in their lives.

Delilah is only 12, but diagnosed recently with kidney failure and degenerative myelopathy (DM), a disease affecting the spinal cord, resulting in slowly progressive hind limb weakness and paralysis. DM is similar to some of the forms of human amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

I feel like this series of images explains the emotions a pet parent experiences during a Going with Grace session. It’s the classic “posed” photo, followed by silly interactions, kisses and then the realization that you are saying goodbye soon. I tend not to even see the microexpressions my camera captures until I am home and editing. I try never to cry during sessions because this is a celebration of your pet’s life. However, I’ve absolutely cried at my computer as I edit images. My heart always longs for these moments to bring pet parents some peace during the difficult days ahead.

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