In 2017, I was hired to photograph a conference in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. A few weeks before the conference, Alex called. “How far is Ponte Vedra Beach from Gainesville?” I looked it up—about an hour and a half. She asked if she could tag along—and if I could extend the trip by a day […]
Tag: Dakota
Breeding Success
When Dakota was a puppy, I got a message from Kathy Salvucci. “Dakota looks like she is going down in pastern. If she is on puppy food, get her off and put her on adult food.” I didn’t understand her concern. “The pastern is between the knee and foot on the front leg. It should […]
Agent of Change
When Alex returned from Florida, it only took a few days before her pain became uncontrollable. She was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital for what would become an extended stay. The pediatric oncology floor had strict rules to protect patients. At the top of the list—no animals. After a lot of pushing—and more than a […]
Roxy: The Golden Years
Roxy wasn’t supposed to be my dog. She was for my wife and kids. In fact, I was told to keep my distance. Roxy joined the family while I was on a business trip to Orlando in 2006. She was a bundle of Golden Retriever energy from day one. She loved her new family and […]
The Man with the Dog
In 2016, I moved to a small townhouse in Aberdeen to start my post-child-raising life. Roxy and Blitz came with me. We kept to ourselves and really didn’t get to know the neighbors. A couple years after I moved in, I walked out of my front door and there was a man moving in two […]
The Wild Child Returns
Dakota and I walked along the shore of Lake Michigan on a summer afternoon in Door County. Dakota loves the water, so I let her wade in. My father texted. “It’s time to come back for dinner.” I called Dakota to come, but she wasn’t ready to leave. Usually, Dakota wears a harness for exactly […]
Dakota
The day we got Alex’s diagnosis was one of the worst in our lives. We sat with her, trying to say the right things, trying to make it feel manageable. We told her we would be with her every step of the way—that this was just a temporary setback. Nothing worked. The only thing that […]
Alex
At 6 a.m., nurses rushed into the hospital room. “We have to go now,” one said as she unlocked the bed and started pushing it toward the door. The other nurse handed me a set of scrubs. “Put these on and meet us in the OR.” They were small. I was not. I grabbed a […]
Why I Wrote The Great Dog Pack
In February of 2025, I became a grandfather for the first time. After losing Alex, I didn’t know if that was something I would ever get to experience. Watching my granddaughter grow this past year has been one of the great joys of my life. And with each passing month, it brought me back — […]