celebrating simon | hamilton pet photographer

Sometimes Celebration Sessions have an unexpected ending. One such ending belongs to Simon, 7, a beagle diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, a painful condition that affects the neck and back of a dog. Upon diagnosis, his owner, Erin, started searching for a Hamilton pet photographer right away because the family did not anticipate his condition to get any better, and they didn’t want him to live in constant pain. Their previous beagle suffered from the same condition, and had to be let go at a young age. Erin was heartbroken at the thought of Simon suffering the same fate.

I arrived to a very shy dog. In fact, Simon will go down in the Happy Tails books as one of the shyest dogs I’ve ever met. He refused to approach me or even venture into my general territory, even with plenty of coaxing from the family and my delicious treats. Shy dogs take patience. So we waited. And waited. And chatted. And waited. It took a while, but his curiosity eventually got the better of him and he slowly made his way over. Once he was comfortable with my presence, it wasn’t long before he was nudging me with his nose for pets.

Since Simon was basically on bed rest, and had difficulty getting around, we limited the session to the living room and backyard where he showed me his smiles and silly faces.

Simon was on pain medication, a muscle relaxant and an anti-inflammatory, and it was clear that too much moving around made him uncomfortable and he was pretty lethargic. So this moment during our session was pretty special:
I mentioned a happy ending, right? The day after our session, Simon had a scheduled vet appointment for x-rays and the family was expecting to hear the worst: that his condition had deteriorated and their time together was limited. Instead they received some unexpected news: Simon’s condition had improved, and his vet suspects much of the pain he was experiencing was caused by severe constipation and possible arthritis.

He will be monitored for any disc problems, but with the proper diet and medication, he will hopefully be with his family for many years to come. I wish all my Celebration Sessions had endings like that!

Thanks to Erin, Simon and the whole family for asking me to capture Simon’s sweet personality at our Celebration turned Standard session!