I met Chewie in '08 and he's been a constant in my life ever since.
We had a slow start, Chewie and I. My love for him grew slowly yet steadily. So, in honor of our years together, I wanted to share a few fun facts about my best friend...
His name comes from Star Wars' Chewbacca: as any other self-professed nerd, I love the movies, story and characters. Other obvious reasons aside (such as, say, looks and growls), his name signifies being the best sidekick anyone could ask for.
He is an SPCA rescue: I adopted Chewie when he was 2 years old. I remember walking through the hallway with all the puppies (well, adult dogs) available for adoption and Chewie was the only one sitting in his cage, looking at me straight in the eyes. Something moved me right there and then. PS: his SPCA name was Big Guy... Original? PPS: please adopt!
I wasn't 100% sure I wanted him: despite the instant connection I felt to him, I was not convinced I was ready for the commitment. I had never had a dog before and I was scared of saying yes to 11+ years of caring for someone (please don't judge! I was merely 22 years old then!).
Now, I am longing for many more years together: as Chewie is approaching the ripe age of 9, I have become obsessive with his health because I am terrified of losing him. We run together an average of 10-15 miles a week, we get dental cleanings twice a year, we are current on all vaccines and preventative medicines, and I probably spoil him rotten. The things you do for the things you love...
It took a camping trip to get there: my love for Chewie was solidified during a very cold camping trip, about 6 months after adopting him, where his cuddles saved the night. There's no better bonding agent than a freezing 32-degree weather and a personal space heater.
Chewie is a heartworm survivor: shortly after adopting him, Chewie was diagnosed with heartworm (a disease caused by a parasite which can result in severe lung disease, heart failure and damage to other organs in the body). The disease is horrible - please protect your pets! We were lucky, the dangerous and difficult treatment was successful and Chewie easily keeps up with me on our runs nowadays.
He is a Chow/German Shepherd mix: or so I speculate. The Chow is very probable because of his spotty black tongue. The German Shepherd is very speculative but would make sense. Whatever his ancestors, the results are priceless. Given his eternal puppy face, I so wish I knew what he looked like as a puppy.
He is VERY smart: he knows a plethora of tricks and commands. And he learned all of those at the age of 2. He also speaks sign language and Bulgarian. He also happens to know how to hunt lizards, raccoons and opossums. He is also opera-trained (i.e. he sings to car alarms! I have yet to collect video evidence of this but once I do, it will be an instant YouTube hit, I assure you). I know, I know... such an overachiever. Just like his owner.
He is bugging me to go for a run... now: so I have to oblige! Thanks for visiting our blog today! And... Happy Easter from my bunny to yours!
A few months back, a co-worker of mine convinced me to join my company's Spartan Race team. He didn't talk it up much: he mentioned it's a long-ish run with a few fun obstacles. You know, no big deal. Something someone who runs as much as me should complete more than easily (read, you don't really need to train for it). Ha ha ha.