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It has been quite a year for both of us, a year with substantial change, his dramatic deteriorating health, and a photography roadtrip across the country that encompassed 10+ days, over 4,000 miles and eventually turned into a permanent relocation. Even though I spent my entire life growing up with dogs in the family, I was either too young or too far away when they became senior or reached the end. I've had no real experience or even the slightest frame of reference for an aging pet, and while it's had it's challenges emotionally, I appreciate him him a tiny bit more each morning when I wake and he's still here.

Years before I got into manual photography, we spent each of his birthdays somewhere he loved. If the summer was long and Autumn reasonable, I'd bring him to his favorite river to swim, go on an extended road trip in search of great roadside BBQ to share, or we'd drive the hour plus to the country where he always had an open invitation at the barn where my sister used to board her horse. It usually was the latter though, and he knew the entire ride where we were going. The farm was 200+ acres of land with open fields and quail in the brush. Once I got into manual, I started taking his portrait on his birthday. It's hard to believe that this time last year we were living in the maryland countryside near the pennsylvania border and driving hours each day to shoot sunsets and search for waterfalls. Even a year ago in fact, while he was beginning to show some signs of laryngeal paralysis, it just seemed like normal older age stuff. He was running slower and getting tired more easily but he still wasn't restricted from any of the activities he loves like he is today.

When we drove to California in December, I was very ready for a change and was looking forward to the adventure ahead. It seemed like the last chance he and I would have to get out to california together and off we went. The trip was pretty grueling due to the altitude and weather and it really exhausted both of us. His health was ok here in the winter thanks to rain, cool temperatures and the Santa Ana winds but once summer arrived and trips to the vet became more frequent, I started trying to come to terms with the fact that 13 may never come. He slept most of the summer and even lost most of his hearing rather suddenly and I tried hard not to force him outside during the hot, shadeless summer afternoons. Around a month ago, the temps began to drop and his health seemed to stabilize a bit while his happiness improved. Some of the mountains a few hours away are already at or near freezing temps for the daily low and I imagine in a few weeks, we will like get some snow somewhere. Hopefully as the weather cools further, his energy level will increase enough to head out of Los Angeles and find some snow and countryside for us to enjoy for a day or two.

His health was always an issue his earlier years as he dealt with a lot of anxiety, nervousness, seizures and an inability to make friends. Dogs picked up on those traits and he was bullied or attacked by nearly each dog he encountered. I wasn't given an optimistic outlook from the vet due to the frequency of the seizures at such a young age and as a result, I simply started bringing him everywhere with me that I could. His reaction to me being gone for 2 minutes was the same as 5 hours just with a fraction of the stress so anytime he could join me--even if just to pick up takeout or run to a gas station--I thought the tiny inconvenience was worth whatever stress it could remove.

This birthday was a bit different than all the others. We didn't go to the beach, find a river for him to swim in, and he didn't get to run in any open countryside fields. We went on a walk every few hours and stayed out until he got tired each time. We drove to the grocery store where I bought him his birthday steak, took him to the pet store and let him pick out his treats, and then went home and cooked dinner. I spent about an hour photographing him that evening while he was awake and happy rather than while he was sleeping. I was bribing him with treats to follow my hand with his eyes but I wasn't too concerned with the results. I knew there would be some blur, poor framing, loss of detail, crooked rugs, and under exposure even with higher ISO. My main objective was to get a handful of crisp, well framed images and a large amount of him just being happy.

This particular shot was very early friday morning (about 3 am) after we returned from his last walk of the evening. I got some quick captures and then shot another set friday night. When I shoot while he's tired, I can be in complete control without making him do anything other than relax. When he's excited and breathing heavily, It's a lot of trial and error as he moves in and out of my manually focused points and shutter speed needs constant adjustment. This is on a rug he likes by my brother's desk with the room behind me lit and the lights off behind him. As my brother pointed out, he does look really happy in this shot and I think that was more important than a super detailed portrait.

While I know there's a chance this could be his last birthday, I'm trying hard just to focus on keeping him comfortable and happy now rather than worry about his future. In life, things don't always work out how they are written up but it's always reassuring to have something constant during all the many ups and downs, and for 12 full years now, Scotch has been that one constant. Who knows how year 13 will turn out but I'm definitely looking forward to a few more memories and adventures with the old ginger sidekick.

A very happy 13th birthday to Scotch

▪️SCOTCH▪️

•Age 13 portrait

•Hollywood, California

•October 21st, 2016

▪️SETTINGS▪️

•Canon T4i

•EF40mm f/2.8 STM

•ISO 800

•f/3.5

•1/125th second

small flower, large field by Jen Vee