Tampa Photography Blog

When dog trainer Jeff Downing asked me to photograph his family (aka his wife, Vickie, and their three German Shepherds), I was honored. But I also didn’t expect the story that came with this family.

Jeff’s pride and joy is a beautiful dog named Seigo. He is everything a man could want in a best friend—loyal, obedient and sweet. But Seigo is sick. He has squamous cell carcinoma at the age of nine.

So Jeff and Vickie made the tough decision to do chemotherapy treatment. He beat it once and he’s going through another round again after they found an additional tumor. They all hope for the best, as always, but the part that I think keeps them going is that Seigo is not ready to quit. I could sense that after only spending two hours with him during our photo session.

The session itself was entertaining because Seigo’s siblings, Oly and Tia, are not quite as friendly and laid back as he is. So, we got a few photos with the furry family at their house (no harm was done to the dogs or photographer) before taking Seigo to a local park in Palm Harbor. I kept asking if Seigo was ok to play and walk around the park. Jeff said he’ll go until Jeff tells him it’s time to go home.

But we didn’t push Seigo. We did some photos of Jeff and Seigo doing tricks, fetching and playing together. Then we did some quiet portraits in the grass so Seigo could rest and just “be”.

I’m a dog person and I never thought I’d fall in love with an animal that wasn’t mine so quickly. Seigo is such a sweet soul, I can see why the Downings will do everything they can to make sure he’s happy and healthy.