One of the easiest things to do is fall in love with a pet, and one of the hardest is to say goodbye. I urge you to get some professional pet portraits of your dogs, preferably at multiple times in their lives. Pet photographer Mandy Whitley took these photos of English Bulldogs Walter and Dumplin’ and their family.
Dumplin was six and a half, and Walter was three and a half years old when these photos were taken. Unfortunately, Dumplin had cancer and crossed the rainbow bridge a few months ago.
Although I know the family is sad to have lost Dumplin’ they have been through this before. When the Vreeland family lost their bulldog Rufus, they wrote a book “Dumplin Can Play” to help their son, William.
From Mandy: “When I asked how they came up with their names Mary said, ‘as soon as we met Dumplin’ (when he was six weeks old) it was the first name that came to me – based on his looks.’
And Walter’s name is actually Mary’s maiden name – how fun! Mary loves the breed because they are loyal companions. Mary described them as ‘essentially 60-pound kittens who need constant companionship’ – which is such a cute description.”
You can see more of their photography session on Mandy’s blog. Follow Mandy Whitley on Instagram.
Gift certificates for a pet portrait is a great gift idea! Most photographers offer gift certificates, just ask.
About Mandy Whitley Photography: Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Mandy specializes in portraits of dogs and their people.
Beautiful photos. They really capture the familial love and those boxers are beautiful.
Fabulous pictures! Those pups look so happy. Lovely family!
60 pound kittens! That’s hysterical. I love these photos and agree it is so important to document the journey with our pets as their time with us is sometimes too short.
Mandy captures the true relationship in these portraits…even though they are “staged” she captures the right moment when the love shows. It’s nice to have them in the home environment also rather than a studio. These dogs will live on forever in the family’s memories.
I loved this post. So much love and affection between the humans and their fur babies. So sorry for Dumplin’s loss:-(
Bulldogs are AMAZING!!! I met a bulldog puppy at a pet expo once, even the puppy was all muscle and bulk and licked me to pieces.
These pictures really made me smile. What gorgeous memories they capture!
PS Dumplin was a total rock star of a dog. RIPDumplin, amazing dog.
Thank you all! Dumplin’ was an amazing pup!!
These pictures are beautiful…smile bringers for sure! Mandy did an awesome job capturing the personalities of the dogs and the happiness of the entire fur-amily.
It’s a very nice idea, to have professional photos done. I’m sure these photos brought the family comfort at a really difficult time.