Valencia "Valencia" c. 2000

This face.  When cancer struck.  That's the moment my lifelong love of animals and passion for photography collided.  It seemed like only yesterday, but it had been ten years since I found him as a tiny, blue-eyed kitten hiding between the tires of a parked truck on Valencia Street in San Francisco.  I decided to try chemotherapy.  I felt desperate.  He was a soul-mate in the form of a cat and ten years had not been enough time.  I was afraid I would forget the little things that were so uniquely him... how he curled up when he slept, the dot that had emerged on his nose as he aged.  Those eyes.  His tail.  That face.  I had many snapshots but I wanted something more that captured these details... his essence... his spirit.  Over the next few months my camera was always pointed in his direction. 

After this experience, I offered to photograph a friend's dog who had a similar diagnosis...  I realized that the gift was to capture the little things that speak to those of us who feel our furry ones are family.  It is a special honor to be invited to photograph someone's beloved pet.  Each session is a unique journey based on the personalities involved and it is common to find myself smitten with my subjects.  We each feel that our pet is uniquely special...  and we are all right.