Exploring Richmond's Canine Paradise: A guide to your dog's urban adventure at Brown's Island, Tredegar Iron Works, and Canal Walk in downtown Richmond, Virginia
Welcome to Richmond, Virginia, a city where history comes alive, natural beauty thrives, and dogs bring boundless joy into our lives!
I first met Melissa & Josh about 9 years ago when I was working as a dog groomer. Melissa brought in her beautiful (both inside and out) Airedale, Grace, to me prior to their professional portraits. Grace was sweet, elegant, and a very very good girl when it came to grooming. Back then, I thought it was so cool that she was having her pups photos professionally done and I was very excited to help Grace look her best.
I still have their Christmas card from that year with Grace & her sister Maera on the front. For some reason, I’ve hung onto it all this time. Is it because I groomed her? Or because somewhere subconsciously I knew I was destined to be on the other side — the one taking the portraits?
Maybe a bit of both, actually.
As I transitioned away from grooming (that’s hard manual labor y’all) and onto other jobs, I lost touch with most of my clients, Melissa being one of them.
Fast forward to 2022 and the goodness of Instagram, I stumbled across her profile and started following her pup’s adventures. By that time, Grace was now 11 and Maera was about 15 - both wise seniors, just like Kona.
Melissa had added a younger Airedale brother, Quinn, to their pack, and he was growing up fantastically, thanks to the guidance from his older sisters.
Unfortunately, there comes a time when our sugar face’s journeys must come to an end, and Maera, Kona, and Grace ended up on the other side, all within 6 months. We reconnected again through DMs, commiserating over our heartache of losing our canine companions.
With renewed determination, we started planning a portrait session for Quinn. He had been doing his best for the family in terms of emotional support - always reminding them that every day is a good day for adventures, exercise, and smiles.
Melissa says “Since Grace's passing, Quinn has not been more than 3 feet away from me at any point. He knows we're sad and he's just quietly scrunching his enormous self into whatever space is available right next to me, all day, every day. For a young, large, energetic dog, I've been surprised at how sweetly present and supportive he's been. I adored him already, but even more now!”
As upset as I was, both for Melissa and Josh, but also for myself not being able to snuggle Grace & Maera again. . .
I couldn’t wait to meet Quinn!
Quinn would describe his perfect adventure day as sleeping in on Mama’s pillow, then hopping in his special ‘Quinn-mobile’ to go on a hike (anywhere, the longer the better) and meet other doggos and people. Then he’d go splashing in rivers and watching birds, before sticking his scruffy beard into stuff for a good sniff, taking in all the sights and smells of nature.
While Quinn and I are most in our element in the dirt, during our planning call, I discovered that Melissa was looking for a location with a nice mixture of murals, the city, and nature as the background of her portraits. And I knew just where to take her in Richmond.
We started our richmond urban adventure at the Canal Walk.
Almost directly across the Haxall Canal from Casa del Barco, you’ll find the Canal Walk Murals. If you haven’t been there in the last year, you might notice things are a little different. The murals got a makeover in the fall of 2022. The iconic, beloved peacock being replaced by bouncy bubbly balls, vibrant colors, and textures that seemed to match Quinn’s vibrant, bouncy personality quite perfectly. (My favorite new mural might be the screaming possum.)
Visit this Venture Richmond article to learn all about the Canal Walk and its rich history.
From there, we headed west down the canal walkto Brown’s Island and the T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge to take in the downtown Richmond Skyline.
How freaking adorable is this pup?! I just can’t get over him. His mom says he’s sweet, loyal, joyful.
The naughtiest thing he’s ever done is “taste-tested” his dad’s favorite leather sneakers once.... oops! But really, how can anyone ever stay upset with this silly boy?!
After Quinn modeled his little heart out on the bench overlooking the city skyline, we finished our portrait session at what was going to be his FAVORITE spot of all.
The ‘swimming pool’ under the CSX viaduct across from historic Tredegar Iron works.
Now when the James River is just right, conditions create a pretty protected pool where you can enjoy lounging on the sand hills and wading in the river. While this spot can get pretty crowded with families with kids and other dogs on the weekends, during the week it can be a bit quieter.
Quinn has been taking swimming lessons from Alice, Gaby, and the team at Paws to Swim. His swim coach says he’s goofy but she also said he gets the "most improved" award for swimming.
Quinn had a blast hamming it up for the camera, splashing through the water, digging in the sand, and diving underwater for his leash!
Sometimes dogs come into our lives at just the right time — to heal a broken (or soon-to-break) heart or to kick us out of a slump of monotony, getting us back into nature and reconnecting with our wild spirits.
I asked Melissa if she could write a letter that Quinn would understand, what would it say? She says:
”Thanks for picking me out to be your person. Thank you for being worth the long wait - you are the dog I have dreamed of my whole life.
I love everything about you and I love all the things I've learned since you arrived. When you were little and afraid of big noises, I would pick you up and cuddle you until you felt brave again.
Now that you are big and fearless, you are kind enough to return the favor, and I love every second that we're together.
I will always give you the first bite of my banana, and I will love you every single second of your life.”
Getting there:
Canal Walk: 1201 Haxall Point, Richmond, VA 23219
Brown’s Island / T. Tyler Potterfield Memorial Bridge: Tredegar Street & 7th Street
CSX Viaduct / Tredegar Iron Works: 470 Tredegar St, Richmond, VA 23219