"It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enought, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are.”

If you Google "Treeing Walker hound," you'll see photos that strongly resemble Chance.

With a mix of hunting hounds including Mountain Cur, Red Tick hound and Walker hound, fearlessness was Chance's birthright. Red tick hounds are fox hunters, but Walker hounds are mountain lion hunters, and Chance had encounters with at least one...and possibly both.

On top of his freckle-red forehead he bore the battle scars of a run in with a feisty fox.

"The last I saw was Chance in hot pursuit of a fox over the hill," Chris recalls. "When he came back, he had two holes in his head," Chance won that battle, and had a similar encounter with a rattlesnake which are native to Sand Coulee, Montana. "He was down below the driveway with the rattlesnake in his mouth, shaking it back and forth. I found the rattlesnake body laying at the end of the driveway." His neck swelled, and he went to the vet for IV fluids, costing more money at the after hours vet clinic.

But if ever a hound was worth it, it was Chance.

Despite his shortish coat, Chance accompanied Chris on every training run with the team.

Chris comforting a young dog during a training run with Chance by his side

In fact, several of the dogs on the Stage Stop team were sired by Chance. So if you see some dogs resembling a Treeing Walker on the team, those are Chance's boys.

Chance was named by Chris's children, Katrina, Jeffrey and Colter, from the movie Homeward Bound. But he had many names: Da Hound, The King, Mister Man...and sometimes names I can't write here.

Chance was happiest outside, with the exception of one place: wherever Chris was.

Always by his side

Easygoing, Chance could sleep anywhere (like his dad).

This past August, Chance developed a cough. In September, shortly after his 12th birthday, we discovered the cause: a tennis-ball sized tumor in one lung. Palliative care and living out his days without pain became the plan. Chance ate like a king, sausage, fillet mignon, bacon, all the yummy things a dog loves. He ran free baying on the hillsides at various critters. He accompanied Chris on many training runs.  

Chance approached life with a fearlessness many would envy. And when the time came, he approached death with the same bravery and courage - and always with Chris and his family by his side.

Tonight, the Pedigree Stage Stop Race begins in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. This Stage Stop Race, Chris's 6th running, is dedicated to Chance. May we all find his bravery within us.

9/2/2007 - 1/27/2020