Josh is a beautiful cream Chow young boy who had been given up by his owner's mother along with his black Chow father Jody. Their story is a sad one. Jody and his mate were owned by a woman who bred them and kept Josh out of their litter. Josh's mother was also a cream Chow.

One day their owner moved and left the 3 Chows with her mother who was afraid of dogs, much less big dogs. The 3 Chows were kept chained up in the backyard and the woman would throw food at them, being to afraid to get too close to them. After a while, the three Chows became very scared. Finally, the three Chows were turned over to the Lenoir County SPCA shelter in North Carolina.

When we were first contacted, we did not have space available for them, so they were kept at the shelter until we could pick them up. While the three Chows were there, the ladies at the shelter tried working with them to help get them calmed down. Unfortunately, it became increasingly evident that the female had become so fearful that she was a fear biter and could not be turned around. Consequently, she was euthanized. We were finally able to bring Jody and Josh up to Virginia.

When we met at the rest stop at the VA/NC border, the two Chows were very afraid. They stayed against the back of the cab of the pickup and wouldn't come to the tailgate to meet us. I finally climbed over the tailgate, sat up against it, and finally coaxed Jody over near enough to get a lead on him. Then it was just a little reach for Josh to allow me to put a lead on him as well. Finally, we were able to lead Jody down from the back of the tailgate, soon to be followed by his son Josh. We got them into our vehicle and drove them home.

Once we got them home, we spent over two hours brushing, combing, and dematting the two boys in preparation for the adoption day the following morning. Josh had mats that were so very bad that one of them was almost half the size of his head. Both of them had mats almost as large as that all over them.

We took Josh into the store the next morning and let the groomer work on him most of the day. By the end of the day Josh was absolutely beautiful. Shamika had been able to get all the mats out without having to shave him just as we'd requested.

Over the next few days we observed that Jody was very dominant over Josh. When Josh would attempt to play with the other Chows, Jody would immediately discipline him. Josh would roll over onto his back and cry as his dad would bite at him, growling. Jody never hurt Josh, just let him know he did not approve. Fortunately we had a home waiting for Jody, so we were able to place him right away, giving Josh an opportunity to settle into a more normal routine of playing.

We had Josh for quite some time before we finally placed him. He would hide under the table at the store and we wouldn't even need to hold onto his leash, as he didn't once attempt to run off. One day we had gotten the Chows into the car, and as the supplies were being loaded into the rear, Josh jumped over the back of the seat and ran off across the parking lot. We gave chase, as Josh ran out of the shopping center across a very busy highway. Several people joined in the chase, trying to help us capture our loose boy. Finally Josh was caught, and returned safely to the vehicle. We were just so very terrified that we would lose him...but the heavens smiled upon our sweet boy and he was safe.

At last, a young couple called and asked about adopting a young Chow. We told them when our next adoption day was to be and where we would be located. The lady and her mother came to the store to see our fur kids. She wanted a red Chow, but her husband who had not been able to accompany them that day had already decided that he wanted Josh after having heard his description in the initial phone call. Josh of course was in his hiding place under the table as usual. They spent quite a while with him and fell in love with him once we lifted the table cloth so they could see him.

The following weekend the couple returned to see Josh once again and decided that they definitely wanted him. We could not have found a better home for our boy. Eventually they adopted 2 more Chows from us, and the lady's mother also adopted one that they helped us rescue and foster.