It's all very funny, and then it's not. Dogs look pretty silly doing these things, but then so do we. Wegman sticks that part up front in his work, and we call it humor. There is an innocence natural to most of the early work, to the drawings, the videos, and the photographs. It is hard to keep that alive.
Life tests our sense of humor.
Loss touches us all. When Wegman struggled, his dogs kept their innocence. This is the happiest of alliances. Most artists will admit just what a difference it makes to have a great subject. Then they can get about the the business of drawing, filming, painting, or photographing.