The Companions Collective

Acupuncture is a practice originating from traditional Chinese medicine that involves the insertion of fine needles into specific points on the body to stimulate natural healing processes. I had it done on my right hand when I was healing from a broken Bennet's joint and on my shoulder when I was healing from a torn rotator cuff -- both epically stupid softball injuries. I also had it done on...

Lynn Sehnert has two senior dogs, both with their own share of health and reactivity issues. Her boy Lance has been struggling with a physical mobility problem in his shoulders and Lynn has been sleeping in the downstairs section of her house to keep him company while he stays comfortable. She has indeed turned her life over to managing Lance's and Lili's special needs, all while she keeps...

I first encountered Bryn Souza several years ago as a member of a writers group called BlogPaws and through the Dog Writers Association of America. We met in person the first time at the DWAA annual awards ceremony in February 2020 and again this past spring at Global Pet Expo. To know Bryn is to see the sunshine in every day. She has a bright, engaging personality and she loves dogs. Oh my dog, h...

Julie Gass of MSPCA-Angell in Boston is a veterinary social worker, who started her career in human medicine, working with serious illness and grief. She provided end of life and bereavement support to patients and their families at Mount Auburn Hospital but then turned to end of life care for pets and their families. She's combined her love of animals and her passion for helping people to hea...

Grief comes with a set of complex, profound emotions, and anger is a particularly intense one. In this week's episode, One Last Network founder Angela Schneider launches a monthly series in which she aims to unravel the various emotions we encounter during the journey of anticipatory grief and post-loss grief. By combining her personal experiences with grief studies, she offers valuable insigh...

Chris Miller is the eye behind the camera at MIL Pet Photography in Windsor and Ascot, United Kingdom. After a 40-year career in tech, he heard the call of the shutter release button … his dad having been a semiprofessional photographer, too. But he also heard the howl of dog, too, and settled on a second career in dog photography. With his wife Sue on his team, Chris created MIL Pet Photography w...

Senior dogs are a vulnerable population in North American society.  Family dogs may develop health problems that can be expensive to treat and require an investment of time to care when life is busy.   A family's life circumstances may change, having to move to a new place … a rental where pets are not allowed.  There may be changes in behavior due to cognitive decline and keeping the dog in t...

We don't want to think about the last day we have with our best fur friend, but as we've heard a couple of times from Coleen Ellis in The Art of Making Memories and The Art of Loving a Soul Dog (or Heart Dog), planning can help take some of the stress and pain away from the end. Today, Darlene Woodward of Pant the Town Photography in Massachusetts takes the mic to chat with her friend, Dr....

Nancy Kieffer of Nancy Kieffer Photography in Syracuse, New York , interviews Linda Colletti of the Pet Loss Resource Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Linda recently took the reins of the Pet Loss Resource Center, after acting as the director of support services for several years. She launched her grief career in the late '80s after experiencing the loss of several pregnancies. She chose to live...

The business of pet photography draws many people who have experienced loss, the kind of loss that leaves a hole that often feels like it can never be filled.   We may come from other genres of photography, landscape or wedding and family portraiture. We look at our cameras and know it's the tool that gave us so many great images of our own dogs. But we never turned the cameras on ourselves.  ...

As a professional writer of 30-some years, words and phrases carry a lot of meaning for me. When I see one I don't know, I rush to look it up. Find out more about what it means, how it should be used. My husband and I have an unending squabble. I say "six of one, half a dozen of another," while he claims to should be "six to one, half a dozen to another." Same difference, I...

The name of today's episode, The Art of the Human-Animal Connection, comes from the book written by and the organization led by my guest today, Genie Joseph. Genie is a Ph. D., certified in the Trust Technique practice and the creator of the Act Resilient method, which combines drama and improv comedy to help lower stress and improve mental health in military personnel and their families. Pres...

For The Art of Lessons Learned, we have another roundtable with the professional photographers at One Last Network.  Each one of us has a deep appreciation for the companion animals who have come into our lives and left behind not just lessons learned, but sometimes profound transformations. Incredible life changes. Shifts in personality. They've altered the way we see the world, the way we wa...

