Ole-Missing Swayze
It’s 8:46 PM in New Delhi, India. My belly is full of momos, Diet Coke, and espresso. I certainly miss some things about America, but I don’t miss my life there. Speaking of missing—Ole Miss is in the college football Final Four, I miss my dog Swayze, and some of my recent social media posts have been complete misses.
Let’s be clear: I do miss my life, but I came to India in search of something —something I strangely missed, even though I hadn’t met it yet. On a peaceful night like tonight, the feeling of missing my dog moves me the most.
Swayze came into my life back in 2017. I was driving from Connecticut back down to Memphis, Tennessee, after a job interview. This was also the time in my life when I finally moved out of the Deep South for the first time in seven years. On the drive, I called my friend Lindsay and asked what kind of dog would be best for someone who’s basically all over the place. She recommended a Mini Goldendoodle, saying they’re extremely adaptable. I picked him up from a wonderfully gorgeous Poodle farm outside Nashville, Tennessee. Two sisters ran the kennel, and their children were dancing around the yard holding little puppies as the sun set. Everything felt too picturesque and too good to be true. To my surprise, everything went smoothly, and Swayze came into my possession.
Fast-forward eight years, and I’m without him for the longest stretch since he was three months old.
Leaving Swayze for India
Swayze is a Mini Goldendoodle. He weighs about 40 pounds, looks like a milk chocolate bar, and has those signature realistic eyes that are unique to Goldendoodles. Man, I really miss him.
I come from a family that views pets in a very logical way. We love them dearly and would do anything for them, but at the end of the day, they’re just pets. There are two sides to every coin. Leaving Swayze behind for a year so I can start my business in India hurts. The other side is that I’m building something that he and I can share one day, which makes me happy.
Do dogs have a sense of time? It’s common knowledge that dogs do not have a sense of time. I’m sure Swayze misses me in the same way we feel déjà vu or wake up from a dream we can vaguely remember. He doesn’t have a concept of yesterday, today, or tomorrow. I apologize if this makes me sound like a monster—I’m just being realistic. I’m a human and I need to live my life. God helped me come to India and dream big. Leaving Swayze is an unfortunately temporary guilt that I carry. He’s in the best hands possible and living with a family who loves him just as much as I do. I wouldn’t have been able to leave him behind otherwise.
October 2026
That’s the month I hope to return to America and to my dog Swayze. I gave myself one year to start whatever it is I’m building here in India. I have so many ideas for where I could take this potential business. Right now, I’m enjoying working on a couple of different things and building a life both on the camera and off it.
To be honest, if I stay in India, I don’t know if bringing Swayze here is the right move. I’m torn. He’ll turn nine years old in May 2026 and is very set in his ways. He’s had a wonderful life! Plenty of people have pet dogs in India, but there are also many street dogs here. Many dog owners walk with a stick to prevent altercations between feral and domestic dogs. Not only that, but the whole environment and ecosystem are different. Like humans, dogs are extremely adaptable—but at what cost? Just because he could live here doesn’t necessarily mean I should test it.
Again, he’s staying in quite possibly the best place an animal (or even a human) could stay, but I question the future. It all depends on where I am a year from now. All I know is that right now, we are both happy.
