The Life of Chewie

Today, I (Ethan Stranger) will be writing up this “special memorial post” for my Dear Beloved Dog, Chewie (Picture: Top Center) who sadly passed away

I’ve mentioned Chewie quite a lot in my previous blog posts, but y’all don’t know his full-on story, so allow me to explain while dealing with his sudden death 

Chewie 1st came into my life in the fall of 2015 when he was just a puppy (Pictures: Bottom Center), he was the size of a polar bear cub back then and was shy about becoming our friends, after we took him away from his family (I’ll never forget how shy he was when coming out of his cage), but eventually, he began to slowly warm up to us.

Chewie’s origin comes from Nepal (read more about my time there in my “Navigating Nepal Post”) and during that time, I remember him bonding with one stray Cat (Tiger), him climbing on the side of our roof, eating cat poop, chasing away the other strays cats and one time, he chased a stray cat through the gate door and when he couldn’t stop himself in time, he banged the door so hard, that he wasn’t injured (no bleeding nose, broken teeth nor whimpering), for a minute I thought I adopted a real-life “Krypto the superdog”.   

Chewie traveled with me and my parents back to the US, which wasn’t easy, I’ll never forget how whenever my Dad and I took him for walks around our neighborhood back in the states, the other dogs would charge at him, for they knew Chewie didn’t come from the US, even my Uncle/Aunt’s dogs were “racist” with Chewie, but Chewie did warm to my cousin's dog (Ruby). Eventually, my parents were soon off to Lima, but 1st had to spend some time in DC, where there, Chewie played in the snow, and encountered horses but hated the apartment life, for a dog with lots of energy (Like Chewie) and the apartment is no place to let loose and run away like crazy, Chewie tried hard to make it work. 

Upon arriving in Peru, Chewie made new dog friends (even befriended my Mom’s side of the Family), had a big field where he can roam freely, ate big bones, and even walked along the beach, something that he didn’t enjoy was hearing the sounds of the waves or even getting his feet wet, I tried to help him conquer his fear of the ocean, but my parents wouldn’t let me, same with Chewie. 

Soon, it was time to depart from Peru and back to the States again,

There were a few of our last pics together while in Peru (Pictures: Bottom Center) 

Upon arriving back in the states, COVID was hitting us pretty badly, so Chewie and my family had to spend our time in the states in my Aunt’s small home, where there, he celebrated many holidays, got nicely trimmed, befriended my Cousins BF's puppies (who grew up to be giants and were wilder as Chewie was only small and slowly getting old) and survived the “Texas Snow Apocalypse” of February 2021.   

Eventually, Chewie would later join up gear me and my family and was off to India (here he is getting ready to go, Picture: Bottom Center), however, because of COVID, Chewie had to travel separately while I went solo, we thought of having him travel as my “Emotional Support Animal”, however, Chewie just wasn’t that kind of dog, for he was known to bark and growl at strangers he didn’t know (plus it would’ve been too stressful).  

Finally, Chewie managed to make it safely to India (thus, Ethan Stranger was reunited with his faithful canine companion), I was all like what Han Solo said (Picture: Bottom Center), he had finally made it home (which was us, wherever we go, Chewie knew he was home), 1st thing we did was give him a good trim (Picture: Bottom Left Corner). 

The Relationship I had with Chewie was like with any dog owner, however, due to all the travelling I’ve done, I’d say our friendship was more like “Tintin and Snowy’s, Waldo and Woof’s and even Pi and Richard Parker’s (for there were times were Chewie would be overprotective and bark for too long, it would get annoying), as well as times whenever he would whimper for too much attention and I was busy with other stuff because I was trying to teach Chewie that “not every hour is playtime, you need to let others either rest or do other things”...

But despite our differences, I still loved him. Chewie came into my life at a time when I had finished High School and I found myself in a new environment, feeling lonely, thus Chewie being a part of my life helped me fill in that void, he was loyal whenever I returned from somewhere. For a long time, I always wanted a dog because I’ve grown up with dogs (particularly from my Dad’s Side of the family) and Chewie was like a dream come true, I often wonder the life he would’ve had, had I not adopt him, as there were lots of Street dogs in Nepal (I’ll never forget seeing another Japanese Spitz covered in dust and had long fur and I feared that’s how Chewie would’ve ended up had I did not save him, but at the same time, I also took him away from his brother, his sisters and this German Shepard Puppy who was treated as family among the Japanese spitz litter, but now sadly, Chewie will never have a proper family reunion).

Chewie also never made it to full adulthood (as Japanese Spitz are considered the longest-living dog breed, for they live to 10-16 years), Chewie was around 8 years old (I have trouble understanding Dog years and how different they are from human years).   

(Memorial Song)

In conclusion, I’m now again dealing with a heavy loss in my life, following the passing of my Grandpa (Read more on that in my “Worlds Greatest Grandpa post”), Chewie was the 1st dog that I ever adopted (for I’ve been around dogs my own life and having him was like having a best friend by your side 24/7, he was also almost the brother I never had). 

I now wonder if I’m strong enough to have another dog in the future for myself, but as of right now, I try not to think about it too much, probably once I’ve retired from traveling and properly settled down, then maybe I’ll have another dog, because dogs are considered to be loyal companions to their masters, however, I was unaware about what caused Chewie to be so sick (as the vet mentions on how Dogs have been known to hide their sickness from their owners until it’s too late) and took him away from this world too early. However, I know that Chewie is in a better place and that he’s no longer suffering, and that I was grateful enough to have given him the life that he himself could’ve never imagined had he been left to live in Nepal (read my post, “How to treat the World III: Day of the Dogs”, as I explain briefly on my decision to have Chewie apart of my life).

(Memorial Song II)

“Thanks, Chewster (Chewie’s famed nickname) for 8 years of Happy friendship and adventures”, may you rest in peace 

This is Ethan Stranger going away for a while, I need some time to deal with this loss…

Rocket Raccoon: Representing what Chewie’s Final Words could’ve been had he had the ability to speak (“We’ll all Fly away together…one last time, into the Forever, That Beautiful Sky…)

Peter Quill: Representing the stress, sadness, heartbroken and anger upon me learning of Chewie’s passing and that I was helpless to do anything (just like with my Grandpa)

(Memorial Song III)