You don’t have to know the two of us for very long to realize that we’re absolutely crazy about one thing in our lives – our dog, Orvis. He’s been there since the beginning. The big moments: our college days in North Carolina, the move to Maine, our first home, trips all across the east coast, our wedding by the sea. The small moments: daily walks, swimming at the beach, fetch in the yard, cuddles in the living room. Orvis has been by our side through every little bit of Meredith and my lives together. He’s the dog we’ll always remember as “our dog”, no matter how many years pass after he’s gone. As the years go by, it becomes increasingly important to find ways to cherish the love and loyalty he’s given to us. We take lots of photos of him (this blog is proof of that), but it’s been impossible to capture that one thing that sums up our lives together, the three of us.

On our wedding day, we woke up to an email from Meredith’s incredibly talented sister and brother-in-law. Their wedding gift to us would be something we’ve wanted for years, but always been a little sheepish to ask about – a film about Orvis. Philip and MacKenzie are the talented minds behind Two Pine State, having made documentaries about some of our favorite Maine businesses, and to have them offer their skills in recording a day in the life of Orvis was almost too much to believe. So last summer while they were living in Maine, we spent an afternoon doing what we always do with Orvis – laughing, playing, fetching, and smiling – and yesterday, the most perfect present arrived in our inboxes: Orvis the Dog.

Thank you, MacKenzie and Philip, for giving us something we’ll truly cherish for the rest of our lives.