Cheyenne...

I started writing about Gypsy, my best friend who died in March, 2007. But it was getting me too emotional -- I had to retool things, and think happy thoughts. I will get to a tribute to her some day, but I need more strength than I currently have.

So I decided to write about Cheyenne, the girl who appears at the top of this page, since she always (well, usually!) brings me joy.

One can never replace their best friend, but one can develop a new "best friend" relationship with another great dog, and that's what I now have with Cheyenne. She is most certainly "my" dog, first and foremost, though she loves Deanna and her kids, as well. We have developed a bond of trust and companionship, something I doubted I could do with an adult dog (we got Cheyenne when she was about a year old, so I wasn't able to "mold" her as a puppy).

Cheyenne is a very active young dog, one who needs a lot of exercise. She is very intelligent, and when she gets bored, she gets in trouble. Kind of like me when I was a kid in school, LOL! She likes getting our attention (Hey, look at me!) by stealing shoes, and running around the house with them. She also will steal pencils off desk and counter tops, and chew them up. And she loves chapstick -- she has probably chewed up a dozen tubes. I'm hoping she'll grow out of this "naughty" phase soon, but all she's doing is trying to get our attention, so I can't get too mad.

Right now, with work being done on our house (and, hopefully, getting it on the market soon), I've been taking her to "doggie day camp" at PetSmart. This has been great for her, as she plays 3 hours in the morning, rests a bit, then plays up to 4 hours in the afternoon with the "big dog" group (though she's often the smallest dog there, at ~47 pounds). When I pick her up in the afternoon, she's pooped. And a tired dog is a good dog! She's obviously mostly Labrador, but we think she has Border Collie in her too -- based on some of her looks and mannerisms. So she needs to be active!

I did some private lessons with her over the summer, and she learns quickly. On the other hand, she can be passive/aggressive, and when she decides she's had enough, she'll often ignore me or do the opposite of what's asked (seriously). The trainer couldn't believe her eyes! D'oh! She's in a group class now with 7 other dogs, and is turning out to be the star. I'm proud of her.

I look forward to waking up to her wagging tail each morning as this gets the day off to a great start. I think I've done good in making her life a happy one, and she's done the same for me. Man, but I really have come to love this dog. I think we're both pretty lucky.