Cheyenne’s Silver Lining

A beautiful bundle of fuzzy sweetness, Cheyenne, was brought into the Cochrane & Area Humane Society (CAHS) on Jan. 27 through Canine Action Projectwhich is one of our partners with our Rural Rescue Program, sponsored by Pet Valu Cochrane.  

After an emergency visit and care in our vet hospital, a request was put out to our foster homes looking for loving hands to care for this girl and help bring her back to health.  Along with her photograph, our foster coordinator sent out what we knew: one-year-old injured female mixed breed dog.

Almost 8,000 km away, Ivanie Blondin, Canadian Olympic speed skater, received the photograph and the request while she was on her way to compete at the 2019 ISU World Single Distance Championships in Inzell, Germany and was immediately drawn to Cheyenne.   

The once crowned world champion in 2016 won a silver medal at that competition, and after landing at the Calgary International Airport a couple of days later, Cheyenne received her own silver lining of hope when Blondin and her partner, Konrád Nagy, came straight to the shelter and took her home.  

“She had that Mountain Dog face, and my heart just kind of sunk a little bit,” relays Blondin, who has a St. Bernard-Pyrenean mountain dog cross, Brooke, as well as an African grey parrot named Gizmo.  

I always find my way to animals, and they find their way to me. – Ivanie Blondin

Blondin says that it is in her nature to help animals and that has been a passion of hers for her entire life.  She has taken previous training in animal care and is something she may pursue in the future.  Right now, though, while training and competing takes up the majority of their time, CAHS is fortunate that Blondinand Nagy choose to donate their free time to animals in need.

When the couple first brought Cheyenne home she was waking up every third hour, but it didn’t take long before Cheyenne realized she was in good hands and began to relax and heal.

“We saw her grow so much; she was very energetic and social and Brooke and she would play her all day long.”

Hours were spent by caring for, bathing, grooming and taking Cheyenne out for walks until she was ready to find her forever home.  Which she did.

When friends of the family came over to meet the new temporary member, they ended up falling in love with her and eventually adopting her.  Madelaine and Myles, who adopted this lovely girl have renamed her Lily.  They say she is doing awesome in her new life and loves playing with other dogs. The families even continue to get together for walks and plays.

“It is nice to see her continue to grow and have a family now,” says Blondin.

Blondin says that being a competitive athlete has provided her with many opportunities to grow as a person – in and out of the rink. While celebrating the wins and overcoming the losses is a mental and physical game, she says that surrounding herself with furry and feathery companions has been a great help for overall success.

If you are interested in becoming a foster home for one of our animals please contact foster@cochranehumane.ca for more information.

By Janaia Hutzal