Chauncy taught us what true unconditional love meant and prepared us to be parents for our son. The void he left in our hearts is big but the impact that he made for the betterment of our family is even bigger. We were beyond lucky to have had the opportunity to spend the last thirteen years and ten months with Chauncy, his memory will never be forgotten.It was a cool October night in 2009, my husband and I were taking a quick shopping trip for a couple of unneeded items. We walked past the pet store in the Vestal Plaza and through the pet store doggy window we could see two dogs in a crate, one jumping up and down, clawing and chewing his way out. The second pup, an Italian Greyhound, was sweetly laying on the floor of the crate with a scared look on his face. We were told he was born on August 14, 2009 making him just about two months old. We asked the store associate to pull the sad looking pup out of the crate so that we could see him better. With a smear of poo across his face, he greeted us in the small pet enclosure where they allowed us to meet him. He snuggled up under Oscars arm and was ready to leave immediately. However, Oscar and I just got married in June 2009 and we did not know if we were ready to take on such a great responsibility within only a few months of being married. We ended up putting the pup back in the tiny sad looking crate with the other dog. On our way out, one of the store clerks pulled us to the side and said that he had an Italian Greyhound for sale at his house for a much cheaper price. The offer peaked our interest. I went home and researched everything I could about Italian greyhounds. I read about their sweet temperaments, anti-allergy, velcro personality, lover, stubborn, energetic yet loves to snuggle and sleep attitude. There were some drawbacks, like being really stubborn, hard to potty train and will jump on the furniture. Still, the thought of having an Iggy made us smitten and ready to make our family larger. The next day we drove to the store associates house to see his Italian Greyhound. Right away we knew his pup was not an Iggy, although very cute, we had our hearts set on getting and Italian Greyhound. Oh no, did we miss out on getting the little baby at the pet store? We rushed back to the pet store and luckily he was still there! We scooped him up immediately, tucked him into my shirt, and ran to Walmart to buy up all of the dog supplies that we could (of course with the pup still tucked into my shirt). We already knew what his name was long before we met him because it came to us while hiking, it was just said aloud and that was it! Chauncy. Our sweet boy, Chauncy. When we got him back to our small one-and-a-half-bedroom apartment, we knew we were in for it. We had gotten a small crate from the pet store, but that seemed too small and dark. We also got a huge crate from a friend who had it for her rottweiler. Seeming like that would fit Chauncy well, we added his bed, a potty and water for him on our way to crate training Chauncy. He was able to pee on the pee pee pad and began using the litter box, however, he was stubborn about going outside. Of course with it being October, it was just getting colder. Chauncy cried in the crate and wanted to be in a warm bed. I absolutely opposed, he was not going to get on the furniture, especially not on the bed. We tucked Chauncy up alongside my husband on the floor, but before long, maybe not even a few minutes, Chauncy was already in the bed with my husband. Okay fine, well then, you are taking him out at night! Oscar tried and tried to get Chauncy to go to the bathroom outside, it just got colder and Chauncy would stand on my husbands feet so he wasnt standing on the cold ground. Although, it took a lot of encouragement, love, patience, lots of new coats and tummy warmers, Chauncy started going to the bathroom outside. He is a life! We also started to think that the crate was much too restrictive for Chauncy so we started to leave him in the kitchen with the crate door open. He was a little hurricane, he ripped up the kitchen linoleum and we had to put down new floors in the apartment. He went through his phase of ripping up the rug and luckily we were able to patch the rug from pieces in the closet. He was such a force, but he fit right in with our family! Keeping him cooped up all ended relatively early in his life and we gave him free roam of the house. During the spring, summer and even a bit into the fall, we would even keep the porch door open so the he could sunbathe and look down on people and dogs passing by. Chauncy went on almost every vacation we went on, from hiking numerous high peaks, boating in the Adirondacks, tent camping at State park with coyotes howling in the background, grape-hound festivals, to family parties in NYC (in pictures you can see him poking his nose out of the back window in the Bronx begging to join the party), driving to Florida to St. Petersburg and St. Augustine. He was with us. He had his own chair at camp, we always made him a seat or a bed so that he was comfortable and part of the conversation. He thought he was human and we joked that since he was Italian we shouldve named him Pinocchio, because he was our real boy. There were times that we would leave him with friends while we went away or when I went away and Oscar had him. I deeply regret those times and wish that I had spent those days with him. He knew my every emotion, when I cried or was mad he was there for me. I would get furious with him about going to the bathroom on the floor and yell and scream and spank him and I regret that too. But no matter what, he loved us, it didnt matter, his love was unconditional. Maybe people dont understand why we treated him like a family member, but