The Family Dog in Photographs
While your family is together for the holidays, why not look through old photos for those that include the family dog? You may be surprised how often the family dog appears in your photos, and how cherished they seem to be.
Look closely at each photo. Is the dog the sole subject of the photo? Is he on the furniture? Is the dog sitting formally alongside family members, or is he in someone’s arms? Is there communication between the dog and people? Is the photo humorous?
I found a wonderful family portrait from the 1930s on the day my grandparents adopted their new dog, Foxie. There is a later photo of Foxie posed alone in the driver’s seat of the car, as if she were headed to town. Mitzi, the family German Shepherd, figured prominently in the photo taken the day my grandmother brought my father home from the hospital (above). A later photo shows Mitzi laying beside my father as he slept on a blanket on the lawn.
Sometimes a poor photograph that was saved shows the degree of attachment for a pet. I found a photograph of a white blur, kept for nearly one hundred years, obviously out of sentiment. It is the only known photograph of my grandmother’s childhood dog, Teddy.
Now that you’ve found photographs of the family dog, what can you do with them? Here are some ideas:
- Put together a photo album with captions.
- Create scrapbook pages or an entire album.
- Frame and display the photos as a group.
- Make copies and give to dog-loving relatives. Frame special photos as gifts.
- Display the photos on your website, or a photo sharing site (like Flickr, Yahoo, or Snapfish).
Make sure you choose acid-free materials to preserve your precious photographs.
Our dogs are so important to us today, but often they were just as important to those in our past. Talk to your older relatives. Show them the photos you’ve found, and take notes as they reminisce. Ask about their pets and write down the stories. You may find you come from a long line of dog-lovers.
For wonderful old dog photos, browse the Old Photos with Dogs group on Flickr. You can also join the group and contribute your family photos. Enjoy!
