The 9-year-old Pomeranian lives with his mom and dad in Kettering, Ohio. And he’s become a bit of a local celebrity thanks to his nonstop grinning.
“We’ve never seen him have a bad day. It just cracks us up,” Tina Marcum Denlinger, Chevy’s mom, told The Dodo. “Everything’s a celebration. If we go for a walk, he celebrates. If there’s food, he celebrates. He’s always so happy.”
Chevy and his parents love to go hiking and camping. At the campground, Chevy wears a little hat to keep the sun out of his eyes and sits in the front seat of his parents’ golf cart, where he holds court.
“He rides on the golf cart and surveys the whole area,” Denlinger said. “Everyone knows him …. He just gets into the cart, and he has a little harness so he doesn’t fall. And that’s his thing. It’s like he’s in a parade or something. He’s so upbeat.”
While smiling comes naturally to Chevy, he does, on occasion, frown. When the little dog is cold or uncomfortable, his happy expression changes, and his parents know immediately that something’s wrong.
But the second food or the leash comes out, Chevy turns on the charm once again. Though Chevy is now a senior dog, you’d never know it from his energetic, happy-go-lucky attitude.
“Everyone thinks he’s a puppy because he’s full of energy,” Denlinger said. “He does what we call ‘spin dry,’ where he spins around whenever he wants something. He goes into a complete circle.”
Chevy’s infectious smile can’t help but cheer up his parents and anyone he meets on the street. There’s just something about the little dog that makes you feel happy. And Chevy’s parents are convinced he knows what he’s doing and loves to spread joy wherever he goes.
“Everyone just gets a kick out of him because he’s so upbeat,” Denlinger said.
