Cherokee & Kody's Dog Days

Welcome Back

2008-07-15T14:46:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone. Cherokee here along with my new pal Kody. Kody joined us in February of this year after my daddy went to pick him up. Kody is from the same kennel as me and we share some common ancestors. I am happy to have a new buddy to play with, since I am getting older. Kody will turn 8 months old in 6 days and he just recently earned his CGC (Canine Good Citizen). Below are some photos of us.

Sad News

2007-04-15T23:26:00.000-07:00

I have some sad news to report. My breeder, Sue Houck, owner of SuJo's Kennel has passed away. She passed Friday, sometime between 7:30 and 8PM. That is all for now.

Casper D is sick

2007-04-13T19:07:00.000-07:00

I haven't gotten alot of time at the computer as of late, thanks to my daddy hogging it all the time. I finally managed to get in here and take my turn at the computer.

My buddy Casper from California is really sick again after suffering a relapse. He has Evans Syndrome, which is a very tough thing to deal with. His vet bills are really starting to take a toll on his Mom, but never fear, you can help. By visiting Casper's blog and clicking on the ads, you can help earn dollars for Casper. Do make sure you take the time read the link you click on as there are many neat and interesting things to read about. Not only that, but Google only allows a click to register every few minutes from the same user. I hope you get better Casper! Sending you lots of hugs from Kentucky. :)

Quickly, before I have to get off, I have worked out a deal with my daddy on computer usage. I can update my blog 3 times a week, not including the new Photo of the Week I plan to add. Yay!

A story from my past

2007-03-22T22:08:00.000-07:00

I don't believe I have ever told the story of how I got my name, or the story regarding a visit to those of whom I was named after.

In 1997 when I was taken to my forever home, my daddy gave me the name Cherokee. Only later was it that I found out I had been named after a portion of his family lineage. Back in the early 1800s, someone in his family was married to a member of the Cherokee Nation, of which is now referred to as the Southern Band of Cherokee. Being proud of that heritage, he decided to give me the name he did.

In 2001 my daddy took me on a research trip to the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolina. It was fun and I got to go hiking while we were there. However, I had a very interesting encounter with a real Cherokee. I am not the type of doggy that let's strangers touch me, much less do anything else without my daddy's approval first. Up till this trip, I had only allowed 3 complete strangers touch me without approval in my life. One was the showmanship trainer in 4H, one was my vet and the other was my groomer. However on this particular trip, something was different. Upon exiting one of the local 3 mile trails, we ran into a real Cherokee who was preparing to lead a hike with visitors. I wagged my tail, walked up to him and sat. He looked at me, picked me up an said something to his visitors in Cherokee. My daddy says he said I was a white dog, or unega gitli. He continued to pet me while explaining some of the language to his visitors. My daddy said he didn't mind, since I was being used as an educational tool for his distant heritage. No one since has picked me up without permission.

Call it what you will, but I think it was the special touch of Cherokee :D

What a drag

2007-03-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

This weekend was such a drag. My daddy left to goto this spring training thing in Florida this past week and it's been lonely here. It's just not the same without him here. He has been talking back and forth to his parents often since he left and posting on the Eskie Board alot. He really misses me. Daddy says that the park he goes to watch baseball games at has WiFi access, which allows him to be online most of the time. He is coming home on Wednesday. Until then, I will hold my post by the door, waiting for him to return.

Saving Daylight

2007-03-12T22:01:00.000-07:00

I heard my daddy the other day talking about something called 'daylight savings'. I don't really understand it too well, but it sure has thrown everyones schedule off around here including mine. I still want to play in the evening but everyone is going to bed just when I get wound up. Pffft.

I've been feeling alot better over the past week, almost back to my normal self. Daddy has been teaching me how to play frisbee. The only problem is, I have torn up my frisbee, so I guess daddy will need to get me a new one. I hope he does, because I really enjoy frisbee. :D

Not much else has been going on. I've been enjoying the warmer weather and I've been watching alot of TV with daddy. But right now its time for bed.

What a week

2007-03-06T11:16:00.000-08:00

Lately I haven't been feeling in the mood to update my blog. I've been sleeping alot, I had an episode of the pukies and I've been having a hard time getting around since the bone spur in my left leg has been hurting. Anyway, I'm feeling better, although I am still being lazy whenever possible.

My daddy took me to the pet store on Friday to get more food. He surprised my by letting me pick out a new toy! I chose a little white sheep with a squeaker. He surprised me Saturday by giving me a warm bath too. It really made me feel better.

Play Time

2007-02-26T13:14:00.000-08:00

After I woke up from my nap this afternoon, daddy took me out back to play ball for awhile. I've put a few pictures below.

