Cion Charmer at only 11 months old is the constant companion of Ken Stafford who describes himself as "The last hippie on Alki."

She's a pure bred Pomeranian and Stafford prefers to keep her off any kind of leash, even paying the occasional ticket just so she can run free. He got her from a breeder,"out north when my other baby went cosmic, it was a beautiful thing, now she's pushing roses."

Cion has become Stafford's closest friend. "At eleven months old we're already fused and bonded so she knows how to stop at corners already, she knows how to approach other dogs politely, so when people are on their leash (which she is not) I ask them and they're thrilled and they say 'we wish we could do that.'"

The two go for walks every morning, have walked "all the hills in West Seattle" and sometimes walking back from Green Lake after his girlfriend drops them off. "You earn what you burn," said Stafford, " it takes about four hours...but I've got a free life. I cashed my chips."

Stafford is very surprised at how quickly Cion is learning. "It just surprises me. Down at Alki she's jumping down from bulkheads and jumping right back on them. She's incredibly strong, but then she's running free so every day is a big work out. She's an athlete already."

"She surprises me every day," said Stafford, " A little birdie bye was under the car and she went and picked it up in her mouth and I couldn't get her to drop it and I had to tap her a little bit and she dropped it. I put it under a little bush and he dusted off his feathers and flew away."

"She's free and and it leads to a long life. She's probably good for twenty years, and she'll take me to the clouds."

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