Photo Art

Fur Family

I can’t have an online blog without introducing my fur family, past and present. They have been and are such a big part of my life. After my boy Ozzie passed away in 2014, I went almost 2 years before adopting another dog. Life without a dog can be pretty darned sad.

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This is Holly. I adopted her from a Collie rescue organization in 1999 when she was 5 years old. She was the first pet I had had in 20 years. She gave me a reason to look outside myself and changed my entire perspective on life. She passed away from kidney failure in 2010 at the very old age of 15. I don’t have many pictures of her because she was gone soon after I took up photography again. This is an art piece I did recently as a remembrance of her.

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This is Ozzie, a Belgian Sheepdog. He was born with a deformed, stubby tail and his breeder tried to have her vet euthanize him. Fortunately, the vet refused. A friend who knew I was looking for a second dog referred me to the breeder and she gave him to me in return for my promise not to register him (or her kennel name) with the AKC. He was 10 weeks old when he came to live with me and Holly in 2001. Ozzie passed in 2014 at the old age of 13.

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A recent remembrance of Ozzie and an early morning walk at the park with our neighbor, Lee.

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This is Mimi. She is an 8 year old terrier mix that I adopted from our county shelter in December of last year. She came with an assortment of ailments — urinary tract infection, ear infections, food sensitivities and other unknown allergies. After several months of vet visits and food trials, she is healthy and happy. I love her to pieces!

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Mimi’s Meditation. At one of my favorite spots to go walking here in Winter Park, FL — Mead Gardens.

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Abandoned! These were Ozzie’s favorite toys — Yellow Dog, Mr. Hedgehog, Mr. Bun-bun and every ball in the entire world. I had hoped that Mimi would love them, too. But alas, she has no interest in toys at all. Perhaps she never had any toys in her previous life. I guess I’ll never know.

Published by Karen Lee Kleis

19 thoughts on “Fur Family”

  1. Wonderful … We who are dog lovers never forget our canine friends who accompanied us through the years … I held out two months without after our pom died. Now a three year old Yorkie named Gretchen is with me and she is dearly loved …
    Grand post … thank you for the memories ..
    g

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  2. This brought a smile to my face. I recently lost my black lab and loyal friend of 15 years. We got home at 7 weeks old and he suddenly became sick. We took him to the emergency animal hospital and the dr found a tumor that had ruptured. We had no idea. He showed no signs until that night. Because he was 15 and too old to handle surgery, we had no choice but to put him to sleep. I miss him more than I could have ever imagined. I told myself I could never get another dog. He’s been out first and only.i just can’t imagine going though this again.

    Thank you so much for sharing this. I appreciate your love for animals.😃

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    1. Thank you. And I’m so sorry to hear about your loss! I know how you feel. After my boy Ozzie passed, I found it so hard to think about getting another dog. He was completely blind for the last year and a half of his life and struggled with worsening hip displaysia. Helping him with those issues served to strengthen what was already a very strong bond between us. I was bereft when I lost him. But I am so glad that I finally decided to adopt Mimi. She makes me feel complete again and she now has a secure place to call home. I know I’ll lose her at some point but it’s worth going through that loss again when I think about what we both give to each other. 🙂

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  7. Pingback: Fur Family – Platypus Lady

  8. This is a beautiful post Karen! I Last November I lost my dog Mojo she was 16 I miss her she was wonderful. But I adopted two small ones they are two sisters couldn’t separate them!Welcome to the Community I discovered you because I am Robert Goldstein friend. Thank you for stopping by my Blog and for the follow, I hope that you enjoy my art! Cheers Carolina

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  9. This is such a beautiful way to remember your passed loved ones! I’ll have to scan in some photos one of these days. I don’t have pictures of most of them but it would warm my heart to share what I do have.

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