For this week’s theme, movement, I went with the ever-popular photos of the dog. But here’s why. We just got a dog right before Thanksgiving. It was ill-timed with our trip to Virginia to visit family, and ill-timed with the massive and noisy basement construction we are doing. It was an accidental adoption, but that’s what happens when you go to a shelter. She was the first dog we saw. She wouldn’t even come out of the room to go outside. She just lay down and shook in fear. Only one week before she had been rescued from a high kill shelter in South Carolina.
I carried her outside and after 20 minutes of holding her and another friendly dog coming to say hi she relaxed a little. She was so sweet and great with the kids – we adopted her that day. It’s been a wonderful few months. She is a real asset to our family. She is really great with the kids and they love her very much.
But here is why it’s relevant to this week’s theme. Yes, dogs run and around and that could be construed as the movement theme, but I used her because of what she represents to me. Part of the reason I wanted a dog was to make our family less sedentary and become more of an outdoor family. I find that we spent a lot of time indoors when we really should be outside playing, walking, running. None of us have weight issues, but the need for movement goes beyond the need to be in shape. For me it’s more about engaging with your surroundings. I don’t feel like I do that very much. So….here’s to Olive, our beautiful little dawgy that is getting me outside!
To see another photographer’s take on this same subject, check out Mallika Molhotra of Mikifoto:
http://networkedblogs.com/uArwx
