Cheoah

Nicknames

Cheese Whiz, Cheese Ball, Cheoah-Woah, Che, Cheese.

And for those who wonder how the Cheese Whiz nickname came about, it was a slip of the tongue. Hu-Dad was trying to call her with a crowd of strangers around and that name slipped out. It stuck.

Note on her name

A few months before Cheoah, we 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 us for a while (she was quite fascinating), she told us she saw us getting a new female Siberian who would be named Cheoah, the Cherokee word for Spirit. So, when this dog came into our life, we decided to make the prophesy come through by naming her Cheoah. One minor issue. After, and only after, naming her, we decided to check and make sure the name really meant Spirit in Cherokee. Of course, it does not. It means Otter. While it may seem odd to name a dog "Otter," we decided to let it stick because we liked the name and because she loves - I mean loves - to be soaking wet. She will immerse herself into the water bucket for drinking just for the fun of it (and at the utter disgust of Queen Natasha).

Origin

A call came to us from a local rescue in late May 2008. A Siberian Husky had been found tied to a tree behind a foreclosed house. The owners had been contacted and they said they had been unable to find a home for the dog. She came with AKC papers showing a birthdate of December 22, 2005. Interestingly, the Dam's name on the paperwork was Nikita Natasha. How appropriate.

The original plan was we were going to foster her until she found a home. She found a home - she just never had to move when she became a permanent member of The Herd.

Personality

Whatever her background, she had never been dog socialized and came into the Herd trying to make eye contact with everyone. Needless to say, she has found herself corrected many times by Queen Natasha and Kiska. She is learning how to be submissive to the older, bigger females - a very wise move.

Voice

Oh my, what a talker. And her sound of displeasure is a scream. She yelps, woos, howls, and more.

Where she sleeps

During the day, she can usually be found stretched out on the couch in the den - in front of the fire in the winter. Her second favorite spot is her crate. When she can't be found in the house, that is usually where she is.

Favorite activities

The most common activity is being annoyed by her brothers. They dearly love her.

Rainbow Bridge

Sometimes a dog leaves us simply because they have grown old and not because of a single cause. Such was the case for our sweet Miss Cheesy as her body and mind slowly failed and she no longer wanted to partake in walks or games. We cuddled her gently and wished her the best of comforts on March 12, 2020.