The Story of Chip
This story has been told over and over to our family and friends but we like to tell it because we are so proud of the wonderful dog Chip has become and so it goes…
Chip was discovered in Gunnison, Colorado. Apparently he was locked in a barn for two weeks, while the old ranch hand was on a drinking binge. Chip was one of two puppies that survived out of a pack of five. A friend of Gary’s picked him up from a vet he knew in town. He was about to be euthanize because he was in such a dreadful state they thought nobody would adopt him. Cree didn’t want to see that happen so he scooped him up and brought him to Utah. Cree couldn’t keep Chip so Gary decided to take him on.
He said that Chip was a mess his hair was falling out because of mange and he was the saddest dog he had ever met, he could see that Chip was in a terrible state. Chip spent the first four days in Gary’s basement too miserable to make an effort to live. Gary was concerned at the time not knowing if he would act out and bite him or just end up dying on him. Finally on a sunny spring day Gary scooped him up and took him out into the back yard and brushed him out. That’s all it took, from that day on Chip and Gary have been inseparable.
He was an extremely skittish dog for a while, if there was company at Gary’s he would hide out in his room and come out to check on him every few minutes. He would run from peoples attempts to try to pet him. Friends warned Gary that Chip was going to be a difficult dog, but as Chip has aged he has become a beautiful and loyal alpha. He definitely has his quarks such as extreme separation anxiety, a sensitive digestive system, and a funny fear of vacuums. After nine years he has had to adjust to many things along the way such as me becoming apart of his and Gary’s little world, a few moves, and our latest addition to the pack Ellie. Considering what he had to endure in the first years of his life I’d say he is just shy of a miracle. Well done Chip.
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I didn’t realize a dog could be so loyal until Chip came into his own. Took a year or two. He even had physical issues over that first year. At one point there was an Auto-immune disorder eating away at one of his front elbows. Vet said it was likely scar tissue from an old injury that was being rejected by the body. The vet (‘ole Dr. Renda) didn’t have a very good prognosis. Said it was possible that eventually that leg would have to be removed. He also said that the power of love and security was an amazing healer, and that I should try that 😉 I did and it worked. Chip’s degenerative condition in his leg healed on it’s own and it’s never come back..