Courtney contacted me a couple weeks ago about her pup, Spaulding, who had just been diagnosed with cancer. She wanted photographs of him then, so that she could remember him as he always was: spunky, cute, squirrel-obsessed and happy.

I didn’t stop thinking about Spaulding after I met him. A sweet Pitbull who, when I entered their apartment and sat on the floor, immediately came to me and put his chin on my knee while I talked with Courtney, occasionally flashing me the whale eyes (don’t know what whale eyes are? Check the 5th image down). Spaulding passed away on Saturday. He was a master of the paw-dangle, and loved to swim.