Instagrams of the Past

The other day an Instagram user was browsing through my photos and liking loads of them. It made me smile and cry: happy tears and sad tears. They liked a bunch of old Instagrams, many of which included Lassie. They were photos I hadn’t seen in awhile, so to have them pop up in my notifications was a lovely, if not bittersweet, surprise.

I thought I would share a few of my favorites.

Four images of Lassie. 1: Lassie laying with his face against mine and his head resting on my chest. 2: Lassie sound asleep as he snuggles with me on the couch, using my arm as his pillow. 3: Lassie napping on the floor as Petal uses his thick mane of fur around his neck as a leg rest. 4: Lassie's face in the camera as he holds a ball in his mouth and gives a look that says, "Go ahead and try to take it, I dare you."
1: Lassie randomly decided to lay his head across my chest and press his face against mine. So soft and so warm… I had no complaints.
2: Lassie snuggled up with me again. He was the best snuggler in the world. I miss those snuggles so much. He kept me warm and made me smile.
3: This one still cracks me up! Petal decided to put Lassie’s thick mane to use: as her leg rest! Haha.
4: I miss this face. I miss it so much. This is the “Try and take my ball.” face, “Try and take it. I DARE you!” He’d growl and grumble and chomp on that ball, showing you just how fun and awesome it was and oh, don’t you just want it so bad?! Then you’d reach for it and he dodge you faster than you could blink and he’d take off running. Such a tease!

Lassie and Petal standing side-by-side in the yard with the wind blowing through their fur.

Petal misses you too, Lassie. I can tell by the way she looks for you when she hears your name or even just a word that sounds like your name. She’s doing this less as time goes on, but just the other day someone said a word that sounded like your name and she stopped what she was doing and turned around to look for you.
She’s taking good care of me though. I often think of her as my “Therapist” or “Grief Counselor”.

Petal and Lassie standing side-by-side on the sidewalk as they beg for treats during our walk.
Thank heaven for photos and for my tendency to photograph everything, every moment. I couldn’t imagine not getting to see your face at all anymore. You’re my wallpaper on my iPad so I can see your face everyday. Of course it’s not the same as seeing you face to face was, but it’s something.

I love you, Lass.

Today we are participating in the Throwback Thursday blog hop hosted by Dolly the Doxie and DOGthusiast.