Today’s presenter in the Valentines Hearts for the Herd Contest is Cheoah (aka, Cheesewhiz)!

Remember, the rules are simple. Mail a Valentine to your favorite member of The Herd at:

Dog’s Name
c/o The Thundering Herd
PO Box 1835
Maggie Valley, NC  28751-1835

If you wish, enclose a contribution by including a check or money order in any amount to Sarge’s Animal Rescue Foundation.  Sarge’s helped over 1100 animals find new homes in 2013 – yes, that is an average of 3 every single day – so your money will be going to a terrific cause.  You can click that link to find out all about Sarge’s.

We will reveal which member of The Herd receives the most Valentines AND who raises the most money for Sarge’s!

And even better – one lucky reader who mails a Valentine will be selected to win a special prize from Smoky Mountain Dog Bakery!  The bakery is absolutely awesome (we are personal fans of the treats!) and we really value their support!

And now, let’s hear from Cheoah!

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Cheoah showing off a true snow nose.

Late May 2008, the humans receive a phone call that a Siberian Husky has been found tied to a tree behind a foreclosed house. Could they foster her for a few days while a home was found? So I entered the house, used my unique eyes (both are two color parti-eyes) on the hu-dad, and soon I was a permanent member of the Herd (bringing us to the count of six Siberian Huskies – our limit, hu-dad swears).

Could you deny these unique eyes?

A few months before I got here, the humans ran into a woman who said she was a member of the Lakota tribe. As a spiritual woman, she said, she wanted to meet the Herd. After talking to them for a while (she was quite fascinating), she told them she saw The Herd getting a new female Siberian who would be named Cheoah, the Cherokee word for Spirit.

Well, of course, I had to make the prophesy come true, so I was promptly named Cheoah. One minor issue. After – and only after – I was named did the humans decide to check and make sure the name really meant Spirit in Cherokee. Of course it does not. It means Otter. So, yes, I am a dog named Otter.

By the way, we live in one part of the world where lots of people would know that Cheoah means otter. We live just beside the Qualla Boundary, the reservation for the Eastern Band of the Cherokees – where every single school age child is expected to be able to read and write the native language. It’s ok, though, because I LOVE playing in water.

I have been known to enjoy playing in water.

And where did the nickname Cheesewhiz come from? Just a play on the name Cheoah. Hu-dad is always playing with our names and that just came out one day.

So let’s recap. Hu-dad can call me Cheesewhiz and English speaking people laugh. Or he can call me Cheoah and Cherokee speaking people laugh. Either way, I make people smile.

The official Cheesewhiz RV Face!

In addition to the Cheesewhiz RV Face, I also have the patented Cheoah Snow Slide. The art is to use your back legs to propel your head through the snow like a plow.

Patented Cheoah Snow Slide.

And, of course, one of hu-dad’s favorite all-time pictures was when I was teaching Kodiak the graceful art of snow sliding during a walk.

Synchronized Snow Sliding with Cheoah

So why I should I win? The only red head in the house now. My unusual eyes. Names that make people smile. And not one, but two, patented moves – the Cheesewhiz RV Face and the Cheoah Snow Slide! So send me lots and lots of Valentines!