It is with incredible sadness that we had to say goodbye to @bennypaul_verreos last night. To know me is to know Benny. Even @nickverreos will admit that he was the love of my life. Benny came into our lives in December of 2007. When I saw his face on the adoption page, I knew that he was the dog for me, but I never could have imagined how much he would become a part of my heart and soul for over 15 years. When he arrived at our loft in DTLA, he was a shy and timid puppy who could barely walk down the street because of how scared he was of everything. Slowly as we took our daily walks, he became braver and braver and soon had the strut of Royalty. Hence forth he was forever known as Prince Benny. Someone once looked at Benny and said “WOW! That dog won the lottery!”, but in truth, it was the exact opposite. We won the lottery by having Benny as our adopted “son”. When we moved into our house in Mt. Washington, he was the King of the Castle, with beds in every room and more toys than one dog could ever play with. While he enjoyed his walks in our neighborhood, he much preferred the tony streets of Pasadena with the lush grassy lawns and beautiful landscaping. And, of course, our beloved neighborhood of Atwater Village where Nick and I had our first studio. In recent years we would drive everyday to the Village just to walk Benny. It never seemed unusual or ridiculous. People started asking us on our walks where we lived and we said Mt. Washington. We would get some very unusual looks, but Benny loved his routine and nothing brought me more joy than to be able to give him everything he wanted. The last year and a half were rough, but I am so happy that we were able to bring him back to a healthy state and have an additional year with the best dog in the world. Everyday I told him how perfect he was, and I know he heard me. In the morning when I left for work, I would say to him “I love you very, very much and I will see you soon”, Nick would jokingly respond back to me “awhhh, I love you too! Thank you”. Making us both laugh. There will only be one Benny Paul-Verreos and we will miss him very much and forever love him. RIP Benny Paul-Verreos 2007-2022