Chad Stern

11.4.2007- 4.20.2024

Today would have been Samantha’s 17th birthday

Few animals are given the opportunity to live a life like her’s. Sam was everyone’s “first dog,” raised with the help of an entire community of 20 something’s.

She has been everywhere I have called home and has been loved by everyone I’ve ever loved.

For nearly 17 years I’d kiss her forehead and wipe away her sleep tears and in exchange she would coax me outdoors.

Sam spent her first decade skirting the law and breaking hearts on our many adventures to Haverford College, Tyler School of Art, grocery stores, museums, and a water park to name a few.

At the dive bars, she strutted herself around the dance floor and then home again on the subway. Sometimes pulling me for miles on a skateboard, a mode of transit I dubed “Samsportation”

She loved her endless days lying unsupervised on Philly sidewalks, basking in the sunlight, greeting neighbors and concerned citizens alike.

always looking out for Ghost.

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Moving to Flagstaff gave her renewed purpose along with a long overdue dog door.
Quickly finding new ways to be demanding now that she wanted for nothing.

These last years she spent eating well and greeting new friends on her own soil.

She sheriffed the block from her porch lookout, wrangling the neighborhoods most wanted dogs into our backyard and chastising them incessantly until their owners collected them.

She continued to take herself on unscheduled walks and invite herself over to the neighbors til the very end, never shirking her self imposed responsibilities.

She made all the decisions in her life including her peaceful exit from it.

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Our time together often felt like a fairy tale, a rare bond built on decades of love and trust. I miss her everyday, especially today.

She was my best friend.

I hope that Sam brightened your life along the way as she has mine.

May her voice and memory forever remain loud in our hearts 🫶