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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Wordless Wednesday 31 - 14 years in 4 minutes (slideshow)

Continuing my "Beau" series, this one's a bit personal so I'll understand if only my family sits through the whole thing. Still, the blog started out as "a journal of sorts" so I had to put it up here. Please pardon my indulgence. Thanks.





The boys in the video are 2 of my nephews, David and Jared. Both are now in their 20s.

The vast majority of the pictures were taken by my Dad. During the first year of Beau's life, my Dad took monthly pictures of us together in (close to) the same positions. It is impossible to express how much that has meant to me.

Trying something new with the video. Let me know if it doesn't work for anyone.



40 comments:

  1. Incredibly beautiful, touching video! <3

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  2. Awww. I miss Beau.

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  3. Thanks, Kim. Feeling kind of vulnerable about this one. Appreciate the kind words.

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  4. Me, too. I miss them all but Beau was special.

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  5. What a great video for a great dog! Love the music choice too
    Dachshund Nola

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  6. Oh God, Mum's crying again! You must have some fabulous memories. Deccy x

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  7. BEAUTIFUL! I must go wipe my eyes now.

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  8. Awww, truly genuine puppy love. Some of those pictures were scanned, weren't they?

    You're lucky to have old pictures of Beau when both of you were still young... we didn't have a camera back then, so I wasn't able to take any precious pictures of my very first dog.

    Huggies and Cheese,

    Haopee

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  9. What a touching video. He was really special.

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  10. Oh my gosh that was so heartfelt to watch!  I love the picture near the end of the video with you laying on Beau after what looks like he had surgery on his neck.  I have a picture similar to that of me with my heart dog Barney! Beautiful!

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  11. I love the video. Very touching you can feel the love.

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  12. Leslie - what a wonderful video tribute. His eyes perfectly matched the description of him in your other post. What a gentle soul. I loved seeing the monthly photos that your dad took with you guys on the deck. What a great idea!

    The video itself froze up for me at around the three minute mark, then was a little choppy, but then it started working fine again. Not sure if that was my computer though, some things take a while to load on this thing.

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  13. Oh so sweet :( Their time with us is ALWAYS too short! What a beautiful tribute ;)

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  14. Loved the slideshow - especially the puppy pics - 

    What a beautiful, loved Doggie :)

    Wags,

    Your pal Snoopy :) 

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  15. I'm so touched by your tribute to Beau. And the video was lovely. 

    It's wonderful that you're using your blog to enjoy your many memories. And it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who still has such deep feelings for past dogs in my life.

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  16. I loved reading your last post about Beau and this post I loved seeing the slideshow.  What an amazing dog he was, and considering all his health problems he did very well making such a grand age.  You are lucky to have puppy photos of him, something I'd enjoy having of Frankie and Beryl.  And I'd love to have more photos of me with them, lol.  

    I'm looking forward to reading more about your life with Beau:)

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  17. That James Taylor song is one of my faves of all time, and now I need to go rid my face of the salty secretions. 

    Oh, and this is your blog and you can be as indulgent as you want!

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  18. Sorry to be slow getting around to these comments.  This really did kind of make me feel vulnerable - so glad people seem to have liked it.

    I love that song, too. It'd be nice if we all remembered to live that way, wouldn't it? :)

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  19. Aww, I love your mum.  :)

    We did have a lot of adventures together. 

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  20. Almost all of those pictures were scanned.  I don't think any of us got a digital camera until 2004... :)

    I was very lucky that my dad made a project out of us in Beau's first year.  If I ever get another puppy (unlikely), I will do the same.  In the meantime, I tell everyone I know to take LOTS of pictures and videos.  Their time with us is far too short to miss the opportunity.  Sorry you don't have your own pictures.  :hugs:

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  21. Aww, thanks Bassetmomma.  That one you mention - we had just gotten him back after life-saving surgery.  I was beside myself to have him home.  I'd love to see that picture of you and Barney some day...  :hugs:

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  22. Thanks "Olddog".  I'm glad it's coming across in the light it was meant...

