Last night marked a lot more than just the accomplishment of our Canine Good Citizen certification.
I was able to reflect back on my journey with this little rescue dog that came into my life in 2009. Originally "Rosie" and renamed Chesnee, she was the first dog I have owned by myself. She was a rescue from the Naples Humane Society that was transferred from LaBelle. I was told she had a litter of puppies, and was a stray. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I adopted her.
She had severe separation anxiety and was extremely fearful of men. I was very concerned she may bite, so I immediately took her to a training facility to get some advice. She also had the inability to be crated as she would give herself bloody noses and chew the wiring. But, leaving her out she would destroy things and I had no idea if she was house trained, or what she would or would not get into. I enrolled her in agility for fun as a confidence building activity.
Fast forwarding time a bit, she had liver failure and I was told she was not going to make it. Fortunately she did survive. Unfortunately she then tested positive for heartworm even though she had been taking heartworm every 30 days. Supposedly I adopted her with it and it takes a while to show up.
Luckily she has been successfully battling all of her health and temperament challenges. Here she is today - a loving and wonderful companion. She will be a wonderful therapy dog. I look forward to continuing her therapy journey. #ontothenext #cgc #luckydog #luckydogco