This is a little presentation we did for an open mike session for a Senator and a Representative for our State. I knew others would have tales of horrible physical abuse, so I decided to try to explain what a caring, remarkably loving dog our Cheeto is-to show how emotionally devastating it must have been for him to spend 7 long years in a cage without a name or a home or a family.

Cheeto: A Papillion with a Party in his Tail
Our Papillion is a rescue from a puppy mill. At 7 years old, he had become useless to them and was surrendered to Hearts United for Animals (hua.org). We went to HUA on Labor Day, 2008, to adopt a female Maltese and came home instead with Etienne. On the way home, he was so tired but would force his eyes open to watch every truck or car that passed us. His eyes had an empty look, but there was something about the way he moved that seemed like there was a joyful spirit waiting to come out. So we optimistically gave him a spunky, cheerful name; “Cheeto”.
The first month was a learning experience for all of us. Cheeto had to learn how to wear a collar and a leash, how to potty on grass, to not be scared of everyday noises such as cars going by, microwaves dinging and the sound from computers and TV’s. His initial reaction to any new thing that came into his environment was extreme fear and growling & attempting to bite. But he has slowly, over the course of a year, become very acclimated to having a home, a family, and everything else that a dog deserves-including his choice of soft beds.
Cheeto is continuing to evolve. Even during this past month, 1 year after he came home, he has learned so many new things that it is amazing to watch. He has recently decided that one of his jobs is to watch over the other dogs, barking at us when he thinks it is time to potty them. Probably the most endearing thing he does is host a party every day. He will get into the party spot in our house and wag his tail vigorously and bark until Mommy, Daddy, Gateway, and Tucker are all into place ready to party. He then watches the dogs play with their toys and goes back and forth from Mommy to Daddy, pushing his head into us and reaching out his paw to touch us over and over; his tail going the whole time. If we try to cut the party short, he follows and “herds” us back to the group. After 10-20 minutes, he finds a soft spot to lie, looking very contented and pleased with himself for hosting another successful party.
If our wishes could come true, Cheeto would not have had to endure years of painful abscesses and rotten teeth, or spend years of having a loving heart with no one to share it with. Our biggest wish would be that no other dog would have to be mistreated like he was, especially by people who would consider themselves “dog lovers”. And one last wish would be that Iowa would not be the third leading state of practices that cause thousands of dogs to live miserable lives. Iowa is better than that, surely.