The Remarkable Backstory Of A Photo Of My Dog's Head Superimposed On A Man's Body

I don't consider myself to be a religious or spiritual person, but definitely feel that some things happen for a reason and that there are signs and connections waiting to be made all the time.

In 2018, as a surprise Valentine's gift for my wife, Amy, I ordered a print of our German Shorthaired Pointer, Quill, from the website Regal Collars (regal-collars.com). You send a photo of your dog to Kyle, the artist, and he will superimpose your dog onto a historical photo (either through your guidance, or luck of the draw - my only specification was "nothing disco-related" and I also re-inforced that Quill was a boy.)

He sent back an awesome photo of Quill in an old cap and sweater and made up a back story that he was "Quentin Peterson", a track star from Portland.

Amy loved the photo and it hangs in a prominent spot in our dining room. In the summer of 2019, we had to put Quill down due to age-related health issues. Amy, especially, was hit hard by this - they had a very special and strong bond. A few weeks after, I decided I needed to see if I could find some info on the historical photo chosen for Quill, so I did a google reverse image search and found it immediately.

The body in the picture is that of George "Win" Mercer, a pitcher for the Washington Senators in the late 1880s/early 1900s. Sadly, Win died while still a ballplayer - they think it was suicide. He also was born AND buried less than an hour from our home in Pittsburgh, PA, so I felt it was necessary to pay our respects to him. (Side note - I first stumbled upon Regal Collars I think through a blurb in a magazine and it wasn't until I was following the Instagram account for a while that I found out that they're based in Pittsburgh, as well - another sign.)

About a year after I came up with the idea to visit Win's grave, I took Amy on a mystery road trip. She had no idea why we stopped at a cemetery in Ohio. I pulled out a wallet-sized version of the Win/Quill/Quentin photo and told her Win's story. She loved it and we spent a few minutes at the grave just visiting.

We left that photo behind for Win and both enjoyed the new connection we made that day. Since ordering that fun, goofy photo of old-timey Quill, it's almost like Win is an ancestor of ours, and we closed the loop on his story that day.

More info: bit.ly