09/11/2026
Thirty years ago, our black Lab, Daggett, was side-swiped by a car on Converse Road.
Thankfully, he survived, but his front and back legs on the same side were dislocated. That terrifying weekend was also the beginning of a relationship with Dr. Gould and his family that has now lasted three decades.
Dr. Gould, his wife, and their son Matt sat vigil with Daggett over the weekend at Mattapoisett Animal Hospital. When we brought him home, Dr. Gould taught us how to support him with a sling while he learned to walk again.
My husband and I would stagger around the woods at night in our bathrobes, holding a towel under Daggett’s belly and begging him to p*e.
“Wee check?” my husband would ask.
“Wee check,” I’d reply.
We were making sure he wasn’t p*eing directly into the towel. 😂
Daggett recovered, and Dr. Gould and his family went on to care for our animals for the next 30 years.
Somewhere along the way, I began photographing their family.
I think this was possibly our 10th session together. I’ve photographed them at home, at Ned’s Point Lighthouse, and this year I had the privilege of photographing the whole extended family—including Dr. Gould’s beloved granddaughter.
And, of course, the animals. There is always a new menagerie with the Goulds. This year, three dogs joined the festivities.
I moved here from Northern California 33 years ago, knowing almost no one. Relationships like this are how a place becomes home.
Today we have over five animals, and going to Mattapoisett Animal Hospital is honestly one of our favorite things to do. They know us. They know our animals. There is history there.
And now I have history with their family, too.
One of the greatest gifts of being a photographer in this community for so many years is watching families grow and lives unfold—and sometimes getting to photograph the same family again and again.
What a gift to have been embraced by this little corner of Massachusetts, and to still be making photographs for the people who helped make it feel like home. Mattapoisett Animal Hospital