Janet and Chewie, a 2-1/2-year-old Chihuahua/Yorkie mix, live in Oregon. Chewie came from Rover Rescue of Illinois in 2015, reportedly from a hoarding situation in Indiana. Janet says, “Fortunately he was well socialized and loves most everyone he meets.”
Chewie started his therapy career with Elliott, Janet’s 11-year-old cat. Elliott had surgery for cancer in his jaw and Janet says Chewie was very attentive, keeping Elliott company and grooming him.
The Read With Me program is a goal for Janet since Chewie loves children. They’d also like to try nursing homes and the UW dorm visits.
Janet loves to cook, ride motorcycles, and attend events where Chewie can come along.
Beyond Dogs On Call: We have fun at fund raisers
An update from Janet, published in our Spring 2018 newsletter
If you’ve participated in a visit at the UW or Edgewood you may have met Chewie (formal name Chew-bacca). At just over nine pounds, he is one of the smallest members of Dogs On Call. A therapy animal since August 2017, he visits the colleges, does the Read With Me at libraries, and is a monthly visitor to the Central Wisconsin Center where they just love him. His favorite visits are with children, but he enjoys attention from anyone who will give it to him.
With college visits slowing down and the weather turning nicer, Chewie and I enjoy participating in a variety of fund raisers for local rescues, humane societies, and other pet-related non-profit organizations. We’ve recently attended the Canine Crawl for the Dane County Humane Society, Czar’s Promise Kick-off Event (a canine and pediatric cancer research group), the Fetch 5K dog jog (we only had to walk 2K), and the Q106 Pet Parade to raise funds for Occupaws (guide dog organization).
The highlight of our year so far occurred on May 5, 2018, when we drove down to Aurora, Illinois, to participate in the Annual Rover Rescue Pet Dog Show. Chewie is a Rover Rescue alumnus, adopted into our family November, 2015. We’ve attended the fundraiser dog show the past three years and this was by far his most successful year. He placed 2nd in the Fastest Recall contest (timed running event), beating out a Border Collie that was twice as tall as Chewie. He and I took first place in a new category called Mirror Image with our matching frizzed out hair and Wisconsin Badger outfits. His best event was the Costume Contest where he took 1st place with his hand-made police dog outfit that was a hit with everyone in attendance.
In June we will do another walk for Occupaws at Token Creek Park and in August we’re headed to the Dog Days and Wiener Dog Derby at Wisconsin Harley Davidson in Oconomowoc.