My husband told me late last night that it was National Black Dog Day and that he was surprised I didn’t post about it. AYKM??!! IF I HAD KNOWN, I WOULD HAVE DEFINITELY POSTED ABOUT IT!

My big ol’ buddy, my sunshine butt, my MeePeeMee, my love bug, and at one time in my life… my everything. I’m crying. Ugh. I’m going to attempt to make this short and sweet because I’m just not in the mood to cry.

MurphyMoMoMoMo, you were my first true love. You will always and forever be my favorite dog. No other dog can compete. You are not only a good boy, you are the very best boy.

I canNOT believe you are 11.5 years old. You seem to be the dog who never slows down, who never ages, who can still do all of the things he’s always done.  Let it be known, I will never be ready to not have you in my life. Eff, I’m a mess; stopping with that talk immediately!

It seems that I’ve not taken many photos of him throughout the years with my big camera; I promise to be better about that. Also today seems like the appropriate day to talk about how difficult it is to photograph a black dog… which is one of the reasons black dogs have a holiday all to themselves; they are the least adopted pups in dog shelters mostly because they are hard to take photos of.

I’ve also noticed I have quite a few photography clients with black dogs who hire me to photograph them with their beloved pups (two in the last month!). It may be a niche? Maybe it’s because people have seen photos of my MurphyMo? It’s likely just a fluke but even if so, I’m thanking Murphy regardless. 😀

These were taken at my old home in Indianapolis soon after he came into my life nearly seven years ago to the day (October, 2012).

I used to always say that MurphyMo got me through the most difficult times of my last five years and Ruth got me happy again; she came into the picture three years after Murphy did in November 2015. She’s not his favorite friend but she definitely keeps him young!

….I mean, it’s only natural! (I took these goofy wedding photos for the launch of my new website back in 2016)

Your ability to adapt and roll with all of the changes that you’ve been through in your life never ceases to amaze me. On top of that, you are SO amazing with the kids! When I ask them (which I often do because I’m weird), “who’s your favorite dog this week?” Their answer is almost always, “Murphy.” Welllll…. Andrew (the oldest) usually says it’s Murphy’s best friend Jackie Bower (photos of her at the end). But I think you get the idea.

I’m incredibly disappointed in myself that I don’t have ONE big camera photo of you taken with the kids. Mark my words, we are GOING to make that happen!

Those brown eyes?! I can’t. I JUST CAN’T!

iPhone pics

Like I said earlier, I’ve not been great about taking photos of my love bug with the big camera but I AM great at taking quickie pics with my iPhone. I HAD to include a few photos of him with his best friend Jackie Bower (she’s the white dog who was a Ghostbuster; top row, second from the right).

MurphyMo, thank you for letting me be your momma and for teaching me what unconditional love looks like.

Happy National Dog Day Big Buddy! Also, quick question… do you have big plans today? 😀

Love,

Yo Momma