Tips for Chronicling Your Dog’s Life: Documenting Memories and Records
I’ve always been a dog lover, and I have had dogs in my life for as long as I can remember. One of the things that makes me happiest is documenting their lives through videos and pictures. Recently, my family got a new addition to our pack…my parents’ golden retriever mix puppy! He’s not even two months old yet, but he has already filled the house with his antics. It’s impossible to leave him out when I’m taking photos or recording video footage of my other three dogs. Here are tips for chronicling your dog’s life – happy memories you’ll cherish forever!
Take lots of pictures!
I recommend at least one every day. If you have time, take more than that! You can always delete the ones you don’t want later on, but it’s worth taking them in case there is one perfect shot hiding among all those photos. These are also great to look back on, even if it’s just a picture of your dog sleeping.
Take short videos as well.
Even shorter ones are worth having – maybe you’ll capture something adorable he does when the camera isn’t rolling! These may not be anything special to watch at first glance, but they’re great for that moment when you need a pick-me-up and you want to look back at what your dog was doing when he wasn’t aware of the camera.

Create a scrapbook or photo album for them.
My dogs have their own albums with photos from all over my life – they’re full of pictures I’ve taken, drawings that people have made for me about them, ticket stubs from movies they’ve seen, and more. Those are some of my most prized possessions!
Don’t forget to include the people in your dog’s life.
I have a whole section dedicated to photos with each one of my dogs – all three of them together on their first day home, me holding our new puppy for the first time, and so on. You can also add in drawings and paintings by kids, letters from friends who may not understand why your dog is such an important part of your life (and that’s okay!), or anything else you think would be touching to look back on when they’re gone.
Share some on social media!
If you’re an active social media user, there’s no reason that your dog can’t be a part of it! Tag them and use their name – they’ll love seeing themselves on Instagram or Facebook. I like to post pictures of my dogs on all three: Twitter, Pinterest , and Tumblr .

Write some letters as well.
You could send them to your dog today, or save them for another time. I like to write letters about how much my dogs mean to me and leave them out on my desk so they’ll be the first thing I see when I walk in each morning. My mom has done this as well – she wrote a letter to each of her dogs before they passed away, and she keeps them in a box to look back on whenever she misses them.
Don’t forget about your dog’s medical records!
If you take your dog to the vet often or have been involved with any surgeries they may have had, keep those documents safe . You never know when you might need that paperwork for something major. I’ve had to provide proof of rabies shots before, and having those medical records was extremely helpful. The vet might also recommend something and having records will surely handy as reference (sites such as The Pampered Pup are also useful references).
Alice McCarron is a pet lover since she was young. She is also passionate about filmmaking. She combines the two by being a pet trainer and finishing a course on filmmaking.