Nancy LeVine has been capturing the beauty of life through the lens of her camera ever since she was a child. Growing up in New York and then St. Thomas, LeVine discovered her taste for travel early in life, documenting her experiences as she went along. It makes sense, then, that LeVine would merge these two passions to create an inspiring project that reminds us all to take life one day at a time.

Senior Dogs Get the Lime Light

After attending college in upstate New York, LeVine spent many years as a Fashion Photographer in Paris and New York City, before moving to Mercer Island, Washington to pursue other projects. Among them was “Senior Dogs Across America,” an eight-year, cross-country journey capturing the grace and integrity of aging dogs.

14-year-old Curley from Kanah, Utah. Nancy LeVine

LeVine was inspired to begin the project after watching her own two dogs, Maxie and Lulu, approach the end of their lives without fear or regret, but  dignity and leisure."The dog lives in the present,” she told the 

. "We don't. Our body is fragile. We're thinking about the past and what we could have done differently; we’re thinking about the future and what is going to happen to us."LeVine has traveled across the country photographing numerous older dogs, some who have retired to sanctuaries, and others who are living out their days with the families that adopted them as puppies.

Cooper enjoys a 'Senior Moment" in NYC. Nancy LeVine.

A Lesson for Us All

LeVine insists that “Senior Dogs Across America” is not about death, but the dignity of aging."I saw how the dog does it; how, without the human's painful ability to project ahead and fear the inevitable, the dog simply wakes to each day as a new step in the journey," she writes in her 

. "Though their steps might be more stiff and arduous, these dogs still moved through each day as themselves."

Do you have a senior dog? Tell us in the comments how they inspire you to live a fuller, less worrisome life!