Ridge & valley Canine
a little bit about
The ridges and valleys of life with a dog deserve to be remembered. The adventure, the ordinary, and every season in between. Ridge & Valley exists to document those moments candidly, before they become memories.
When I was 8 years old, I was given the gift of a soul dog. Her name was Leiah, and she was the happiest, most patient dog I have ever met. She was constantly at my side, ready for the next adventure.
When I was 23, just a month before her 16th birthday, we had to tandem euthanize Leiah with my other childhood dog, Lucy. It was expected, but still an incredibly heavy loss. After she was gone, I realized how few meaningful photos I had of her. Just old phone pictures, screenshots, and videos that never fully captured who she was. Looking back, I wish I had photos that showed just how special she was. She deserved that.
A month after losing Leiah, I bought my first camera and began learning canine photography because I wanted other families to have the photographs I wish I had of my own dog.
Hi, I'm Christine. Here's my Story.
meet the photographer
in honor of leiah
I’m proud to be an Affiliate Photographer with The Tilly Project, providing professional portraits for senior and terminally ill dogs and their families at a low cost. These sessions are focused on preserving the time you have together and creating meaningful photographs that can be treasured for years to come.
leiah
2008-2024
From hiking to swimming, we love adventures of all kinds. We love to visit the beach, mountains, and desert.
adventuring
We participate in various dog sports, including: dock diving, fastCAT, barn hunt, and canicross.
Dog sports
While Leiah inspired this journey, Apollo helped shape it into what it is today. He is my first dog as an adult, and from the day I brought him home, I knew I wanted to document his life because I understood just how quickly those years pass. That's when I started his Instagram, @TheCalifornianPup.
Sharing Apollo's journey introduced me to an incredible community of dog owners and photographers, and it sparked a passion for photography that quickly grew into something much bigger.
Here's some things we like to do for fun:
Meet the second inspawration
You can find us on instagram at @TheCalifornianPup. We post our adventures and trendy reels.
content creation
Training is one of our favorite ways to bond together. We love learning new things and growing as a team.