I had the very special opportunity to photograph a woman and her chocolate lab today.  There is a wonderful love and communication between them, especially after the seven years they’ve shared together.  She had told me of a ritual they have before she leaves the house in the mornings.  Bella, the lovely lab, sits at the top of the stairs as the woman puts on her shoes to get ready to leave.  They then sit down together for a heartfelt good-bye, a nuzzle of love, and some carrots are left for the dog who obediently waits until she’s told she can eat them.  Then it’s on with their days as the woman heads off to work, and the dog patiently waits for her return.