Are you ready? A dose of beautiful & bittersweet is coming your way. You see, Huxley the Great Dane was recently diagnosed with cancer, and he doesn’t have much time left with his parents and little brother. Luckily, I was able to carve out some time in my schedule to meet with them soon after talking with his mom for the first time about a month ago. It’s not easy to squeeze in last-minute sessions this time of year, since it’s my busy season, but I always leave holes in my shooting calendar just for emergencies like this. I’m sad that I met this fun family under these heartbreaking circumstances, but at least (miraculously) the weather was absolutely perfect, almost as if the weather gods knew that we might not have time to reschedule.

We started out at Presidio Park in San Diego. Although the natural incline of the park proved to be a little tough on Huxley’s back legs, he handled it like a champ! He was having a good time and only wanted to hang out with his brother, Gibson, and of course his parents. We found a nice, relatively flat spot in the park under the shade of a huge tree that was perfect for portraits. After some time there, we headed over to Fiesta Island. Huxley LOVES Fiesta and so does Gibson! Right after getting out of the car, you could immediately tell there was a difference with Huxley as he was more comfortable and walking easier & faster. It was familiar territory which made him happy and in return made all of us happy. It was great that we were able to be flexible and arrive there earlier than we were originally planning, rather than pushing him too hard to stay at the park longer than he wanted to. It’s SO important that pets feel as comfortable as possible during their session. As a result everyone has a better time!

Gibson on the other hand? You can’t push him too hard, haha! He’s a total puppy compared to his older brother! He’s a rescued Tijuana street dog, a doberman/labrador mix and a ball of energy! He just wanted to run around, chase his ball, have a blast, and play with tug-of-war with his brother on the beach. It was so funny to watch him scramble around and jump and hustle to play tug with a new toy with Huxley, the Great Dane, who just… stands there. Almost motionless. Haha! Sorry Gibson, but it’s hilarious to watch. Their parents let me know that they usually bring their favorite “stick log” that they found one day at Fiesta Island and bring back to let the boys play with it there. But even though they didn’t get to play with their stick log, they had a blast with the ball! This truly is their happy place and you could tell that Huxley was in his element. The dogs usually swim with their lifejackets, and although we didn’t let Huxley fully go swimming this time we were able to capture some really playful portraits!

This was just a beautiful afternoon for Huxley and his family. I know they have hard times coming up, and Gibson is really going to miss his big brother. We ended up with some amazing portraits to remember him by. I feel so honored to have been a part of this photo session, and I know his parents will cherish these moments for a very long time.

This is Huxley. Isn’t he handsome?!

I don’t think Gibson has an “off” button. He just goes!

It’s your world, Hux. We just live in it.

Melissa & Chris, thank you so much for introducing me to your sweet boys. I’m looking forward to showing you the rest of our images soon!

Tags: beach, dog, dog photography, great dane, mixed breed, park, San Diego, San Diego Dog Photographer, San Diego pet photography