Dogs years. They aren’t what you think – but they too often go too quickly.
The common belief that one dog year equally seven human years isn’t quite correct: it actually depends on the animals size, breed and lifespan, so it’s complicated. For the first two years of their life, one dog year is equal to 10.5 human years, so by the time we consider them two, they are actually 21. After those first two years, every dog year, on average, is equivalent to four human years.
Photographer Amanda Jones started capturing the lives of dogs after the death of her much-loved dachshund Lily. She has been doing it for 20 (human) years, and the images have now been published in her newly released book Dog Years: Faithful Friends Then & Now.
“In that time my husband and I moved across the country and back. We bought a house, had a baby, and through it all dear Lily was there with us – passing the time, being by our sides, joining us in our adventures of life,” she wrote.
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The book shows 30 dogs when they were young and as they are now. “Some don’t seem to age at all, yet others show the signs quite openly in their eyes, their jowls, and their gray hair,” Jones told The Daily Mail.
“One thing that remains constant is the love people and dogs have for each other. That does not change, no matter how many dog years go by.”
Here’s a sample of the beautiful images:
Lily at 8 months, and Lily at 15 years old.
Fred at 2 years old, and Fred at 10.
Briscoe at 1 and Briscoe at 10.
Maddy at 5 and Maddy at 10.
Maddie and Ellie at 7 and 6 years, and Maddie and Ellie at 14 and 13 years.
"A dog’s life is a span that marks so much in our lives," Jones concluded in her forward.
A statement which is very true.
This is an edited extract from Dog Years by Amanda Jones published by Chronicle Books, RRP $34.95 and available in stores nationally.
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