Photographer shares poignant portraits of owners saying their final goodbyes to their cherished pets.

Grab a tissue because this photographer has shared some of the heartbreaking photographs he captures of pets nearing the end of their life.

Lauren Smith Kennedy, a 28-year-old photographer from Portland, Maine, will meet with the owners to take touching final images with their pets, who are being put down due to disease.

One that stands out was with a dog named Baxter, who had a degenerative condition, she explained.

We conducted the shot, and his owner had gotten a wagon to drive him about, which I thought was really cool.

It seemed like a metaphor of how far and how passionate an owner will go to save their animal.

For the animal lover, capturing such emotional moments has proven tough, and she admits that she often tears down while looking back at the images.

It's the tremendous sadness you feel knowing you spent a life with that animal, and anyone who has had a pet can identify to that, she explained.

When I'm there, I'm performing my job, and if I let my emotions get in the way, I won't be able to give the family the gift of memory.

However, it's when I'm driving home and sitting in front of the images that my emotions surface.

Smith-main Kennedy's role at Saco River Wildlife Center in Limington, Maine, is to raise money and manage social media, which involves shooting images of injured animals as they are being treated at the facility.

She chose to start shooting end-of-life photography after losing her own beloved cat Tilly in a strange accident.

A friend of a friend had to put their dog down, and they contacted me to enquire about getting an urn for him, she explained.

I helped them out with that and offered to do a free photoshoot with them if they were interested.

Instead of telling you to cuddle or touch your pet, I'll suggest something like, why don't you sit down and offer them some love.

That way, they can do whatever it is that they want.

Lauren has started the Tilly Project, named after her beloved cat, which is a global network of photographers that can provide free end-of-life pet photos.

I founded the Tilly Project to assist link individuals with local photographers who could conduct similar photos as well, she explained.

I was getting offers to fly me across the nation to do a shoot, but I couldn't afford it.

It seems incredible to be able to start something like this.

That way, they can do whatever it is that they want.

Lauren has started the Tilly Project, named after her beloved cat, which is a global network of photographers that can provide free end-of-life pet photos.

I founded the Tilly Project to assist link individuals with local photographers who could conduct similar photos as well, she explained.

I was getting offers to fly me across the nation to do a shoot, but I couldn't afford it, It seems incredible to be able to start something like this.

So instead of telling you to cuddle or touch your pet, I'll say something like, Why don't you sit down and offer them some love?

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