    Thanks for visiting!

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  23. Sorry.   :]  

    I really don't mean to do that.  (You should have heard the original music I had planned! ;)

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  24. Thanks Donna, yeah, he was a gentle boy.

    Sorry you had trouble with the video.  I'll try to compress any others I upload so you won't have to buffer so much.  Thanks for letting me know. :)

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  25. It is always too short, indeed.  Thanks, Julie.

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  26. He was loved for sure - by EVERYone - even my neighbors cried when he passed.  :\

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  27. Thanks Pamela.  It really felt kind of vulnerable posting this but, like I said, this wasn't *really* supposed to be anything more than a place for Jan and I to look back on our memories.  And, while I love the community it's become a part of, I also don't want to lose the part of it that is a bit of a journal.  It's also a test to see how much I can expose myself and survive the public scrutiny. ;) (JK)

    And I think most folks in the community here get the part about how much our past pups shape our lives.  That's probably why we're all here writing about our current ones. :)

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  28. Aw, thanks, Sue.  You know, that dog had 9 lives, I swear he was part cat.  

    I wish I had even 1 picture of Bella as a puppy - I bet she, and Beryl and Frankie were cute as all get out. I learned how much it means to have these photos though when I lost Beau and that has to be partly why Bella has a few bazillion pictures. :)  (Of course, I also need to work on getting a few more of her with me. Kind of awkward when you're the photographer in the family....)

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  29. Sorry about the 'salty secretions'.  Really, this song was totally *upbeat* compared to what I had considered at the time. ;)  I love the song too - and it really was defining for how Beau lived his life.  Another lesson he taught me. :)

    (And thanks - I appreciate the note of support re: my indulgence. I was quite uncomfortable with the whole thing so it's really nice to have it so well-received.)

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  30. Hi Leslie,

    I'm new here and getting caught up. I just read the overview of the "Beau series" and watched this moving, lovely video.  Like others have written above, what a very special pup. And you --- what a very special person.  Thank you for sharing so candidly and authentically. 

    I am looking forward to getting to know Beau and Bella more via your words and photos as I continue to read through the archives.  I'm happy to have found your site.

    Sherri

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  31. Hi Sherri, 

    Thanks for visiting and thank you for letting me know you dropped by.  I hopped over to your blog and have put you on my 'frequent readings' list. :)  I love your approach - talking TO your dog.  It's unique. 

    I look forward to catching up on your back posts and tagging along on your new adventures.Regards,Leslie

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  32. Crying... in a good way. Absolutely lovely and heartfelt video. It made me start to reminisce about my own childhood pups, and inspired me to bust out the photo albums.

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  33. Thanks. And sorry.  :)

    Nothing wrong with a good cry now and then - especially while reminiscing over lost loves...

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  34. We have a six month old puppy that we brought home in November.  I'm trying to take weekly photos of him in his first year, but it's hard to get them every week.  Your video inspired me to keep trying to get them, though!  I had a good smile over it, and felt a little misty-eyed, too.  We dropped by from Deccy's blog.

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  35. Hi, Thanks for visiting.  I've actually been (mostly) following Kuster's adventures in training, he's a beautiful dog. (I'm just not very good at introducing myself in comments...)

    I can't imagine getting photos every week but think it would be so wonderful have them to look back on someday...  You take beautiful photos.

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  36. Georgia Little PeaApril 3, 2012 at 4:58 PM

    I guess I must have missed this one in your series. Seeing it today, thanks to PupFan. It's beautiful and sad and I'm weeping as I'm sure everyone who's loved and lost a dog would do. Thanks Leslie. Hugs x

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  37. Hi GLP - thanks for mentioning PupFan - sent me out there realizing I had missed her post.  lol - it's official, I will never catch up. ;)

    I really didn't mean to make people sad but you're right, for those of us who've loved and lost a dog, it would be hard to remain unaffected. Sorry. :( 

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