ELEVATED PHOTOGRAPHY FOR MODERN WOMEN BY WOMEN

We’re grieving the loss of our very sweet, very mischievous mascot today at the studio. Milou may be gone, but always remembered. Caroline would like to share all the most special parts of Miss Milou with you, in a tribute below.

For almost 14 years, I have been blessed with Milou, the best friend and best dog I could ever have. I grew up reading Tintin and always thought: “Wow I want my own Snowy/Milou!” And the universe gave me my very own. She might be black and never talked like the real Milou but she was my best friend and went everywhere with me. She was born on Nov 30, 2000 and the only time she slept in my arms was the first night I took her home.

Milou is a very special dog. I have had many dogs since her, but she was my first dog as an adult and the first dog I trained and competed with in agility. Milou was the dog that never gave up and always was a rockstar. At two years of age, she was diagnosed with hip dysplasia and vets told me she needed a complete hip replacement or she would never walked without a limp. With an amazing team of holistic vets, the very best agility and obedience trainers and devoted care and management, Milou went on to be the top Agility Portuguese Water Dog in America. Milou set records in her breed for agility and was my little miracle dog. She was my marathon dog, always ready to compete and even in her retirement run, took 3 first places in the veterans category. She never once limped or showed any kind of pain.

Through her agility career, it was then that I started photographing my friends’ dogs in the ring while waiting for our turn. Other people then started asking me to photograph their dogs and soon I was a dog photographer. Yes, I photographed nothing but dogs, from state to state. From dog photography I turned to wedding photography and not too long ago I decided to rebrand my company name following my divorce to include my best friend in life and the reason why I started photographing again. We were then known as Milou + Olin Photography.

Milou taught me everything I know about dogs, because of her I did conformation, agility, rally, obedience, herding, tracking, therapy and water work. Because of her I traveled across the United States. Because of her I got to work with some of the top dog handlers and trainers in the world. She opened up my world. She was my constant companion, she had the uncanny ability to know what my moods were and she would only let me hold her when I needed her for comfort.

What you might not have known is that Milou was far from the perfect dog. There was a time that I was afraid to read Marley and Me because I knew she was worse than the fictional Marley. When I finally watched the movie I thought: “God, Marley is a saint compared to Milou! Now what?” Milou was always hell on wheels. She ran everywhere it seemed like. She pulled me all the time, she was never meant to be leashed up. I always ended up face first on the ground eating dirt. She barked non stop as a puppy and chewed holes in my clothes. She would jump from couch to couch, chased shadows and broke glass and furniture. She learned to open and close doors, drawers, cabinets, you name it. She didn’t counter surf, she just jumped up on kitchen tables and counters. She’s ransacked the pantry and garbage countless times. She’s ate holes through bags, jackets, anything. She’s eaten bags of organic fertilizer, cardboard, heat packs, packing peanuts, glue, nail polish, the list goes on and on. She’s escaped crates, unlocked chain link doors and is my Houdini. She always tested me, kept me on my toes and defied me. She would never let me hug her for long, as a puppy I would hug her so tight she couldn’t get away in an attempt to train her to like it. But the miracle dog that she was, somehow she knew when people would need her. Whenever we visited convalescent homes and Alzheimer wards as a therapy dog team, she would quietly creep up to the folks that were really sick or were soon saying goodbye and laid next to them all by herself. She tolerated anything that kids and older sick patients would do to her.

But true to form, she turned into a maniac banshee when she was not working. I have lost count of how many times I have had to chase her down as she takes off on a beach running away from me to the nearest picnic blanket so she could steal food. Case in point: we went camping one summer, we woke up to find her missing and realized she had unzipped the tent, left, went for a swim in the creek, visited nearby campsites, begged for food from different families she charmed, came back into the tent and went to the beach that incidentally was a 10 minute walk away from us. How do we know? Multiple families in the campsite told us of her adventures that morning.

And then there was the day that 5 minutes before going into the competition ring, she bolted for my friend eating buffalo wings and her leash wrapped around my finger and my bones snapped. During my first corrective hand surgery, the surgeon asked: “So we heard this is because of your dog.. what do you have? A bull mastiff or a saint bernard?!” I sheepishly answered, “No she’s just 40lbs but she’s very strong…”

Yesterday morning, it was finally time for me to say goodbye to Milou. Always happy, perky and most of all, hungry, up until two days ago, you would have never known that cancer has taken over her lungs. She gave me her all up until her very last day. I wouldn’t have known aside from the heavy breathing but what tipped me off was that she did not want to eat. Her chest xrays showed advanced cancer that had spread everywhere but not once did she show any sign of it. There was no other choice for me but to decide immediately that I had to set her soul free of the pain. I had promised all my dogs that I would always make the best decisions for them. She left with dignity like the rockstar that she is. It was all extremely sudden and fast, true to Milou fashion and without any suffering or difficulty, she held her head up high until the end.

Just like the first day she came home, her last day was spent in my arms. I fed her some grilled chicken before she went. I told her how much I loved her as she laid in my lap without a fight and we prepared for her final moments. I told her I will be ok, I thanked her for always taking care of me, and for teaching me and showing me so much. I told her she’s been the perfect girl and I will always love her. I placed my hand on her chest as the vet helped her with her final moments and with her last breath, I could feel her enter my heart forever.

Milou, you were my forever dog, my heart dog, my love and my pie. I love you like I love no other and I will always carry you in my heart. We have had so many adventures together and I will always remember you running away from me on the beach… and me chasing you down, screaming your name as other people watched.

Thank you to Lisa Hubbart for giving me such great dogs and giving me the dog of my dreams. Thank you to Jim, Pat, Katherine, Anne and Gail for working with me and showing me how much of a champion she was. Thank you especially to Kathie for showing me what a hardcore rockstar Milou is and believing in her and us as a dog handling team when I didn’t. We wouldn’t have made Invitationals without you. And Pat for knowing how much of a brat Milou is while still helping us with our obedience training (and for letting her eat your clothes and bag). Thank you to the whole entire dog agility community and PWD family that took us in and showed us so much. Thank you to Jill for our photos. Thank you to Ron, Barb, Andrew, Annie, Dustin, Aimee, Matthieu, Wei, Diane, Channan, Debbie, Michelle, Sofia, Conner, Joanie, Donna, Stephania and Josh for loving her as much as I do and for letting her into your lives. And thank you most of all to Milou for making me the luckiest dog owner/parent ever.

The support I have received, the countless text messages, facebook messages and comments have been tremendous. I am so overwhelmed with all the support and love from everyone. Hundreds of people have reached out and sent me a little comfort. I am so grateful that even today, Milou continues to show me how much love I have in my life. For that, I thank all of you.

I am neither angry or crushed by my loss. It is hard to think of Milou and not be happy about all the years of adventure that she has given me, all the laughter and all of the lessons I have learned. I am so grateful to have had such an amazing dog in my life and am so lucky to have had a soul dog like her. With her last breath yesterday, I let her go, into the stars, into my heart and made my peace with it. I know she will always be a part of me and with every little thing I do today, I see Milou everywhere and whisper my love and gratitude.

So for tonight, give your babies, human or animal, a hug for me. Look up into the stars and send your love up there for Milou. And love your babies as much as she has loved me, that is all I ask.

I will always love you Milou and I will always carry you in my heart.

– Caroline