SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — A nonprofit started in Maine is helping people navigate the grief that comes with losing a pet by connecting them with resources and local photographers.
The Tilly Project was created by Lauren Kennedy back in 2021 and started as a small Facebook group. Kennedy, who lives in South Portland, got the idea after she received a message from a friend about where one could find an urn to store a pet's ashes.
"I said, 'You know, I'll have to look into that, but let her know if she wants any free photos of her and her dog and her family, and their dog before they put her down, just let me know,'" Kennedy said.
The pet owner, who Kennedy had never met, took her up on the offer.
"It was heartbreaking and it was also such an honor to be able to capture their love with her," Kennedy said. "I asked for permission from the family if I could just put it out there and share what I did, and I did and it went viral."
The video, which was shared on TikTok, has more than 100K likes and thousands of comments.
Within hours, Kennedy's inbox was flooded with requests from pet owners and messages from other photographers around the country. Some even offered to fly her out to them to have photos of their pets taken.
"I realized that I was not going to be able to do this all myself," Kennedy said.
That is how the Tilly Project was born. The Facebook group turned nonprofit is an end-of-life pet photography network that provides resources for pet loss and bereavement and creates a support system for those who have lost or are about to lose a pet.
Kennedy named it after her own cat, Tilly, who died a few years prior.
"I lost her in a very tragic accident right in front of me," Kennedy said. "She was so sweet. She was my little shadow, she followed me everywhere."
"It got to the time where I had to come up with a name for what I was doing and I thought there was no better way than to speak her name and to speak it frequently and often, and to be able to use it in a way that is celebrating the love that I shared with her," Kennedy added.
Since its start, the Tilly Project has attracted more than 1,200 photographers from around the world. Ashley Carroll, a photographer from New York, saw Kennedy's post on social media and instantly knew she wanted to be a part of the project.
"Some people, when I say I do end-of-life pet photos, they say, 'Oh my god, that's so sad, how do you do it?'" Carroll said. "Obviously, it's sad but I don't find it sad. It's beautiful. You are focusing on a pet and you are making sure that you're showing how much these pets love you."
That love can be seen in the many photos Carroll has captured between owners and their pets. Carroll's advice: get your photos taken sooner rather than later.
She said the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
"I haven't had one negative comment," Carroll said. "When I finish their gallery and I send it off, usually I get a reply back with just an essay of how much these photos mean to them, they are just like, 'Oh my gosh, you should have given me a warning because I'm in the parking lot crying.'"
There has been so much demand for end-of-life pet photos, making it possible for the Tilly Project to now be a nonprofit. Kennedy said she hopes to see the project and its resources grow in the coming years. One of her goals is to create brochures with a list of local services and photographers to be handed out in various areas. In most cases, the photographer will provide end-of-life pet photos at no cost.
She adds these photos not only help to memorialize a pet but can be used as a tool to navigate the grief that comes with saying goodbye.
"I think it serves in a way bigger picture than just getting photos with your animal," Kennedy said. "Grief is horrible and the loss of a pet is one of the worst heartbreaks that I think you can ever go through, so it just feels like I'm ... I don't want to say that I'm helping in any way but, again, it just allows them one extra thing to be able to navigate through that grief and be able to look back on it and really be able to validate that grief as well."
To learn more about Kennedy and the Tilly Project, click here.