Dear Isaac and Maia,

I am going to introduce my second dog, Kachina, in this blog. Let me start by saying that I thought about a second dog several times over the first years with Maizzy, but I couldn’t imagine keeping up with two. I was use to self-care cats. It was when I was home more while I was working on my doctorate degree that I realized how lonely she looked when I left the house. Graduation would mean returning to work and it got me to thinking more seriously about a companion dog for her.

I follow the Facebook page of Black Canyon Animal Sanctuary where I got Maizzy – and one day the cutest little mob of wild hair showed up on the blog. It was a tiny dog who was fighting sleep with all she had . . . but they she hears other dogs and runs off barking. I watched the video a couple times and put her out of my head. Except, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. So, I asked Debbie, the owner of the Sanctuary, about her. She said I could try to foster her but she didn’t think she would do well with cats or Maizzy. There is a 10 year age difference between Kachina and Maizzy. Still, I wanted to try.

Kachina’s story is that she was a stray in Grand Junction before coming to the Sanctuary. She was an anxious little street dog who had gone partially feral. She couldn’t get adopted so the folks in Grand Junction transfered her to the Sanctuary thinking a more mellow environment might chill her out. She was still not chilled when I got a couple months after she arrived at the Sanctuary. She wouldn’t let Debbie touch her and if you called her she ran away.

So, I picked up a dog carrier full of shaking little dog from Debbie a couple days later. I let her out with Maizzy in the basement and they did OK. Over the next couple of days we found out she was housebroken and she did OK with cats. I started walking her to calm her down. Eventually, she started to cuddle (she still hates being carried). Her name was Tina at the Sanctuary but that quickly became Kachina – she is named after a couple of my daylilies, actually.

Eating was her big thing – she would not eat without being hand fed. I read up on it and found out it was velcro dog syndrome. It said not to hand feed her but to seclude her to eat. So, I did. She ate every 2nd or 3rd day. I remember being so frustrated at her – she was so hungry but she would not touch a bite of food. I adopted her in early 2016 and it wasn’t until 2019 that I could actually feed her in the kitchen with the other dogs. Now, she is actually a tad overweight and is the biggest dog in the house at 12 pounds. See her weight change (compare to Maizzy) in the first few photos on this page.

Kachina is 25% Maltese, 20% chihuahua, 12.5% Yorkie (her wild hair genes), and 12.5% terrier mix. She is my active dog. She is always ready for a walk and (fortunately) hates to be carried. Although, she sometimes likes to ride in the stroller with the other pups. Her risk factors were all about socialization and it just took time. That said, Maizzy was the best thing ever for her because she needed a “type B” big sister.

Kachina is my empath. She knows when the other dogs are sick or even if something is wrong in the house. She was the one who convinced me Sazi needed to see a vet for her IVDD (pre-diagnosis). She is the one who doesn’t nap on trips – she is wide-eyed in her booster in the back seat for hours. I think she is learning to drive for her next life.

Kachina has become my hiking companion. She is my adventure dog. It is good to have one dog who doesn’t need to be carried outside or on walks or down the stairs. I am not the biggest person in the world, nor the youngest. I am thankful for Kachina’s energy and I look forward to many more years of adventure with her.

Love, GMH