My beautiful boy Zion passed away on Mother’s Day and I’ve taken some time away from Hendersonville Dog Talk. There are just no words to express how hard it was to lose my beautiful loyal friend. I’m still not up to putting together a tribute video but I will. He was such a magnificent dog. His life calls for one.
In July I was contacted by Tracey Sparagis of Chow Chow Rescue society. A little black chow had been found in a field in Memphis Tennessee by Animal Control and by the time a chow rescue group in Memphis learned about her, she was scheduled to be euthanized. Tracey asked if I could foster in the event they were able to get “Caliope” out of the pound in time.
A rescue worker was able to get her from the pound and taken to a vet where she was found to have heartworm and had a UTI. She was spayed and spent a week there recovering from her emaciated state. The vet also sedated and shaved her to the skin. Her mats were so bad they were like concrete they said. 
She was driven all the way to my house by two sweet ladies who volunteered to transport her the 4 hours through rain and heavy traffic. What appeared in our driveway was a shaved-to-the-skin skinny little black dog that walked up to me and buried her head into my legs.
She was only 28 pounds and just skin & bones. Here eyes were foggy like you’d expect in an older dog, but she acts like a puppy. The first vet estimated her to be 2 years old. My vet estimates she’s closer to 1 and a half.
After a tough initial 5 days convincing Aria to accept our guest (she was like “no, thank you, I don’t think so,”) a neighbor who is a professional dog trainer came over and helped me to properly introduce them. Today they’re BFF’s. 
She has been on slow-kill heart worm treatment and is symptom free.
I made bone broth (she LOVES bone broth) and fed her bone marrow and fresh cooked meat, eggs and cheese in addition to good, nutritious dog food.
I haven’t weighed her so I don’t know how much weight she’s gained but she is a little power house now and can easily tackle Aria who is quite a bit bigger than she is.
We quickly came to love our new little dog, although the pain of losing Zion is still so fresh. Aria was lost without her companion and our new little foster really helped lift her spirits.
We officially adopted her in early August.
We named her Cherish, because even though I will always mourn my precious beautiful chows who are gone, she reminds me to cherish who God has brought into my life today.
Cherish, because even though we don’t know how she ended up in the field and it pains my heart to imagine the extreme conditions she suffered, the hunger, fear and abandonment she felt or how she survived, from this day forward she will be Cherished every day of her life.
There’s much more to her story, but the pictures show just what an adorable personality she has. Cherish has a twisted metacarpal bone, which causes her rear paw to turn in, causing her to limp. We have her on CBD and supplements to strengthen her joints since her limp will certainly cause wear on them and are looking for some type of brace or boot that might help her on her walks.
I hope you’ll consider donating even a small amount to Chow Chow Rescue Society. Tracey Sparagis & her husband Denis do so much to help chows who, without their intervention and selfless work, would have no hope.
Thank you to all those who donated to help with her vet bill and sent items for Cherish through Chow Chow Rescue Society!! 