There is a CHANCE that he's going to run away.

To be honest, I have been waiting to make this “joke” for so long, but now I have to explain the joke. My dog’s name is Chance. I don’t know who he was named after and why he was named after that thing or person. All I know is that my dad had named him, and after a few years of having Chance, my dad has left. He left our family behind, my sister, my mom, but the person, well animal, who was hurt the most by his departure was my dog. Chance was heartbroken. Of course, he didn’t come up to me and tell me that, but I could. We all could see it behind his cheery smile, the feelings of devastation. Chance gets so excited every time my dad visits and acts like a puppy again.

Let me repeat it. There’s a CHANCE that he will run away, get it? Because his name is Chance. He also likes to run away, or at least he used to. He stopped running away recently because he finally accepted that this was his fate and that there was no reason to run away anymore.

In his ten years of life, almost eleven, he’s been one of the best dogs I’ve ever had. However, I don’t have any other dog to compare him to. Since he’s the only dog, I have ever had. He’s a fluffy white cloud with so much entitlement, and I quote, “the well-breed Samoyed is an intelligent, gentle, and loyal dog. He is friendly and affectionate with his family, including children, and thrives on being part of household activity.” The website, Dogtime, didn’t list that Samoyeds are very needy. And I mean very needy. They always need you to be with them all the time, or else they will not function.

Suppose you are planning to get a Samoyed as a family dog. I high recommend adopting one. It is so much cheaper and way more sustainable and cost-efficient. My family had purchased Chance in his prime. By in his prime, I mean when he was a puppy. We had him trained by this lovely lady named Kathy [love you Kath <3.] She introduced him to be the most excellent show dog. He could do tricks and jump through hoops, except she did teach him how to sit or listen to authority. Chance just never listens to anyone and finds it impossibly disgusting to learn how to sit or how to even listen to his name.

A little more historical information about Samoyed. According to Wikipedia, “The Samoyed [pronuced SAM-ə-yed - also in Russian Самое́дская соба́ка or Самое́д] is a breed of medium-sized herding dogs with thick, white double-layer coats.” Chance is a male, so he is pretty big compared to his female counterparts. After a year of evolution, they have been made to be stuck up [still gentle and kind] pieces of shit.

He is a stuck-up dog, but we still love him a lot, and life wouldn’t be the same without him. I have so many goofy and cute memories with him. It’s like having the brother I’ve always wanted:

This photo was taken on new years eve. For some background, he had just gotten a brand new bed to help with his old man joints, and he never lays in it. Chance has always been afraid of fireworks his whole life. So someone, almost always me, has to take care of him in his time of need. From eight at night on New Year's even to four in the morning on New Year's Day, I was sitting on my mom's couch [for some more background, no one is allowed to sit on her couch, so I was an exception.] Imagine taking care of a two-year-old who can't speak English and who doesn't want to go to bed. That is Chance; he is our “guard dog,” except get rid of the guard part.

He was scared out of his mind to hear non-stop fireworks. So I had to sit in his bed and tell him that everything was okay. He finally calmed down at 11:30 for about 25 minutes. Then I got up to use the bathroom, and he started to freak out again because, under his control, I was not allowed to go to the bathroom without his permission. But I love him a lot, and I am forever grateful for his needy, ungrateful, injured self. I could never ask for a better fluffy white cloud. He has been with me for a big part of my life, and I fear losing him. But I know he will always be my protector, no matter what.

Here are some more photos of him: