Aaron Eckhart, the star of “No Reservations” and “Thank You For Smoking,” says his 13-year-old Labrador Retriever, whom he described as his best friend, died three weeks ago.

“It was a sad time. I managed to keep myself busy,” Eckhart told The Associated Press. Eckhart, who stars next with Jennifer Aniston in “Traveling,” says he took up photography to help keep his mind off the death. “You have to stay creative,” Eckhart says.

“His name was Dirty Dog,” Eckhart says. “He had a great life. I’ll tell you this story about Dirty: I was doing ‘Erin Brockovich.’ Julia Roberts was in San Francisco then, but we were about to shoot in Barstow (Calif.), but my dog was with my family in San Francisco.

“I was talking to Julia and I said, ‘I don’t know how to get my dog to Barstow. I’m going to have to drive him.’ She said, ‘No, no, no. I’ll take the dog.’ So, my parents drove my dog to the airport. Julia had a private plane. She took my dog and her dogs on the plane, and flew with them to Barstow. She took care of Dirty for three days until I got there. When I got to Barstow, Julia looked at me and went, ‘Take your dog!’ So, Dirty had a very interesting life!”