Chewy

We picked up Chewy on January 29, 2008. He was a 6 month old Bouvier puppy and at 54 pounds, not exactly what most people consider to be a “puppy.” He was an owner surrender because he just wasn’t a good fit for the family which had children of ages 1, 3, and 6 years old. Chewy spent much of his time tied up outside which is not suitable for any dog. Fortunately, the lady of the house agreed to surrender him to rescue and I assured her that we would do our best to find him a great home.

The next two pictures are at his first home.


Our last foster, a female, worked out well as our younger dogs were only mildly jealous of her. But Sparky, our male Giant Schnauzer would simply not tolerate another male dog in the house. Terry Minda had suggested we get an ex pen and that was a real lifesaver. Sparky and Molly stayed in the basement with me and Ellie and Annie, our older Bouviers tolerated Chewy and stayed on the main floor.





Although Chewy was named after the Star Wars character Chewbacca, he also lived up to the chew part of his name. So he was relegated to the ex pen when not supervised and he did very well in there. He had his original bed and lots of chew toys and probably enjoyed the comfort of not being tied up outsside.

The initial vet exam showed he had a significant under bite. My vet suggested an exam by a veterinary dentist which we scheduled. The dentist showed his lower canine teeth were impacting his upper palate and the best solution was to shorten his canine teeth. We opted for that and the surgery was carried out and he came through with flying colors. Hopefully he will not have any serious problems due to his underbite.







Shortly after we got him, a friend contacted me that her friend was looking for a Bouvier. Timing is everything. I told her about Chewy and I learned that her friend Ron was looking for a Bouvier as a surprise birthday present for his wife Kristi. We arranged the surprise without the knowledge of Kristi and on February 23, Ron and Kristi and their son drove to our house. They knocked on the front door and I led them to the back yard via a gate. I let Chewy out the back door and he barked a bit, but quickly came to Kristi and it was love at first sight. They had a Bouvier in the past and Kristi said Chewy looked just like him.

They live on a 40 acre ranch east of Colorado Springs and are animal lovers. Kristi works at a veterinarian's office which is a plus.

He was renamed Tatonka, or Tonka for short and is doing very well. He will start obedience training soon which will help him become more civilized. He is a very nice dog, but needs some manners.

He is slowly being introduced to the horses on the ranch and the two male Shih Tzus that Kristi and Ron have. Chewy/Tonka is a very friendly dog, but is a bit of a rough playmate at this point.

Below is a picture of Tonka at his new  home. He had a haircut and is showing a brindle coloring.