Our guest today talks to animals. And they talk back to her. Nancy Mello learned early in her life that she was able to hear what animals are trying to tell us all. Their likes, their dislikes, their wants, their needs … and when they feel it's time to go. Nancy reached out to be a guest on the podcast and share her abilities as an animal communicator and evidential medium. I told her in full...

Izzie was a French bulldog whom Victoria lifted up into the next realm in February 2021 after a protracted battle with pulmonary hypertension. Izzie was the perfect mix of sweet and sass and resolved Victoria's fear of big dogs. They found love at first smooch. When Izzie was diagnosed, Victoria and her husband did everything they could. They spared no expense to ensure Izzie fought her terrib...

Zoe is one of Nicole Begley's many loves in this lifetime. She spent too few years in the comfort of Nicole's home in Pittsburgh and then North Carolina, after being found by firefighters in a bucket of water in Puerto Rico. Nicole is the lead educator at Hair of the Dog Academy, a platform that teaches pet photographers, like me, how to master our craft and launch then build our businesse...

There are dogs -- Belgian Malinois, German shepherds, pointers, retrievers -- who are shipped overseas to work in several different capacities. Many of them are bite trained. They live in kennels, their social interactions limited to what they gain from their handlers. Then they lose their drive to work. They don’t get to punch the clock at 65 and say, "Yo, bro, I'm out. I'm going hom...

You were my favorite hello and my hardest goodbye. Every time I see that meme shared on Facebook, it pinches a corner of my heart. The day we bring our puppies home is the day we start preparing to say goodbye. No, we don't live our lives like that. That would suck, wouldn't it? Constantly thinking about the day we have to say goodbye. Instead, we revel in the in-between. The glorious time...

If there's one topic that sets my heart soaring, it's adventure. Both of my dogs, Shep and Bella, have helped me realize the art of the adventurous life and my work at Big White Dog Photography is a tribute to every step I've taken with them. To see dogs exploring the great outdoors is to see their most core instincts at play, to see them sniff and watch and claim their territory with their pee is...

"Just always get the pictures, don't hesitate on them." That's a quote from today's episode, The Art of Holding On, No. 24 of our podcast about this continuous, crazy journey called grief. Kayla Seifert is a past client with Jessica Wasik at Bark & Gold Photography in Pittsburgh. Kayla had a beautiful tri-colored beagle named Stanley whom she adopted from Forever Home Beagle Rescue eight years...

"If they love me that much, why can't I love me that much," Maureen Scanlon asked herself one day. And it's true. It's a very common story I see in not only my Big White Dog Photography clients, but also in my dog-loving friends and, of course, myself. Maureen Scanlon is the founder and of Maureen Scanlon Life Coaching, an author, relationship expert, motivational speaker, positive change integrat...

When Jennifer Lyons was 16, she tore her anterior cruciate ligament, and physical therapy allowed her to return to playing the sport she loved, softball. She went onto play college ball and ultimately settled studying physical therapy. She became a licensed physical therapist in 2010 but then became drawn to her passion, helping dogs retain and regain their mobility. She is a certified canine reha...

Many people have never heard the term "anticipatory grief" even though you've probably experienced it. If you've had a family member fade in front of your eyes with cancer or another debilitating disease, you've experienced anticipatory grief. If you've watched your cat or pet slow down, struggle to rise to his feet and take his last walks toward the proverbial rainbow bridge, you've experienced a...

Remy Bibaud is the co-founder of PetPerennials.com, an online resource of gifts for pet lovers that cover all the milestones of our pets' lives. She and Lori Davidson started out eight years ago wanting to create a personalized way to bring comfort to families going through pet loss. Because of Olive. A beautiful yellow Labrador retriever mix, Olive loved to play fetch, go on long walks with Remy...

Your host, Angela Schneider, brings together another roundtable of our member photographers. While the podcast is designed to connect you with resources to support you as your pet ages and you face those last walks together, our website supports a directory to help you find a professional pet photographer in your area. We had our first roundtable for Episode 7: The Art of End of Life Pet Photograp...