Here I am sitting in the yard relaxing after using the bathroom. Too bad I can't read, otherwise I might have looked at a magazine. Pfft, yeah right! Magazines are for shredding with my paws n' claws.

Daddy finally gave me my ball after my rest. I was so happy to see my outside ball i pounced on it.

Ahee, I hink is as a eaf ohn eet!

Wow that was fun! I gotta get a drink and take a nap.

The Vet

2007-02-26T11:59:00.000-08:00

I went to the vet today, much to my chagrin. I really don't like going to the vet after my hospital stay a few years back. I do like the doggy cookies they give out though and I suppose thats the only reason I let daddy take me. Before I went today, I read a note from Hana that suggested I may have a fatty tumor. Sure enough when I went in, the vet thinks its more than likely is a fatty tumor. He told my daddy to keep an eye on it and should it grow, or my behavior change, to call him and come in immediately. I have a nail trim/dental coming up shortly and the vet said he will check it again and take a biopsy.

'The Lump'

2007-02-25T17:33:00.000-08:00

Today has not been a good day for my daddy. This afternoon I was being brushed out in preparation for a bath. My daddy was trying to split a tangle with his hands when he felt a large lump on my left side, a few inches behind my front leg. He says it feels hard, is directly under the skin and that my skin moves over the top of it. He isn't sure what it is and neither do I, but it hasn't bothered me at all and it doesn't hurt when daddy touches it. Nevertheless, it looks like I'll be going to the vet tomorrow so I can be looked at. Hopefully it's nothing.

A trip down memory lane

2007-02-24T11:50:00.001-08:00

Today I was helping daddy do some cleaning around the house when we ran across some old photos of me and my doggy parents. I asked daddy to help me scan them so I could show everyone. These photos really bring back alot of memories.

Look at that, it's my doggy daddy, Crisco. As you can see I really take after him. He was a borderline toy/mini just like me! I stand 12.5" and I believe my daddy was the same height (maybe a bit shorter) to his withers as well.

Mommy! Yep, thats my mommy. I am one of those 4 fuzz butts in that picture. The rest are my other siblings, one other male and two females. When my human daddy got me, it was just me and my brother. He wanted to take both of us, but couldn't at the time. Daddy said he regrets not being able to take my brother, but I think it's more fun being an only eskie, even though my brother and I got along very well.

Hey, check me out! I told you I was a chronic lounger. I started at an early age. Man, I really should have gone pro at this. I even took my teddy and cold bone into my bed, yunno incase I woke up and felt like playing. That way I wouldn't have to walk to my toy basket.

Short, fuzzy and cute. This is me 10 days after I was brought home. I had lots to explore and lots to do. Lucky for me I am a quick learner and was fully house broken in 8 days. That meant I could get out of the darn kitchen for a change. This was also about the time I decided I would eat a whole Snuggles dryer sheet. Let's just say it brought a whole new meaning to 'Coming out smelling like a rose'.

Time for lunch. After that I'm going to help daddy soak his foot. He recently had an ingrown nail removed. I don't know what that is, but it sounds like something I wouldn't want to have done.

Some Photos of Me

2007-02-23T22:54:00.000-08:00

Before I goto bed with daddy, I thought I'd put up a few photos of myself.

Before the furniture in the house was moved around, I used to sleep behind the couch. One of the 3 vents in the living room was located right where my fuzzy butt is planted. Hmmmm, cold air.

Next we have me, sleeping with my toys. Mine, all mine! Sometimes when I play, I get so tired that I have a power nap. Nothing like a good workout to make you sleepy. I'm not sure what toys I have in this picture, but all I know is they are mine.

Again, heres me doing what I do best ... lounge. I'm thinking about going pro at it. Daddy had to put a sheet down on the chair so I wouldn't get fuzz everywhere while I am shedding. This is my favorite chair in the whole house and I am glad that daddy allowed me to continue lounging in, well, my favorite lounger!

Well, here I am in my yard. Back when I was a pup, I used to do conformation with my daddy at 4-H. Those certainly were great times, especially when I won at the state fair. Anyway, as you can tell I still like to pose for the camera whenever I can.

It hasn't snowed a whole lot in the last few years, but when it does I love going out in it. I remember when I was 5 months old and it snowed a foot. Daddy had to clear a spot in the yard for me to go potty. I loved to jump in all that snow, except I wasn't tall enough to get back out after I jumped in. I loved it so much, that to this day I still roll around in the snow. Daddy isn't thrilled when I do because it means he has to straighten my fur out. Tis part of the fun!

