Heart Dog

Angel in Disguise

​​​​​​​​My original photographic memoir, Heart Dog, was written in 2014. This updated version begins with meeting my timid Border Collie, Jazzy, and is a continuation of our lives, taking the reader further into our very personal story from where the last ​book left off. 

The book details Jazzy's growth into a confident search and rescue dog, therapy dog, and mentor for fosters. In later years, she rescued me from the depression of a painful life event. The day she led me out of that dark hole when I grabbed the car keys and my old Nikon, our photographic journey began. With Jazzy and Cooper, my other retired search and rescue dog, we chased my quirky ideas and my dogs' innate humor through the art they so readily inspire
​in me.

 

Since I published the first book over two years ago, so much more has happened. I found happiness, only to have my world turned upside down a few months later when I was diagnosed with cancer. Then, six months after I completed my treatment, I received the devastating news that Jazzy had the same diagnosis—cancer. 

Knowing what her diagnosis meant, instead of counting down her last days with me, I decided to start counting up each day that I was blessed to have her. The new Heart Dog captures as best I can these events—how we fought for life, loved, and lived as if each day was the last. 

In memory of Jazzy, my heart dog