we wouldnt have it any other way. He was the best sleeping partner, although, he preferred to nap with me and sleep with Oscar, because he would get annoyed when I would toss and turn. He had to be touching you when he slept. Oscars bed will be a little colder without him. The good times were so good. Around 2011, I became a school administrator and Chauncy saw me through some really tough times and long nights. He reminded me every day that work wasnt everything and to make sure to take time for myself (meaning spend time cuddling him). Along the way, Oscar took on many new jobs and spent time on the road away from us for long days, yet Chauncy was there to greet him every day when he got home. Chauncy was there when Oscar lost his job, Oscar cried into Chauncys fur, his tears wet on Chauncys very soft skin. But Chauncy was there to see Oscar become a teacher and get his summers off, thankfully to spend more time with him before the end. Chauncy also went on to see our son come into this world. He was there when right beside Oscar when we renovated his man-cave bedroom to make a nursery for the baby. We were so worried that he wouldnt be happy, so Oscar ran home many times during the birth to make sure that Chauncy was okay. We took the babys first swaddle and brought it home to wrap Chauncy in. Once baby Oscar was born, there was no way we would be leaving Chauncy alone again, so we had service dog paperwork made up for him and bought him a uniform. He was a good service/therapy dog. He rarely barked and if he did, there was a problem. Like when he got tough and barked a Ed the dog at camp. Get outta here Ed! Chauncy surely didnt want anybody near his baby Oscar. Chauncy was with us through those late colic-filled nights, breastfeeding he was at my side, he saw baby Oscar crawl, Oscar eat solid food, Oscar take his first steps, Oscar run and every important moment we had as a family; Chauncy was there. Chauncy is in almost every monthly picture during Oscars first year. He taught us what true unconditional love meant and prepared us to be parents for Oscar. The void he left in our hearts is big but the impact that he made for the betterment of our family is even bigger. We started going on trips to Ithaca more, wine tours, hiking, just solid family time. We bought him a backpack so we could carry him, we strolled him around in the babys stroller for five years. We started going to our Cayuga Lake camp during the summer, where he could roam free and lay in the sun all day, with an occasional exercise swim. When we were home, we still took our daily walks at Rec Park which he loved and in his last few days of life, we went to see our last sunset there on the green grass over the fields. This year, we bought a new house and Chauncy was able to have his own yard to rest and sunbathe. I wanted to make sure that we bought a house that wasnt far from Rec Park, so that Chauncy could still go to his favorite place. I know it is strange to pick a house based on your dog, but if it was perfect for him, then it will always be perfect for us. His pictures adorn our hallways and rooms and we will never forget what it means to be a family because of him. My son cries for his Chauncy and our beds will not be the same without him. Our trips to Ithaca will not be the same, but we will lift our glasses at every winery and cheers to Chauncys name and live his memory as Chauncy Dog lives on. In February 2023, Chauncy had a scary vestibular episode in the middle of the night and we rushed him to Cornell University. We had to call Jessie and have her rush over to watch the baby. During the wait time before she arrived, we woke up the baby to say our goodbyes to Chauncy thinking it was the end. We drove in a blizzard to Cornell and Oscar was panicked the entire drive. At one point, I leaned over to Oscar and said, Chauncy is calm and stable, drive slower so we can spend more time with him. That was in February, Chauncy essentially gave us six more months of his life to prepare us and say goodbye. In the end, we knew Chauncy was unhealthy and getting worse by the day because he stopped eating. He loved to eat, and steal food, from French bread to whole pizzas and anything and everything in between. He lived under the babys highchair for years. It was his thing! During his last two weeks we had to force feed him and he was so weak. Although, his stubborn, independent attitude still shined all the way until the end. You could see he was sad and knew it was not good. But again, he was telling us that it was his time. Chauncy tried to stay strong until the end, he was loving and tender, he never wanted to be a burden. He loved us with all of his heart and soul and we loved him the same. I am not sure when we will remove his beds, blankets, tummy warmers, coats, leashes, food and water bowls from our daily routine, but we do know that we have seen signs that he is all around us watching down and filling our hearts with warmth and love. Chauncy was never a burden to us, we would have hand fed him and carried him forever if we could have. Chauncy spent a lot of time with all of our family members who dearly love him, Pam, Tom, Lynn, John, Lilli, Maddie, Oscar, Gloria, Harold, Negra, Lea, Cami, Jessie, Pam Dayton-Coon, Janice Drivas and her daughter Diana who used to watch him while we skied, and all of our extended family who played with him and loved him just as much as we do. This short eulogy does not encompass the long reach of Chauncys love and devotion to our family, but gives a small glimpse into the life we spent with him and all the good times we had. We were beyond lucky to have had the opportunity to spend the last thirteen years and ten months with Chauncy, his memory will never be forgotten.