February 2007Monthly Archives

It appears Cheyenne may be going to a new home tomorrow. In case he does and it works out, I want to write down some notes about him so that I will always remember his quirks. He is a doll, and he’s going to a home that can give him more attention and time than we can. I will miss him, though. He has become my baby boy, and he always will be my baby boy.

Cheyenne came to stay with us the last week of August 2006. He was matted and thin and sad. He was found by a lady who mostly does cat rescue. He had gotten himself stuck in a neighbors yard. The lady found him in the yard and was able to catch him, even though he was very afraid. In order to do what was best for him, she took him to the shelter to see if he would be claimed.

He was not claimed after three days. The lady who found him asked for help from Sheltie Rescue of Utah, and they could not let our amazing Cheyenne be put down. So they pulled him from the shelter. His left front leg was broken, and his teeth were in awful shape. Taking him to the vet, they found that they could only save two of his teeth. He was also not neutered, and he was debarked. The vet looked at his x-rays and determined that surgery would not help his leg. The bones were not completely straight, but they were straight enough so he was allowed to heal on his own.

So Cheyenne had all his teeth pulled but two, and he was neutered. He then stayed at Sheltie Rescue for a few days until he came to stay with us. He was also groomed, as his matting was so thick that he could not feel good. After his grooming he was so handsome, we wondered how anyone could have left this boy on the street.

Over the months he stayed with us we found him to be an absolute delight. I wanted to write down some of the things he does, and the things he likes, so we can always remember him. Not that we would ever forget, as he has fixed a permanent place in our hearts and will always be with us. Yes, he has left paw prints on our souls.

Happy Boy.
When we come home from work Cheyenne is always happy to see us. He barks, though he makes little sound because he was debarked. He would always press his head against me when he was happy, so much so that he would almost push me over. I just had to laugh and snuggle him and give him lots of hugs, which he seemed to like very much. And when very excited, he could nibble me with his two teeth and it pinched!

Food.
When Cheyenne came to live with us he didn’t like to eat very much. He was so thin, and before his teeth were pulled he could not eat because he was in too much pain. After a few weeks we found a canned food that he just loved. We tried many different kinds, even sprinkling grated cheese on the food to get him to eat. Finally we found that he loves Nutro canned food, the ultra health diet, I think it’s called. I also started mixing raw into his canned, which he loved. He would eat 1/2 can twice a day, and 5oz of ground beef in the morning, 6oz of ground beef in the evening. When we first got him we fed him a lot, because we wanted him to gain weight. After a while we had to cut back because he was getting a little pudgy! Cheyenne’s favorite treats in the world is string cheese. He also likes Nature’s Balance dog food, the kind that comes in the sausage tubes. He really wants to eat pig ears and bully sticks, too, but he can’t because of his lack of teeth. So when his foster brothers and sisters got those, Cheyenne got to lick up a very large plate of grated cheese, which he seemed rather happy about. Cheyenne does not eat very well out of traditional dog food bowls. He has a hard time getting the food out of the corners. We fed him on a dinner plate for many months, until I dug an old stainless steel bowl out of my cupboard. It has more gently sloping sides that work much better for him. When he ate off the dinner plate I always had to put a shirt around his neck so he would not get himself completely dirty with food, as his coat is so long it would hang in the soft food. With this little bowl he doesn’t need the shirt. It will go with him, as it works much better for him. We also elevated his food bowl so it was easier for him to eat.

Sleeping.
Cheyenne LOVES to sleep on soft cushy things. He didn’t venture onto our bed until probably just a month or two ago. But lately he’s been sleeping on our bed during the day (our matress lays on the floor, so he doesn’t have to step up a bed frame). He especially loves the dog beds we have on our floors that have the raised edges. He will scratch and scrape at them to fix them up just right, whining as he does so, until he flops down with his head resting on the edge.

Stairs.
Cheyenne never learned to go down stairs while living with us. Sometimes, I don’t know if he’s physically capable of it. He often seems quite uncoordinated. Stairs never scared me until I have seen Cheyenne on them. I have been able to get him to go up the stairs, but only with me right next to him, and only with a piece of cheese on each stair. I never made him go down stairs, and I think he would only stumble and fall. Poor dear. Since our TV room is downstairs I’ve spent many a time carrying him up and down the stairs. Fortunately his new home has no stairs he will have to go up or down.

Walks.
Cheyenne loves to go on walks. However, he likes to walk all over the place, and sometimes gets distracted. I’ve found a flexi leash works really well for him, then he can meander all over the place and not get tripped up in a short leash. He is such a goof.

Cats.
Cheyenne basically ignores our cats. He sniffed them when he first came to live with us, but after that he didn’t bother with them. It’s nice to find a dog that doesn’t worry about the cats.

Dog Door.
We have a dog door. For many many months Cheyenne didn’t go through. Then all of a sudden one day we saw a furry bum exiting the dog door. This was in January. It seems that he started to watch the other dogs and then figured the dog door out on his own. Smart boy.

Outside.
Cheyenne loves to be outside, and sometimes he just won’t come in for us. When we open the back door to bring him inside, he would just look at me with his happy face like he’s smiling, and then bark some more. Most of the time I would just let him be outside. Since he is debarked he doesn’t make much noise. If I needed to go, I’d walk out to get him. He did seem like he might be in trouble, and he’d almost cower.. but I’d just herd him into the house and give him great big snuggles and loves, letting him know he will never, ever, be hurt or neglected ever again.

Training.
We didn’t train Cheyenne as much as I would have liked. But, he has learned how to sit! He will now sit for a treat. I taught him the sit by putting my hand on his collar to steady him. So now he thinks that the signal for sit is a hand on his collar. He does not know the word ‘sit’ yet, but I’m sure he can learn it in time.

I’ve been thinking about what to write about Cheyenne all day long. Trying to remember what to put down on paper. Somehow trying to capture his essence so that I will always remember him. Now, however, I think I have missed many, many things. The happy thought I have, though, is that his new family will be able to learn all these things about him, and probably new things about him, too. They will now have the wonderful opportunity of falling in love with this boy, learning all about him, and loving him for the rest of his life.

Cheyenne goes to his new home on February 5, 2007.