You guys, I don’t even know what to say about this dog.

I met Alabama (“Bam” for short) during a very brief amount of time. We shared about 20 minutes together in her front yard, until she simply got up and walked back into her house, signaling that we were done. (Which I’m told is a very Bam thing to do.)

But in that time I spent with her, I fell in love with her. This dog is sweet, gentle and loving. She did her very best to keep her head up and perk up those gorgeous ears, despite the fact that she was very weak and hadn’t slept all night. Her mom Nicole laid down a couple of blankets on the dewy, wet grass, and they both sat together, as I’m sure they’d done plenty of times before. And Nicole told me about Bam’s life – about her popularity with all of Nicole’s friends, about how she was getting along with the new puppy – and Bam sat patiently while we created a few portraits of them together.

At one point we were both crying – and by the end, we were laughing so hard. To say this was an emotional photo session doesn’t even scrape the surface.

I was honored to meet Bam, and I think she thought I wasn’t so bad either. And I wish she could come over to the studio with her mom to see their photos together… but she’s not going to make it that long. In fact, as I’m typing these words, Bam may have already left this earth. I hope you’ll say a prayer for her mom… because I know she’s not having a good day. But it’s my hope that these images bring back the happy memories – over time, of course – and in the meantime, hopefully, they provide some small amount of comfort. Because Nicole & Bam’s relationship was truly beautiful.

Bam’s fur is so completely gorgeous. I couldn’t get over how beautiful she is.

“I guess you don’t really own a dog, you rent them, and you have to be thankful that you had a long lease.”   – Joe Garagiola

Nicole, I’m thinking about you today. And sending lots of hugs. Thank you for introducing me to Bam… I’ll never forget her.