Bed time now. I'm going to cuddle up with daddy and keep him warm since it's cold tonight. Tomorrow I'll post again and hopefully have a fresh picture or two ;)

Lazy Friday

2007-02-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

Well, today has been a lazy friday for me. Everyone left the house this afternoon to run errands so I decided to get in a nice nap. When daddy came home he said I was upside down on the couch snoring. Yeah right, I don't snore ...... do I ?? Daddy says I indeed snore, very loudly. Anyway, I usually never fail to greet anyone when they come home but today I was enjoying having the house all to myself. Daddy took a picture of me when he came in the door.

Yep, a case of the lazy fridays. I might as well tell you a bit more about myself now that you can see me. Firstly, I am a chronic lounger. If it's soft and cushy, I'll attach myself to it. Secondly you'll probably notice my left leg is red. I have a bone spur at that joint that bothers me sometimes, so I lick that spot. Third, I am missing some of my eye liner on both eyes. Daddy says it makes me unique. Lastly, you can see I have big feet. Big floppy feet. They get in the way sometimes, although they are great for holding on to more than one toy at a time.

Well, I'm going to sign off for now. It's play time, which means that dinner is after that. Mmmmm, fooood.

I have arrived!

2007-02-22T22:55:00.001-08:00

Welcome to my blog. My name is Cherokee and I am a miniature male American Eskimo. I was born on August 12th, 1997 and my daddy got me on December 13th, 1997. I am 9 years, 7 months old. Before I go any further, I would like to say thanks to my daddy for helping me create my own space on the web. I had my own space on the web once upon a time, but I did not update it often since I was too busy having fun. Now that I am older, I have more time for such things.

I've had many adventures over the years, many great, few terrible. I would like to tell you a few of them so as to catch you up on my life to date. I will start with the good times, since those are my fondest memories and then move on to the bad ones (grrrr!).

When I was a puppy, I was quite the pesky. My very first adventure involved yours truly and a baby gate. My daddy and his family kept me in the kitchen until I was properly house trained. I didn't like being 'behind bars' so to speak. After all, I was only 4 months old and I wanted to check out everything. After a few days of being stuck in the kitchen, bouncing my tennis ball off the oven door (which was fun because it annoyed daddy) I decided enough was enough and jumped the gate. Daddy was shocked to see me trot into the living room, head held high as if to say 'I have conquered'. Nevertheless he allowed me to explore a bit before scooping me up and putting me back in the kitchen. Hmphh!

My next adventure came at the age of two years old. I LOVE human food, even though daddy gives me very little. When he does though, it's great. One day during the summer, I was resting on the vent in the kitchen sucking up the cool air when my daddy started to cook some hotdogs. He said it was for a baseball game, but those hotdogs were really for me. He fixed his hotdogs then went into the living room. I followed only to have daddy walk the other way to get a drink out of the fridge. I made my move. Upon returning he found one of his cheesy hotdogs being mangled behind his chair. I smiled and thanked daddy for the treat :)

During my youth I liked to get out of the house often. Between the ages of 4 and 7 daddy would take me on the road during the spring and fall to Gatlinburg, TN. He and his family had a cabin in the foothills of the mountains there. It was a big place with three bedrooms and a screened in porch. Daddy always took the room with two queen size beds, so I would always get a bed all to myself. I really enjoyed going to the cabin because it meant I would get to go hiking. Let me tell you, in my younger days I loved to go hiking. To this day I love the outdoors and it shows in some of the photos daddy has (and will take) of me.

One of the few bad experiences I had during my life involved our next door neighbor who has since moved away (thankfully). He had a dog too, but he was mean to it and to me when I was in the backyard. Daddy didn't know any of this until one day I got terribly sick and had to spend 3 days in the hospital. Our neighbor had thrown a stick into the yard laced with lawn chemicals. Being the lover of the outdoors that I am, I naturally liked sticks, leaves and small woodland creatures. It was a mistake picking up that stick, but it was an even bigger mistake for our neighbor. Daddy up to this point only knew I had gotten sick from a lawn chemical and he blamed himself for a long time until he caught the neighbor throwing things into the back yard one day. Daddy is smart, very smart. He knew this was not typical of the neighbor and in what he calls 'putting two and two together' (which I always thought was a reference to me and my big feet) figured out it was the neighbor who had tried to harm me. Daddy went through a long ordeal to protect me and to make sure it never happened again. In the end he said the bad neighbor was moving away forever. We eventually got new neighbors and I really like them, including their dog Bailey who is a male West Highland White Terrier.

There was another time earlier in my life while I was still a puppy that I got tape worms. Daddy noticed them right away and took me to the vet. I got rid of my tape worms and was back to my normal self very quickly.

Well, that is enough for now. I am getting sleepy. Daddy says he will help me upload some photos tomorrow. I can't wait :D