Family & Legacy
Chugging Along
An authentic Victory Voice Media piece created to preserve a family or personal legacy story.
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Born in the green with the sunshine bright Little paws dancing from the very first sight Behind a fence with his sister Schnoz Two happy hearts and a button nose From Spokane roads to airport gates Rolling carts and friendly faces Everywhere he went, he shined so strong That little dog just chugging along Tail wagging, eyes so bright Turning strangers into friends overnight He didn’t try, he didn’t plan He just loved like only Chug can Oh Chug, you were joy on four feet Happy soul with a steady beat From coast to coast, you proved it true The world felt better just knowing you Oh Chug, light wherever you went Pure love was your permanent scent No heavy heart, just a happy song Sweet boy, just chugging along Hotels, hallways, flying high Window seats and a curious eye Flight crews smiling when you’d arrive You made long days feel more alive Book signings, meetings, miles of road Carrying love wherever you rode Not a mascot — you were the real deal A walking reminder of how joy feels Right dog, left dog, side by side With Schnoz there was so much pride You had a way, you always knew Exactly what love was meant to do Oh Chug, you were joy on four feet Happy soul with a steady beat From coast to coast, you proved it true The world felt better just knowing you Oh Chug, light wherever you went Pure love was your permanent scent No heavy heart, just a happy song Sweet boy, just chugging along And when the traveling days were done You chose your girl, your favorite one Grace hung the moon, she always would You loved her deep, you loved her good No sadness here, just gratitude For a life so full, a heart so true Every laugh, every mile You left the world with a bigger smile Oh Chug, you were joy on four feet Happy soul with a steady beat Every room you ever walked through Got brighter just because of you Oh Chug, that love lives on In every heart you shined upon No goodbye, just carry on Forever chugging along Yeah… forever chugging along
Behind the story
Why this song exists
“Chugging Along” exists because Chug lived a very big life in a very little body. I met him in Spokane while I was there doing cannabis advocacy and magazine work. My friend John Parr had these two little puppies behind a fence. I wasn't looking for a dog. I definitely wasn't looking for two. My original plan was to take Chug home, find him a wonderful family, and keep his sister Schnoz. That plan didn't work at all. We kept them both. And Chug went on to become part of one of the most extraordinary chapters of my life. For eight years, I shared my life with Irvin “Irv” Rosenfeld, a federal medical-cannabis patient and author of *My Medicine*. Chug was right there with us. Irv loved Chug. We traveled the country together through years of cannabis advocacy—book signings, meetings, airports, hotels, state capitols and conversations with policymakers. Chug wasn't a mascot standing on the sidelines. He was part of the story. He and Schnoz were even trained to pull my luggage cart through airports—Chug on the right and Schnoz on the left. Put them on the wrong sides and they'd run into each other. Put them where they belonged and off they went. Right dog. Left dog. Teamwork. Eventually Schnoz decided flying wasn't for her. The engine noise bothered her, and home suited her much better. Chug? Chug freaking loved it. New places. New people. Airports. Hotels. Adventure. He thrived on all of it. But through those years there was another relationship growing. My daughter Grace was eleven when Chug and Schnoz came into our lives, and as Chug got older, there was no question who ultimately owned his heart. Grace. When our living arrangements eventually changed, Chug went with her. I loved him enough to know that keeping him with me would have meant taking him away from his person. Later, he became part of Grace's household and even helped her raise Blitz, her blue-nose pit bull. We lost Chug in December 2025 at fourteen years old. A roughhousing accident left him with a badly broken leg, and at his age surgery wasn't something he was likely to survive. So Grace and I did the last thing we could do for a little dog who had given us everything. We stayed. He got some of his favorite treats. We held him. We told him how much we loved him. And Chug went to sleep surrounded by the people who had been his world. That's why “Chugging Along” isn't really a song about losing him. It's about everything that came before. Spokane. Schnoz. Irv. Cannabis advocacy. Book signings. Capitol buildings. Airports. Luggage carts. Grace. Fourteen years of adventure. And one remarkable little dog who just kept doing exactly what his name promised. Chugging along.
- Collection
- Family & Legacy
- Mood
- Personal, warm, remembered
- Audience
- Families and individuals preserving meaningful personal memories
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