On March 15th, 2016, we lost our beloved furry family member, Reggae, after a 6 week battle with oral melanoma. She was rescued by Sam in 2008 and quite frankly, she was a beautiful (though some thought funny looking) bitch. Those of you who knew Reggae, know that she could be mean (okay, aggressive). She hated all animals and most people. She could smile at you, wag her tail, and bite you in the ass the moment you turned your back. Yes, she was a bitch, however she LOVED Sam from day one and welcomed Bill into her life with hardly a bark (a clear indicator to Sam just how special Bill must be). Reggae truly did mellow with age and consistent love over the years made her trust others just a little bit. She loved the beach, particularly Rocky Point (Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico), where we'd stay at the Beachcomer and she'd chase seagulls up & down the beach. We'll be stopping there on the way back to spread some of Reggae's ashes.
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| Rest sweet Reggae girl, until we meet again |
The house was so lonely without Reggae and within a few weeks we knew we had to open our hearts and our home to another furry family member. A local shelter had an 18-month old, Doberman mix in need of a home. Within minutes of meeting her, we knew she was our girl and we named her Cheba! We're Cheba's 3rd home, why we don't really know because she's a sweetheart!! Smart as can be, aims to please, and looooves her peoples! She was a bit skiddish when we first adopted her, but soon she began to trust in our love. It's been awesome watching her become a happy and confident dog!
So what's with her name? Why the "aka Sweet Pea"? To bring your dog into Mexico you need to have a current rabies certificate and a certificate of health. Though we were only asked for Reggae's papers once, we wouldn't risk traveling without them (we don't want our furry family member to wind up in Mexican doggy jail!). Anyway, Cheba, is an urban slang term for marijuana. Since it's not a widely recognized term, we weren't too concerned about it drawing attention to either Mexican or US officials. But then we found out Cheba is WIDELY used in Mexico as slang for black tar heroin!! That totally changed our level of concern about her name!! Picture this.... Happy snowbirders crossing the border with our loaded up jeep, being asked for our dog's papers, which we gladly present, proud of our preparedness. The officials eyebrows raise...we're told to pull over...we're delayed for HOURS while our jeep is torn apart from bumper to bumper. NOT how we want to start (or end) this amazing adventure! Here's another visual for ya....we're oh so happily playing on the beach with our beloved dog. She gets away from us and we start yelling her name, "Cheba, come Cheba". Can you imagine the looks we would get from locals on the beach, or worse the interrogation from law enforcement?!? No way were we going to Mexico with a dog named Cheba!! Her official name would have to change!
We thought of simply changing it to Sheba, but Sam was a bit concerned that it was still too close. One of our pet names for Cheba is 'Sweet Pea', so her name will be temporarily changed to that for her official paperwork. We'll work hard to call her Sweet Pea in public, but she will always be our Cheba girl!
Happy trails and positive vibes!
Bill & Sam
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