LEXINGTON - Chloe the guide dog enjoyed one more good day on Friday.

"She ate hamburger and stole quite a few socks," Sami Stoner said with a laugh.

Sami and Chloe made national news in 2011 when Sami, then a Lexington junior, became the first blind athlete to compete with a guide dog in a sanctioned Ohio high school sports event, running cross country.

On Saturday, Sami and her parents made the agonizing decision to have Chloe put to sleep.

Sami said the past year had been rough for Chloe. She tore her ACL about a year ago and was later diagnosed with diabetes.

Just before Christmas, the Stoners discovered Chloe had a tumor the size of a football on her pancreas.

"It was growing rapidly," said Keith Stoner, Sami's father.

"She was going downhill pretty quickly," Sami added. "It wasn't the Chloe that we all knew."

People around the country got to know Chloe for her role in Sami's life. Sami was diagnosed with Stargardt disease, a form of juvenile macular degeneration that robbed her of her central vision. In eighth grade, she went from 20/30 vision to 20/600 in a matter of months.

While legally blind, Sami ran cross country in ninth and 10th grades but did so with a human guide. When Hannah Ticoras graduated, Sami's days as a competitive athlete seemed doomed, until she learned she had been accepted into the Pilot Dogs program.

News Journal sports writer Rob McCurdy initially told the story in December 2011. It was later picked up by national news outlets such as ESPN and "Good Morning America."

"Chloe brought Sami so much confidence over the years," Keith said. "She just blossomed."

Following graduation, Sami went to Otterbein University, then transferred to Miami of Ohio.

Living in a dormitory proved challenging for Chloe.

"She had a really hard time adapting to college," Sami said.

Still, everything worked out for the best. Sami's eyesight started to improve, enough to allow Chloe to retire and live with her parents.

"Chloe was not a fan of college," Sami said. "She was our little dropout."

Doctors don't know why Sami's eyesight improved, but she's not questioning the development. She can even drive now that her vision has improved to around 20/80. At its worst, Sami's vision was 20/800.

Sami did not get another guide dog, but came home to Lexington as often as she could to visit Chloe. She is a marketing coordinator for Kroger's corporate office in Cincinnati.

Sami came home Thursday night to be able to spend all of Friday with her beloved friend.

"She helped me so much when I needed it most," Sami said. "She was such a good girl. She was incredible."

Sami's dad agreed.

"We're a little sad right now," Keith said. "Chloe brought us through some pretty dark times."

Chloe would have been 9 years old next month. Sami said some of her most precious memories of Chloe happened while they were participating in cross country.

"I wouldn't have been able to run without her," Sami said.

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She wanted to thank all the people who made it possible for her to adopt Chloe. The Savannah Lions Club donated Chloe to Pilot Dogs and always welcomed the family back for pancakes.

The Monk family raised Chloe during the first year of her life. Pilot Dogs trained Chloe and paired her with Sami.

Appleseed Valley/Clearfork Veterinary Hospitals took care of Chloe until her final day.

"Thousands of people got to pet her," Sami said. "She made a lot of friends and was loved so much. We kind of thought we'd have a few more years with her."

No one loved Chloe more than Sami and her parents.

"She really did change my life," Sami said. "I have so much love and gratitude for that dog."

Recently, Sami adopted a stray cat near her home. She enjoyed having another animal to pet.

"I would love to get another dog," Sami said, "but I don't think it would be for a long time.

"Chloe has a huge part of my heart."

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill

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