The Stories We Carry

Some animals don’t guard us in the way we usually think of. They don’t stand between us and danger. Instead, they stay close. They are steady, watchful, and quietly present. These quiet guardians remind me that love doesn’t need to speak. Sometimes, it simply walks beside us.

These photos were taken in a small park in Calgary, in the middle of the day, a high sun, and the air still held summer warmth. I wanted to capture the dogs as they were, part of the rhythm of Richard and Angela’s life, not performing or posing, just being. Bennett, the Frenchie, had a kind of calm wisdom about him, solid, steady, content to observe. Bella and Bandit, the dachshunds, were all energy and motion, busy exploring and circling back like tiny satellites to check in with their people. What I loved most was the ease between them all. No one needed to try. They just fit.

When I look back on that day, what lingers isn’t the light or the setting, but the sense of peace that came from a simple connection. Their love wasn’t loud or showy, but it filled the space around them — the kind of joy that hums quietly, steady and sure.