Brantley Gilbert is opening up after the death of his rescue dog Alley.
Appearing in People magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” issue, the 35-year-old country singer recalls his first encounter with the pit bull while in a parking lot before one of his shows in South Georgia.
“Her markings were gorgeous,” he tells the magazine. “People were getting ready to come inside and she was kind of hanging around.”
The longtime dog lover immediately knew he had to protect the pup after watching a man chuck beer bottles at her.
“We had… let’s call it a conversation,” he recalls of confronting the man. “After that she ran right up to me in the alley, so that’s what I named her, and she’s been with me ever since.”
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After that night, Alley quickly became Gilbert’s closest companion, telling People, “She’s got a pretty good sense of when you’re sad or kinda down. She’s been [my] best friend for a long time.”
The singer’s photoshoot for the “Sexiest Man Alive” issue back in October came shortly before Alley passed away.
“When People invited me to be photographed with Alley, we had just found out she had cancer,” he confesses. “Sadly she passed away shortly after, but I do believe all dogs go to heaven and I know our sweet girl is there now.”
