I met Rebecca and Tik-tik just as the sun began to creep over the majestic geography of Red Rocks park. She picked this beautiful location for Tik-tik's photo session to commemorate all their wonderful adventures exploring the winding trails of the park. We took a brief moment to take in the view as the warming sunshine crept across the valley before heading off down the trail for another adventure.
Though Tik-tik's age is beginning to catch up to him, his terrier spirit refuses to acknowledge that any time has passed. While his vision going, he struggled a bit on some of the trickier terrain, and so Rebecca would pick him up to carry him to better footing. Tik-tik seemed to find the help a bit imposing and would quickly begin to squirm to be let down to walk and explore the trails of his own accord.
And while he explored Rebecca and I chatted about their life together. Rebecca shared that coming up with a name for this handsome young pup was a bit of a challenge. With friends and family all pitching ideas that didn't quite seem to fit her tenacious new pup. And then there was an anti-drug commercial which featured a kid, on a dare, running away from a very large junkyard dog named Tik-tik. The name started as a bit of a joke, but the little guy seemed to like the sound of it, and it eventually stuck.
Speaking of the things Tik-tik likes, all the ooey-gooey smells and flavors of garbage can be beat! Rebecca laughed "this dog loves trash. Pretty sure his heaven involves a large pile of garbage. When he was a puppy he happily chased a garbage truck halfway down the street. Then stopped and contemplated in total confusion what to do next when the truck stopped at the next house. It was very entertaining to watch. He's so clever with figuring out trash cams I had to hide one away, under the sink, behind a cupboard, with a child safety lock. Took him 3 days to master it then it was back to square one. Today we keep it in a heavy seemless, stainless steel can with a lid and even then we have to place it high out of reach when we aren't around. He will never stop chasing garbage."
But she loves him anyway! "Even when he's misbehaving he keeps me on my toes. He's always there to greet me and has been my shadow from day 1. He's been my little warrior against loneliness, boredom, discomfort and the best companion I could ask for. I love his fiesty personality the way he looks toward me even with now blinded eyes. He always make me laugh and smile and one day will make me cry with a heartache I cannot even imagine. I love everything about him."
When I asked Rebecca how they met, she shared that she knew she wanted a small dog with big personality, so a terrier was a natural choice. And Tik-tik was the runt of the litter, having to fight his bigger brother and sister for attention. But when Rebecca met the pups the brother and sister just wanted to play with their toys. But Tik-tik was focused only on her. He crawled in her lap and laid his head down and "I was his from that point forward. He chose me. "
Starting our adventure while the sun was low in the sky offered a little extra time to play with the light. And I couldn't resist a few striking silhouettes to really convey the connection these two have built over the years.
After a few hours of winding through the picturesque Red Rocks we found ourselves back where we started, with one more surprise for Tik-tik. A birthday cake that was almost as big as him! Watching him dig in and get frosting stuck to the roof of his mouth was perfectly fun way to wrap up our beautiful morning.
My heart broke for Rebecca when she shared- "It's been very hard to watch my once exuberant and full of life companion no longer want to go on long walks, unable to navigate well around the house or searching for you with his eyes unable to see that you've moved from where he thinks you are. His muscles are slowly deteriorating and his legs shake from it almost constantly. People always thinks he's nervous or cold but that's just him growing old and weak. He used to be inseparable from my lap but now prefers his own bed to sharing mine. I have a hard time imaging life without him and can hardly remember a time before him. He is a part of me and has been the one constant in my life since he's come into it. I'm very grateful for you to be able to capture my love for him."
I once had a Husky named Yukon who shared the muscle degeneration that Tik-tik is experiencing. He loathed the indignity of my picking him up to go for rides, or lifting him up the stairs. And watching him decline was the absolute worst. When we said goodbye, my only solace was in flipping through old photographs of the adventures we'd had together over the not-nearly-long-enough time he was by my side. So when people ask me why I do what I do, this is why. To create & capture some beautiful memories for Rebecca & Tik-tik as they navigate this part of their journey together.
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