Falkor was a handsome gentleman and is sorely missed. I know his family will treasure these photos and are happy that they hired Charlene Potts for a Devoted Hearts session from Paw Prints |Pet Portraits by Charlene.
From Charlene: “Falkor (the Great Dane) has unfortunately passed away since this session, and I’m so grateful to have had the chance to photograph him with his favorite boy, Nico.”
From Stacy: “How do you put into words the life of an amazing creature? I moved in with my husband in January 2007. My first order of business was to get a dog, as I could not imagine myself coming home to a house that didn’t have a dog.
I wanted a Chihuahua, my husband did not. As you can see my husband won that one. It is the one great debate I am so glad he won. He found a litter of Dane pups and had me look. I was like whatever….but then I saw him…puppy #1, literally from that moment I knew he was mine. My husband reminded there was 7 other dogs to look at but, my mind was made up. We then had to pick a name. We created a list of names…lots of names…we could not decide and we didn’t want to sway the other with our vote. We put our pick on a piece of paper and traded the pieces of paper…and that is how Falkor got his name.
He was perfect from the start. He was completely house trained within weeks! Completely trained in 7 months. He did not need a leash. He was the most gentle soul ever.
We found out I was pregnant and I had our boy Nico in September of 2008. We were concerned how Falkor would react to a new baby, not because he had ever given us a reason to but just introducing a little baby to a 150 pound baby is intimidating. As we arrived home from the hospital after a 4 night stay I asked everyone to stay in the car and let me love Falkor for a minute before bringing Nico out of the car. Once I felt Falkor had enough I went back to the car and picked up Nico and showed him to Falkor, I never would have imagined what happened next..Falkor bowed to Nico. After smelling him and looking at him he literally bowed to him….I knew at that moment I had nothing to worry about.
At age 2 Falkor was diagnosed with Arthritis, At age 5 he was diagnosed with cancer. A tumor that had been growing from quite some time without showing itself at all. When it did come to the surface it was too late to do anything about. We were told he had 3 months maybe a little longer to live. (Great, I am already crying while typing this) Turns out we were blessed with with 1.5 years more. He brought so much joy and love into our lives. We brought another dane home shortly after Falkor was diagnosed and I swear that it was helped Falkor live longer. It brought out the puppy in him. To watch him play was amazing.
Falkor was just a gentle giant. He was so smart, kind and loyal. I miss him every day! And I still cry often. The joy he brought us far outweighs the sorrow of losing him.“
A casual observer of these photos may think Falkor is feeling stress and exhibiting whale eye, but I don’t believe this is the case. Although I am not a vet, animal tech or dog trainer I think he had a physical condition that caused his eyes to look like that.
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About Paw Prints Pet Portraits by Charlene: Based in Pittsburgh, Paw Prints is a sub division of Custom Prints by Charlene and offers on location portrait services. Charlene is a member of PPA and Area Coordinator/Affiliate Photographer for Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep. She has a B.S. in Early Childhood Development and Education from The Ohio State University and is a self-taught photographer. Charlene lives in a suburb of Pittsburgh with her Great Dane, Emmet and his kitten, Sophie.
Such a touching story and a truly beautiful dog.
Aww, such a beautiful dog and story. My heart goes out to his family, and I’m so glad they have such wonderful memories and photos of their great dog.