Chauncey Dodge

It's too hard to write it all again, so here's what I've shared before . . . When Caelan was little, she was bitten by a hunting dog while we were out for a walk in our small town. We didn't want her to grow up afraid of dogs, so we got Chauncey. I'd wanted a Bernese Mountain Dog since I saw two gigantic, kind-hearted looking dogs in our Pacific Coast neighborhood. Chauncey was a midwestern newspaper puppy; we found him in the classified ads. He was the only one who didn't jump up and attack the fence when we came to visit. Buck said, "We'll, take that one."

Over the years, Chauncey proved to be a patient but protective friend for our kids. We often said he and Graysen were puppies together :) It's hard to believe that their childhood puppy won't be waiting to greet them at the door.

Chauncey had quite a fan club, nationwide. He survived a scary abdominal blockage, and so many people rallied around him and supported us through those hard weeks of surgeries and recovery. During his lifetime, he visited the mountains, got dressed up in costumes, helped out at VBS, saw countless animals, chickens, birds, and even a kitten enter his domain--he tolerated them all, as best he could :)

Over the past week, our family has been down with the flu. Chauncey seemed to be fading, but he's always rallied before. Buck took him to the vet Saturday morning, and the vet confirmed it was time. Our big dog, who at one time weighed 120 lbs (we might have spoiled him a bit when he was all better from surgery) was down to 65 lbs.

This is the last picture I took of Chauncey, and another that Caelan took recently . . . he tolerated Spax snuggling him, for a little bit :)

We were all sick and couldn't go with Buck to the vet. Buck said he sat down on the floor next to Chauncey, Chauncey put his head on his lap, like he always did, and the vet gave him the medicine. A few minutes later, and he was out of pain. Goodbye old dog. The house feels weird without you.

Our neighbors brought us a bright bouquet of flowers to cheer up the gloomy day. Chase stopped by with snacks, "comfort food," for Brennen and Graysen, then hung out for a while despite the flu germs lingering in the air. That meant a lot to them and was super thoughtful of their friend.

We are so sad that Graysen's best buddy is gone, but his old body was ready for the rest. Thanks for all the ways you've cheered for Chauncey over the years; even though he shed like crazy, he was a good dog