Hello all. This isn't my story, but it is one that is too good to not share. Kaylee Greer is a pet photographer in the Boston area. She often photographs homeless pets at shelters to help find them a home. Her website is
here. This is her photo and her story. You'll need a tissue, but it is one of those stories that will make you cry, and smile at the same time.
Meet Miss Coco.
The other day, the most wonderful thing happened.
It was Halloween, so I brought costumes up to the MSPCA and spent the
day dressing up the adoptables and photographing them for their
PetFinder profiles. On the way home from the shelter, I had to stop at
PetSmart to get Joshua a bag of food. As I was walking in the door, I
noticed a woman making her way towards the checkout with her arms full
and
fumbling with the dog on the other end of the leash she was holding. On
the other end of that leash was the world's sweetest looking, old and
grey Pointer mix. My heart just about melted when I saw her.
Just as they were passing by me, that sweet old pup must have decided
she couldn't hold it any longer and stopped short to have an accident.
The woman who was holding the dog looked so frazzled and upset that I
offered to help. I told her not to worry about the pee, that I noticed
she had her arms full and that I would take care of the cleanup for her,
as I knew right where the paper towels were kept. I smiled and said
'when you gotta go, you gotta go!'. The woman thanked me profusely and
stayed with the puddle until I arrived with some paper towels. As I was
cleaning up the pee, the woman began to apologize and explain 'She has
been having trouble holding her bladder, and lately there has been blood
in it.' I could hear the profound and solemn sadness in her voice when
she said 'She is my best friend and she is 18 years old.'
At
that moment, I looked up at the woman and saw the tears begin to form in
her eyes. She continued, 'I live with my son, and today we decided
together that it's finally time to let her go.' She went on 'I am
picking her up from being groomed right now because we wanted her last
week with us to be special and for her to feel comfortable.'
It was at this point that I began to cry too. Right in the middle of
PetSmart. With a stranger that I had only met 60 seconds before. We
talked about the way that dog's touch our lives, and how some come into
our world and when they leave - we're never ever the same. We talked
about the purity of the love of a canine, their endless selflessness,
their unwavering loyalty and joy. And that's when I had a thought. I
said 'This is sort of a strange question - but do you have any beautiful
photos of Coco? I mean really nice ones that you will remember her by?'
Her eyes closed for a moment, and she said 'No, I suppose not.' And
that's when I told her who I am - what I do. I said 'I am a professional
pet photographer, and I just happen to have all of my camera gear
loaded up in the back of my car right now because I'm on my way home
from a shoot at the shelter. Do you and Coco have 10 minutes to spend
with me outside?'
So we went outside together, and just within
the confines of the modest little median in the PetSmart parking lot, we
made some memories of Coco. When I showed her one of the images on the
back of my camera's LCD, she lost herself to tears. And then, so did I.
She hugged me with an intense gratitude that I have never felt before. I
gave her my card and told her to expect an email with Coco's images
very soon. I looked down at Coco with a meaningful gaze and ended our
interaction with a kiss to her graying snout.
It's moments
like those that make me grateful to have the privilege of doing what I
do. If I am able to take the joy in one tiny moment, and freeze it in
time so that somebody can keep it by their heart forever - then I
consider myself the luckiest girl in the world. I think serendipity
played a thoughtful hand in my meeting Coco and her Mom that day, and I
am so grateful that I could give her a part of her sweet girl to hold on
to forever.
