Photographer Takes Heartbreaking Portraits Of Really Old Dogs
“Old Faithful“ is an ongoing photo project by Toronto-based photographer Pete Thorne in which he takes beautiful and dignified portraits of old dogs. The series already has over 50 elderly dogs, and people around the world have been sending requests for him to take portraits of their dogs as well.
When captured in portraits, the beauty and significance of aging in animal portraiture is as powerful and important as it is in human portraits. These portraits seem to look through the surface to the soul beneath. Every dog has a story to tell, which you can learn about on Thorne’s Facebook page.
More info: petethornephoto.com | Facebook | Instagram (h/t: petapixel)
Elmo, 14 years old
Clovis, 14 years old
“I shot Clovis shortly after his 14th birthday and sadly he passed away not too long after this portrait was taken.”
Stella, 12 year old
“Meet Stella the 12yr old, one-eyed wonder Chihuahua! The little head tilt gives this tough girl a bit of deserved attitude.”
The Colonel, 10 years old
Finnegan, 12,5 year old
Fink, 14 years old
Bodley, 12 years old
“Now, at the age of 12(ish) Bodley has slowed down considerably. We no longer chase squirrels, only hunt them down with intense staring. Though his arthritis limits his flexibility, it does not limit his enthusiasm for walks and exploration through brown crunchy leaves. His eyes might be weakening, but there is nothing wrong with his nose which still can sniff out a delicious discarded pizza crust at 20 feet.”
Hazel
“Meet Hazel. She was named after Hazel McCallion, the Mayor of Mississauga. This tough old gal had both her eyes removed due to pain and no tear production, and has 5 microchips from being re-chipped every time she was sold to a new puppy mill. Luckily she was rescued and adopted by Blanche Axton.”
Toto, 16 years old
Jackson, 14 years old
Mance, 13 years old
“Mance is a 13yr Old English Bulldog, a breed close to my heart. He has bone cancer that adds a lot of character to his face. He’s in a pretty fragile state so I made my first trip out of the home studio to photograph him, in all his asymmetrical charm.”
Maximus, 15 years old
Emmy, 14 years old
Weezee, 10 years old
Got wisdom to pour?
Old dogs are beautiful, and when old dogs are having great lives, I feel good in my heart! Three oldies (with my mother-in-law’s Tarzan, 4) have died in my arms. The oldest one was darling Baltus who we got from my favourite rescue in Oslo, Norway. He turned 14 when he lived with us, and enriched our lives for almost 6 months. Former human died, and he was old and had a bad heart and it was tiring with all the young dogs, and his hearing was almost gone. But he gave lots of love and got it!
Simply beautiful.
They aren’t heartbreaking photos but beautiful photos. My 13 year old dog Disney just passed away and I’d love to have just one more old dog pictures of her :)
awww, love them. My rottie is 12 this year, that counts old, but he doesn’t know it, hi thinks he’s stikll a little puppy:)
My princess is 13 and acts like she’s 6