In the summer of 2021, my dog died. One year later, my other dog died. In between their deaths, I made pictures in a small, withering town, just north of Chattanooga on the foothills of the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee. These images are an observation of solitude, mine and my subjects, a desire for personal independence paid with the price of periodic loneliness. Animals are the greatest companions, yet they can only accompany us so far. These photographs are a reflection on our human relationships and how photography can connect us to strangers, the photographic community, and the world.