It’s a sentiment felt by most pet owners: Our fur babies deserve to live as long as we do.
Even if you’ve never had the honor of being a pet parent, you can see it across social media. On Instagram, one Reel from @worlds_okayest_dogs first details a news report about scientists developing an anti-aging pill for dogs, followed by a clip of a man slamming his credit card on a table repeatedly. In another, content creator Joel Wood cuddles one of his dogs while addressing the camera: “This is a message to all science and tech companies: I don’t want another iPhone. Okay? I want my dog to live ‘til 60.”
But while we wait for science to get it together, pet parents will have to do two of the hardest things there are when it comes to loving a pet: saying goodbye and moving on without our best friend by our side. And often, grief over the loss of a pet is easily dismissed, only understood by those who have felt this pain.
Cincinnati-area applications engineer Jordan Gast understands this pain. It’s part of the reason he penned and designed his comic book, Stories My Dad Tells. The comic is the life story of his late Schnauzer, Chloe, told through the perspective of his new puppy, Nova. From the lightheartedness of puppyhood, fish stuffies and meeting Jordan’s now-wife, Chamille, for the first time to the heavier parts of diabetes and cancer diagnoses and completing bucket-list items, the comic is an ode to Chloe’s life and the impact she had on the Gasts.
“Chloe was — oh my gosh, that dog — she was everything to me. That was my kid … that was my heart dog, and she, she was just such a good girl. Everybody loved her,” Jordan told CityBeat. “This is a project that was an absolute love letter to my girl.”
Jordan raised Chloe from a puppy and they spent 12 wonderful years together, creating memories and stories Jordan shares in both heart-swelling and heart-wrenching detail in the comic: how Chloe loved snoozing and hanging out with her dog buddy, Scout. Her love of all things food and bug-hunting. Her favorite stuffed animal — a fish she got for Christmas and had for 10 years. The first time she met her mom, Chamille, one Halloween and fell in love with her too.
But in 2022, Chloe’s health struggles began. She first was diagnosed with diabetes and had to be put on insulin and diet changes.
“We managed that; we got through that … and then we noticed that she was having some trouble peeing. And I thought she may have had a UTI because of her diabetes, but we took her in, and they noticed that she had a tumor in her bladder,” Jordan explained.
Because Chloe’s quality of life at that point was otherwise good — she acted fine and was still going on hikes with the family — they opted to treat her cancer with chemotherapy and radiation. The Gasts took her on bucket list-style adventures, like her first trip to the beach and to a local park to watch the aurora borealis last spring. Jordan says, through it all, Chloe remained loving and brave. The cancer treatment helped for about a year, but, eventually, the transitional cell carcinoma took its toll, and it was time.
“So we had the best last day we could possibly have with her and she passed peacefully,” said Jordan.
The Gasts took Chloe’s death hard, but three weeks later, they would welcome a new member of the family who would help them process their grief a little easier. Nova is a Schnauzer just like Chloe, and her puppy mannerisms unlocked some key, cherished memories.
“Having another dog, having a different dog, in the house was going to be a little bit weird, but, ultimately, watching Nova do the puppy things that Chloe did — it was like core memory unlocked, you know? Like I had not thought about this sort of behavior or this certain, particular thing that Chloe did 12-and-a-half years ago until this very moment, right now, because it’s just, like, the little things,” he said. “Like, Nova was teething and I found a little tooth, one of her little front teeth, and I remember finding one of Chloe’s little front teeth. And I was just like, ‘Gosh, I forgot all [about that].’”
After getting Nova, Jordan realized he wanted to do something to honor Chloe, but didn’t know what at first. He got the idea for the comic book while in his hotel during a work trip. And those circle-of-life moments he was experiencing with Nova at the time made her the perfect narrator to share Chloe’s stories.
“I gots a pretty good gig. Mom & dad always tell me stories about my big sister Chloe,” Nova says at the beginning of the comic book. “She was da Bravest girl I ever knowed. Well, I never got to meet her, but still…I wish I did. I want to be just like her when I’m all growed up.”
Jordan wrote all the comic captions and used a combination of AI character models and Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create the illustrations. And while the comic started as a way to memorialize his best friend, Jordan said it also helped him.
“Writing that thing — that was processing grief. As we were writing it … it was me, like, trying to organize my thoughts and process just kind of the last 12 years in a snapshot.”
Now that the comic book is out in the world, it’s also helping others, like helping parents teach their children about pet loss and grief.
“As we showed it to people, it resonated with so many,” he said. “And a lot of people who purchased that book, especially from my wife, told her that it was it was good for so many reasons, but there was one person in particular who had just lost their pet, and they said it was helping their kid process — kind of teach them about it, let them understand that it’s not final; there’s a continuance … Because I think the overall message is the best way to honor your pet, that is, your heart dog, is to take in another and try to give them the best life that you can.”
And not only is Stories My Dad Tells helping its readers, it’s helping other dogs like Chloe and Nova. The Gasts are selling the comic for $6 each, and all the money they raise through sales is going toward a cause near and dear to their hearts: Schnauzer Rescue Cincinnati.
“A few months back, I saw a post for the rescue, and I just — it just broke my heart. The medical needs that these dogs have — and we always donated and everything — but I felt the call. Like, we had to do more,” said Jordan.
As of early May, the Gasts had already made a $500 donation from the comic book sales to the rescue and had raised around $230 more. They’re also doing some training with Nova so they can open their home to fosters from the rescue in the future.
While Stories My Dad Tells is an intentional emotional roller coaster, Jordan says he’s considering doing a second comic about Chloe that shares just the fun and happy stories.
“If a second book happens, it will only be just like the fun stories of maybe the first time that [Chloe] and [our cat] Theo met. My wife had Theo when she and [I met] … and they were kind of mortal enemies for, like, the first month, and then they became friends. And I actually have photos of Chloe and Theo lying down in the same bed together, snuggling. So it really was kind of like that would be a good takeaway story for, like, a step-sibling. … So those are the kind of stories that we would want to focus on for a follow-up.”
If you’re interested in getting a copy of Stories My Dad Tells, Our Comic Shoppe in Milford and Nostalgic Ink in Loveland carry it. You can also reach out to Jordan or Schnauzer Rescue Cincinnati directly and they can mail you a copy, or you can order it on Amazon for $10.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 13, 2025.
