loss

He caught me crouching, with my camera, outside his shaded garden. He approached from behind. Maia saw him first. She broke her sit-stay to greet him, wagging her tail. I stood up quickly and apologized to the grey-haired man. He waved off the apology and invited us into the garden.

He had just lost his dog, a golden retriever-chow mix. We had met her once. She and Maia had exchanged a series of sniffs and snorts through the tall iron gate. She was euthanized last week, to relieve her suffering. The man's eyes watered as Maia comforted him.

This was not the best photo I took today, but it is the one that belongs here.