I first noticed Chance on the webpage for a local shelter. He was an adult male Chiweenie who needed a home. My two children and I traveled 50 miles to meet him and brought him home with us that day.

We wanted to give him a name that reflected his new life with a family, and we decided on Chancellor Princeton (and we called him Chancie). When he walked into our home he seemed to smile.

We were lucky to have Chancie in our lives for the past 13 years. He loved everyone (and we always asked him, “Is today your birthday?” because he was always so happy to have a home). He woke up every morning with a prance in his step – in fact, we often called him, Prancie Chancie. And I was lucky enough to be his human.

On Wednesday, May 31 2023, Chancie pranced into the kitchen to begin our morning routine of coffee and a cookie before I started working online for the day. He got to the dining room and fell over on his right side, which was the beginning of his first grand mal seizure. No warning at all. Little did I know that after that first seizure, I would be holding him for the next three seizures in three hours.

I knew that this was the time that Chancie needed me to be his strongest family member and to make the decision that broke my heart into so many pieces.

I still cry thinking about his last hours with me. I can only hope that he left this world knowing how much our entire family loved him, especially me.