Written by: Jane Sobel Klonsky, Project Unconditional

Lori and Miss Kitty share a bit of dock time while ashore.
Photo by Jane Sobel Klonsky
[Editor’s Note: Most weeks, we post about Project Unconditional, focusing on the relationships between people and their senior dogs, by Vermont photographer Jane Sobel Klonsky.]
Shelburne, Vermont—I met Miss Kitty and Lori on the tail end of their year-long boat adventure. Docked in Vergennes, Vermont, Lori and her husband, Paul, were fueling up for their trip back to Minnesota. Paul told me the story of how they met Miss Kitty. “It was supposed to be a normal pit stop,” he said. “Twenty gallons, a visit to the bathroom, and then out the door.” Standing in the gas station doorway was a twelve-year-old girl with a six-week-old Black Lab mix with the face of a tiny seal and ears like pure velvet. Paul decided he had to take her, and named her Miss Kitty. Fifteen years later, they’re all still together on their boat.