The most beautiful, heartbreaking thing you’ll see all day: ‘Joy Session’ portraits of elderly pets
On November 7, Sarah Ernhart from Sarah Beth Photography posted a picture of an adorable Corgi named Houdini and his loving owner, Mary Hovind. A few hours later, Mary commented about just how much the image means to her…
“The session was great – bittersweet but I’m so glad we did it. Today, Houdini is not doing well and we are saying goodbye to him this evening. I’m so thankful that Sarah offers this,” Mary said, referencing her Joy Session, a photo shoot concept created by Sarah to memorialize the final days of a beloved pet’s life.
Sarah, a life-long animal lover, stumbled upon the idea of Joy Sessions back in 2009 when she had to opportunity to shoot Joan and her service dog, Joy.
Joan was living at home in Hospice care, and relied on the companionship and day-to-day help of her Service Dog, a Black Lab named Joy. Joy was her rock, her best friend, and had saved Joan’s life on more than one occasion. She would let Joan know when her blood sugar was low, and if she was about to have a seizure. Joy would place herself under Joan to break her fall, stand firm to help her up, and was by her side day and night. I came into this session knowing that Joan didn’t have much time left, but I had no idea I’d be meeting such a vibrant, funny, happy woman. She was so blessed to have Joy come into her life, and her eyes lit up with every story she told of her. She said that Joy was her “gift from God,” and taking these photos had given her something wonderful to look forward to. Their bond was palpable, and it was easy to see that both of them were very loved. Her apartment was filled with the word “Joy” in artwork and pillows and Christmas decorations. She even wore a “Joy” sweatshirt during our session.
After that perspective-shifting experience, Sarah decided offer similarly modeled photo shoots for other people. But, instead of focusing on the person — who may be of any age or health — Sarah wanted to make pets the stars. With the idea in motion, Sarah’s next step was selecting a fitting name for her project.
“I realized the perfect name was sitting right in front of me. I couldn’t think of anything or anyone I’d met who embodied such love and such a deep connection as Joan and Joy. These sessions really are for people who want to celebrate the happiness — the joy — their pets have brought to their lives.”
In the years since, people from all over the Midwest have flocked to Minnesota-based Sarah for beautiful portraits of their furriest family members. (Now’s a good time to get out the Kleenex!)
If you are interested in a Joy Session but live outside of the region, Sarah was thoughtful enough to create a website devoted to “Joy Session” photographers.
Please note all of these portraits are from Sarah. Visit Sarah Beth Photography for more.
