I’ve spent most of my life documenting other people’s stories. I didn’t expect the one that mattered most to be about a dog named Bodhi.
It began on August 5, 2008, when I held a black puppy who looked at me as if we had always known each other. It ended on September 25, 2025, when I held his nearly white face for his last breath.
Between those dates is everything: joy, mischief, devotion, a shared language only we understood. Millions of photographs became my favorites, each one a piece of him, a piece of me. Together, they trace the quiet arc of who we became, to each other and to ourselves.
Writing this book wasn’t easy. For a time, I tried to erase it all….the photos, the reminders, the ache. But love, the kind that asks for nothing and gives everything, has a way of finding its way back.
So I wrote. Not to bring him back, though for a while, I thought it might, but to honor what we had. To leave something behind. To remind anyone who opens these pages that the most profound love stories aren’t always between people. Sometimes they belong to a person and the dog who carried his heart farther than he ever could have imagined.
I learned then that grief doesn’t mean the story is over. It means it mattered.
If you’ve known that kind of love, or hope to, this book is for you.

About the author: Robert Karp is a photojournalist by trade and by instinct, drawn to human moments rooted in observation, bearing witness, finding meaning, and helping others see what they might otherwise miss.

I was born in Albany, New York, with deep ties to Morristown, New Jersey. After graduating from Syracuse University, I spent nearly three decades with Gannett NJ Press Media Group as a staff photographer, photo editor, and multimedia producer.

In 2019, I took a buyout and moved to North Carolina, expecting early retirement. Instead, it became a turning point. With my mother’s voice reminding me, “Robert, you have to keep reinventing yourself if you want to stay relevant,” I found a renewed sense of purpose and returned to photojournalism.

*“Bodhi was my compass. Quietly, almost invisibly, he nudged me into becoming a kinder man.”*

In December 2023, I moved to Rio de Janeiro, where I continue to reinvent myself, documenting the city’s culture, from Carnaval and other cultural events to surfing, politics, and daily life, along with Brazil’s wildlife, from capybaras and marmosets to the occasional penguin. Each day is a journey of discovery, deepening my connection to Brazil and its people.

I am also a former competitive runner and Ironman triathlete, experiences that have shaped my endurance, discipline, and perspective.

EVENTS / SIGNINGS

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