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Chris Young and His Best Bud, Porter

by
  • Arden is a Senior Country Music Journalist for Country Thang Daily, specializing in classic hits and contemporary chart-toppers.
  • Prior to joining Country Thang Daily, Arden wrote for Billboard and People magazine, covering country music legends and emerging artists.
  • Arden holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Tennessee, with a minor in Music Studies.

Babies, toddlers, and kids are cute subjects for social media posts, but for country artist Chris Young, he’s one proud ‘hooman’ of a german shepherd pup named, Porter.

Tennessee Native’s Best Bud

In 2017, the pup was gifted to Chris Young by her sister for Christmas. Since then, the artist and the dog cub were inseparable. They would go on road trips together and Young would even let go of his comfort zone just so he could tend to his dog’s needs. Their relationship became well-known especially in their native county where they called Porter as “Tennesse native’s best bud.”

A Virtual Celebrity

Thanks to his fan Chris Young who shared pictures and videos on Instagram, the dog cub has a growing number of followers and admirers. So while his owner is rising to country stardom, Porter has also turned into an internet sensation. He was also seen hanging out with other canines by Young’s fellow artists, Cassadee Pope and Brett Eldredge.

Young could not help but post heart-warming updates about Porter on social media channels: from the canine’s first day, their bonding hours, road trips, on stage, playing fetch, and even clean-ups and poo bags. Seeing these posts loaded with affection, we can expect an even greater sum of loyalty for them.

Named After Porter Wagoner

Young did not instinctively name his dog, “Porter.” It was just one of his preferred names after his sister Dorothy did good research during their dog-talk. They settled with “Porter” in honor of Porter Wagoner, the longtime duet partner of Dolly Parton which surprisingly had a friend who has a dog named after her.

A Much Anticipated Gift

Even before unwrapping his sister’s Christmas present, Chris Young was ecstatic.

“I knew immediately that she had gotten me a dog,” Young says.

“I could see my mom looking at me, and evidently my mom was really nervous about it, like, ‘He’s either going to be really excited or this is going to be too much.’ I was really excited, for sure.”

View this post on Instagram

Look!!! It’s me!!!… and Chris… but mainly me!!!

A post shared by Porter (@porterthedog) on

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Young has great confidence in his dog. He lets him enjoy the company of other people but Young proudly claimed that if they were in a room full of people, his buddy will choose to stick with him.

This loyalty motivates Young to never compromise in taking good care of his fur buddy, feeding him on time, taking him on walks, and even letting fans pet him. He would first warn them though that Porter might lick them all to death.

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