Seasoned fans attending one of her concerts back in the day may have been lucky enough to see her Golden Retriever run out on stage; really experienced fans knew to bring dog biscuits to shows because they knew “Reilly” would eventually run out and lick everyone sitting in the front row. Sadly, Reilly passed away in 1994, the first time the singer-songwriter was without a Golden Retriever.

Before the world changed in 2020, some of us didn’t know of Mary Chapin Carpenter, let alone her affection for the breed, until we were all stuck at home during Covid lock-downs. Looking for distractions, many people found the talented artist online through the “Covid videos” she videotaped in the kitchen of her Virginia farm, and viewers were alternately comforted, charmed, and amused when her Golden Retriever at the time, “Angus,” would either wander through the video shot in her kitchen, or be heard playing with her squeaky toy off camera:

The five-time Grammy-winner Mary Chapin Carpenter who has sold 15 million records was set to spend the summer touring when the pandemic hit. She shifted to offering “Songs from Home” which attracted an even larger following than she had had before. It was her way to stay connected with fans, and keep creating music, and we were all the better for it.

Photo of Mary Chapin Carpenter by Bryan Ledgard taken at the Underneath the Stars Festival shared here via Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license

“Goldens are the greatest creatures in the world,” Chapin has said, and she’s had at least once since 1994. There are many places online where you can learn more about this talented woman, but we wanted to share how much of a difference she and her dog, “Angus,” made for so many people during some tough times.  We don’t have a photo of the two that we can share, but click here to see one of the nicer ones.

Image (with consent): Golden Retriever by Corina St.Martin
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