Chipper Cheyenne On The Road Again

Chipper Cheyenne is a Carolina dog of deep thoughts and gentle ways. She is my Zen dog who will clean baby bunnies then gently return them to their nests, making sure to rub her scent around the rim of the burrow to protect them from predators.

My Chipper is also my heart-string girl as i felt a force, like a string,coming from her little puppy body directly to my heart, reeling me in, as she sat in a little circular pen at a feed store with a rescue group some ten years ago. I had gone in to get some kitty litter and came out with my heart-string girl! She started earning her travel miles right away as she joined my big boy Bear and Miss Maria's kitty  Fido Peanut on a seven thousand mile road trip right after we brought her home. She had not however gone on the road with me for work in quite awhile, sticking to errands around town  while i am home. But that changed this past month.

Chipper is back on the road again as I make my way here and there to speaking and consulting gigs. I decided to take her with me for several reasons all boiling down to her being the greatest little travel dog ever and my selfish desire to have her by my side.

Taking pictures of Chipper on our journey however was not always easy as Chipper is very funny about cameras...we say that is her Cherokee heritage (Carolina dogs are the indigenous dogs of the Cherokees) and that she is afraid it will steal her soul. But I did manage to snap a few!

Here is Chipper with her helper dog halter on ready in her back seat queen of the road style!

here is Chipper watching out the back window

and one of my favorites, Chipper totally relaxing in her back seat

We saw much beauty in the stark open landscapes

and some inexplicable things too! This placement of newspaper racks inside a fenced area with a warning was totally inexplicable

and then there were the cows....lots of cows....Chipper LOVES cows!!

Chipper was often on high alert especially for cows....

but mostly Chipper simply relaxed and enjoyed being with her mama in the van off on another adventure....

 One of the greatest advantages I found having Chipper with me was the walks we took- good for her and definitely good for me.
Chipper is my heart string girl and so good for my heart in so many ways.
Chipper Cheyenne Kendrick
Carolina Dog Extraordinaire!
Always first in my heart

Spring Travels

Many of us hit the road more come spring. I know once the basketball season is done I am freer to travel. My partner and I try to not be on the road at the same time so one of us is always home to take care of the many fur kids who share their lives with us. My partner is a sports writer, covering mostly women's college basketball (specifically the University of TN LadyVols). Me I am a speaker, writer and consultant...I travel to present workshops, speak at conferences and meetings and to do onsite work consulting at veterinary clinics nationwide on OSHA and other regulatory matters.

I also travel to DC and spend time with legislative work, advocating for the veterinary profession as well as important animal welfare along with food animal and ecological issues, but I have to admit I have been avoiding that in this ugly political season.

This week as I get ready to hit the road I will have a special traveling partner with me: Chipper Cheyenne. Chipper is a Carolina dog, one of our many rescue pups. She too is a writer, the famous author of “Ask Chipper” columns in my newsletters and well received at clinics and conferences nationwide. In fact I always joked that the first thing people do at conferences is ask me ‘where’s Chipper??’ She has a huge following. She is getting on in years but still loves to travel. This will be a great trip for her too as she will be traveling as my helper dog. I admit that as I have recovered from the effects of Lyme disease I have been much more mobile, less needing my assistant dog- the painful relapses coming fewer and farther between. But it will be great to have my girl with me for the just in case but especially for the companionship a dog gives you. I feel more her helper companion these days, this trip than she mine as Chipper ages, and that’s just fine- a position I am honored to be in.

Many of our friends have lost beloved fur kids this winter, we have too, losing our little Socks, so as I write this I think of the moments to cherish, to savor and hold close to our hearts....for you never know what tomorrow will bring.

Safe travels all- take the time to smell the roses, watch the birds, breath in the sweet perfumes of nature and be grateful you are able to enjoy each and every moment of adventure life brings you.

Chipper Cheyenne and I wish you Happy Trails!

Chery and Chipper Cheyenne