I’ve never been much of a dog person — my cat was the best pet on Earth ever — but my best friend adopted Jules not long before we met. Jules was a sweet and funny little superstar, who only barked at dogs bigger than her. She was more devoted to her caretaker than any pet I’ve ever seen, my cat included.

She had the googliest eyes possible. In this photo, she is as focused on the camera as the camera is on her. I often shared my photos of Jules with my friend, of course.

She lost Jules to old age in May of ’21. Considering how much I still miss Jules, I can only imagine how my friend feels.

My friend has come to know many interesting people on BlueSky, including a caricature artist who does amazing work. And she asked me for a copy of this photo, because she had contracted with him to do a caricature of Jules, and wanted to use this photo as a model.

I loved this photo before she asked that, but I love it so much more now. I obviously don’t have the right to reproduce the caricature, but he did a wonderful job capturing so much personality. I’m happy and proud that this picture lives on in that form.

October 14, 2018. Samsung S8+ cell phone, 4.25mm focal length (35mm equivalent: 26mm), f/1.7, 1/5, ISO 1,250.