“We Were a Family”: Kenny Chesney Reflects on How He and Mary Handled the Grief of Losing their Beloved Dogs, Ruby and Poncho

Anyone that's ever lost a pet knows that, despite what many people think, the grief of losing an animal is no less significant or valid then the grief of losing a loved one.

During a new episode of Anderson Cooper's All There Is video series on CNN, which delves into the various, thorny facets of life's bittersweet duality - grief and love - Kenny Chesney candidly and eloquently reflects on his own experiences of loss.

As well as discussing the heartbreaking Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and Chesney's friendship with the mother of one of his fans who died, and the loss of his good buddy and prolific co-writer, Brett James, in a plane crash in September, the ‘I Go Back’ hitmaker touches on the loss of his dogs, Ruby and Poncho.

Chesney begins by telling the amusing story of how he first got Poncho, due to a very strong suggestion from his therapist, “I was one of those guys that really didn't have dogs in their lives, and I didn't even think about it. But my therapist, like, two days before Christmas, came to me, and she knocked on the door, and I opened the door, and it's her, and she has Poncho. And she goes, ‘You have the learn to attach to something!’...Next thing you know, Anderson, I was in an anxiety pit at PetSmart, not knowing what to get. So I just got like two of everything”.

The ‘Just To Say We Did’ singer-songwriter then recalls how, when he started dating Mary Nolan, her adorable pitbull rescue became part of the crew and bonded with Ruby, “Then, when Mary and I got together, she had a pitbull rescue, and so Ruby and Poncho never spent a day apart - ever. So when Ruby passed, she was a little older than Poncho, it was really difficult, because we were a family”.

Ruby, a pitbull mix that Chesney fondly nicknamed Da Ruba Girl, died in late 2022 after a lengthy battle with cancer. Shortly after, the country icon released a moving homage to her, ‘Da Ruba Girl’, with all proceeds going towards Stray Rescue of St Louis.

Chesney admits, “It's a terrible loss...I love animals, and when Ruby passed, it was really, really difficult. It was as terrible as any friend I've ever had that has ever passed”.

He then highlights how Ruby showed him how misplaced the aggressive reputation pitbulls get truly is, “I love animals and I love pitbulls. Ruby taught me a really good lesson...I grew up in an environment where we were taught that pitbulls were dangerous and that pitbulls were mean. And Ruby taught me a lesson - if you mistreat an animal enough, any breed will be that way, and yeah they get a really bad rep. She was very loyal, she was very strong...and she got to sleep in the bed a lot because I let my dog sleep in the bed! And I miss that dog”.

He expands, “Mary and I took her everywhere. She went to Florida, she went to Malibu, she went to the Virgin Islands...We didn't want to sit in the house and watch her deteriorate, because she was going to anyway - there was no stopping it...So me, Mary and Poncho, we went everywhere and she loved to lay in the ocean, she loved to listen to the waves crash, and that's something that we had in common”.

Chesney stresses, “It was hard...Losing an animal...For a lot of years, we were a unit, all of us. And so that was as difficult of a death and grieving that I've ever experienced honestly”.

When asked whether he'll consider getting another dog anytime soon, he outlines that the wound is still open, “Not yet, because Mary's still grieving it. I mean, she's just not ready...It'll be four years next month. So she's not ready, and it really crushed her. I was one of those guys that didn't really have animals in my life until Poncho and Ruby. But I spent so much time with them. Now, you know how you can go and stop at a red light and there'll be a dog sitting, you know, with his head out the window. Now - I feel like, anyway - I can look at that dog and dissect its personality, you know? Not that I'm a dog whisperer or anything, but that's how much in tune I am now, compared to before Poncho and Ruby”.

When grieving, there's no question that music can serve as an cathartic outlet to help us process our emotions, and no genre tackles the loss of dogs as viscerally and as powerfully as country music. We're grateful, therefore, for conversations like this one between Cooper and Chesney, and for songs like ‘Da Ruba Girl’.

Watch the full episode of CNN Podcasts’ All There Is with Anderson Cooper below:

For more on Kenny Chesney, see below: