As many of you know my wife and I lost our fourteen year old beagle a little over three weeks ago to congestive heart failure. We’re still in the process of getting used to the void he’s left – the quiet home, all the hours in the day that he used to fill.
We’re planning to travel the world for the next five or so years to wring the last few drops of wanderlust from our ever curious but soon-to-be weary souls. We decided that we wanted a permanent reminder of our little guy wherever we find ourselves.
We decided the best way to do this was permanent ink. I already have too many tattoos to count but this was my wife’s first. I decided to get the exact outline of Amstel’s paw with his name underneath in a kind of playful font that reminded me of him (I’m not sure why).
Greg Lehman, the tattooist, created this design directly from the imprint of his paw that we got from the vet.
It was fun being back in Greg’s shop. He’s one of the most creative and multi-talented people I’ve ever met. As you can see there’s something to catch your eye (and your imagination) on every square inch of his walls and most of it was made by him.
He’s an artist, craftsman, 80's rock aficionado, and a true renaissance man.
As an added bonus, we got some surrogate puppy time in. This is Greg's, very affectionate dog, Red.
My wife, Raymi, handled the pain like a trooper. Of course, she has given birth so getting tattooed was easy in comparison. Raymi created her own design that was tribute to both of the beagles she's owned, Bud, and later, Amstel.
It was hard to believe it had been nearly five years since I was in Greg’s chair. The smell of the disinfectant and ink in the air instantly brought back lots of memories from my past visits. As soon as Motley Crue started blaring on the speakers, the needles began dancing across my arm, and the tattoo was done in under an hour.
We couldn’t have been happier with the end products. Now we’ll have a little reminder of Amstel wherever life finds us.
I already have my next tattoo planned. This design was created by my good friend, the British artist, Ophelia Fu (@opheliafu). It has a highly stylized “W” (for Walton) integrated into the design. If you didn’t know it was there you might miss it.
The hard part now will be to decide where this next one will go. You'd better believe I'll be avoiding the red areas...
All for now. Trust your instincts, invest in you, live boldly, and take chances.
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