Charles,

If you haven't already check out www.nycaviation.com

The guys there spend a lot of time out at JFK & LGA.

Mark

Sorry you lost your friend James. Very handsome.

sorry to hear for you loss Jake,
I think I know how you feel right now,
had to put my dog BB to sleep about two years ago with the same illness.
still miss her...

Roel.

Dear James,

Sorry to hear of your loss. Your photographs are very appropriate, glad you let us know.

JW

I'm sorry James. I know how hard that is. Hopefully our condolences will help you feel better.

Mark

James-
Sorry for your loss. Thanks for sharing your photos. Looks like a very loyal assistant!

Rodolfo-
Bully on the AOPA success! Good work.

Sorry for your loss, James. We had to have Butch (Chow mix) put down about four years ago due to cancer. Our veterinarian told us that cancer in dogs spreads 10 times faster than in us. He went from a lively pet with a love of food, to where he wouldn't eat at all in less than two weeks, and he lost ten pounds in that same time frame. He got to the point that he just wouldn't move at all. He always hated to be picked up, but the day I came home from work and saw him smiling at me from the back yard was the hardest day for me. I went out and visited with him for several minutes, then he let me pick him up and carry him to the car. I suppose he knew that his life was about over, and he tolerated this without a wimper. I loaded him into the back seat of the car, and we went straight to the vet. Prior to putting him down, we were allowed to spend several minutes with him, and then it was time. After he passed, we were asked to step out, and wait outside for a few minutes. His body was brought out and placed in the car. As a token of remembrance, we received a small tuft of fur tied with a ribbon. He is now buried in our back yard.
Our Brittany (Cody) saw me digging the grave, and when I placed Butch in the grave, Cody trotted over and looked at Butch, wimpered a little, and then trotted off. I believe that he was saying goodbye. I still miss Butch very much, and even talk to him about how much I miss him. I know that sounds silly, but he was one of our kids.
I hope the memories of Jake never go away, and that the happiness you shared with him lasts forever.

Regards, and with tears in my eyes from my memories of Butch.

Colin

Butch

Ah Colin, now you have me crying....

Kelsey is 13 and I know that day is coming soon. I'll probably be leaning on you guys for some support too.



Mark

Two more things. A poem by Rudyard Kipling, and "The Rainbow Bridge"


The Power Of The Dog
by Rudyard Kipling

There is sorrow enough in the natural way
From men and women to fill our day;
And when we are certain of sorrow in store,
Why do we always arrange for more?
Brothers and Sisters, I bid you beware
Of giving your heart to a dog to tear.
Buy a pup and your money will buy
Love unflinching that cannot lie--
Perfect passion and worship fed
By a kick in the ribs or a pat on the head.
Nevertheless it is hardly fair
To risk your heart for a dog to tear.

When the fourteen years which Nature permits
Are closing in asthma, or tumour, or fits,
And the vet's unspoken prescription runs
To lethal chambers or loaded guns,
Then you will find--it's your own affair--
But...you've given your heart for a dog to tear.

When the body that lived at your single will,
With its whimper of welcome, is stilled (how still!);
When the spirit that answered your every mood
Is gone--wherever it goes--for good,
You will discover how much you care,
And will give your heart for the dog to tear.

We've sorrow enough in the natural way,
When it comes to burying Christian clay.
Our loves are not given, but only lent,
At compound interest of cent per cent.
Though it is not always the case, I believe,
That the longer we've kept 'em, the more do we grieve:
For, when debts are payable, right or wrong,
A short-time loan is as bad as a long--
So why in Heaven (before we are there)
Should we give our hearts to a dog to tear?

"The Rainbow Bridge"

Someday we will all meet again at the Rainbow Bridge . . .

Just this side of Heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine and our friends are warm and comfortable.
All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing - they each miss someone very special, someone who was left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance.
His bright eyes are intent; his eager body begins to quiver. Suddenly, he breaks from the group, flying over the green grass, faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into those trusting eyes, so long gone from your life, but never absent from your heart. Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together.

Mark, you have a beautiful pet. Cherish those moments.

Regards, Colin

Nicely done Colin.

I'm not ashamed to admit that "Rainbow Bridge" always tears me up...

Wow Mark, Kelsey is beautiful. I grew up with a purebred Shepherd named Blaze. Loyal as can be to his family but had a watchful eye when anyone else approached any of us.

In the latest "Strobist" blog/e-mail, they feature Profoto air to air. A gentleman using two pro-foto flashes with big reflectors to shoot air to air shots of planes. Might look like he was shooting out the back of a C-130 in case one wants to take a gander http://strobist.blogspot.com/ .....Mike

The Loach in its natural habitat.

JWilsonphoto wrote:
Wow Mark, Kelsey is beautiful. I grew up with a purebred Shepherd named Blaze. Loyal as can be to his family but had a watchful eye when anyone else approached any of us.

Colin and Jim, thank you very much. We were very lucky to adopt her when she was around 5 years old from a family that couldn't take care of her anymore. That photo was from a few years ago when she was 7.

She is a wonderful dog, but her hind legs are starting to fail and she's lost a lot of her hearing. It pains me to watch her slowly decline, but she's lived a great life.

She even tolerates Sherbet:



Mark

FlyingPhotog wrote:
I'm not ashamed to admit that "Rainbow Bridge" always tears me up...
ditto
I belong to a support group for people who have cats with Vaccine associated sarcoma, and unfortunately, its a poem that has to be broken out a few times during the average week

Same thing with Blaze. We lived in a tri-level in Illinois and we had to start carry him up and down the stairs. Heartbreaking as it is, you come to a point where your compassion for them outweighs your inability to come to grips with not having them by your side. Not a happy time for sure.

You might remember the story about a call I got several years ago from a lady who wanted a dog portrait done. I always thank these folks politely for thinking of me and suggest they find a friend with a love of photography and a nice camera (doesn't everyone have several dozen of those?). I do this not because I think I'm too big a deal to shoot a dog portrait, but because I don't want to carry the guilt from causing the heart attack/stroke with the quote. I went through my usual routine with this nice woman and she just kept saying, "I looked at your website and you are the photographer I want! Just tell me what it will cost and we'll get it on your schedule." Try as I might, I could not discourage her gently, so I gave her a quote. She didn't skip a beat and asked how soon we could do the shoot. Now I have a very soft spot for animals, but a $1,500.00 canine portrait isn't something I'd consider, but hey, that's just me.

We set a date, it's summer in Texas and this dog is elderly so I chose a Saturday morning just as the sun was about to come over the horizon. This woman and her husband show up with a golden Lab named Callie and she is battling cancer. These folks have never had children and it becomes abundantly clear that Callie is their one and only child and they are devastated at the looming prospect of Callie leaving them. Now there is a perspective check here, Sheila and I have buried parents and siblings at stages of their lives that were just unthinkable. The worst being my 18 year old nephew to a drunk driver. I think anyone with children doesn't have much trouble sorting out the degrees of loss in life and keeping things on a realistic scale. The more time I spent with Callie's Mom & Dad that Saturday morning, the more it became obvious that they were incapable of getting a handle this impending loss. Nice people, educated folks, but never having children and not experiencing a close loss in their family, you could clearly see that, in their eyes, this was just about as bad as it could get. My heart went out to them, couldn't even bill them for the shoot. They ordered several thousand dollars worth of big prints on canvas which I ended up getting them at lab cost.

A year later Callie passed on. We keep in touch ever since the shoot and a few months ago, right in their front yard I spied what was unthinkable to them a year before, a yellow Lab puppy frolicking in the grass.