Eevee

EEVEE TKI NJP ACT1

Breed: Chihuahua/Pokemon
Color: Chocolate and White
Weight: 6 lbs
DOB: 2011?
Rescued From: East Valley Animal Shelter (January 2012)
Favorite Trick: Bow
Unique Talent: Hiking like a big dog.
Eevee loves hiking!

Eevee’s Achievements:

Agility 
• NJP - AKC Novice Jumpers Agility Title [2020] 
• ACT1 - AKC Agility Course Test 1 Title [2020]

Tricks
• TKI - AKC Intermediate Trick Dog Title [2019]
• TKN - AKC Novice Trick Dog Title [2019]

Eevee’s Media Appearances:

Books
• Dogs in Cars by Lara Jo Reagan

Television 
• Purina Incredible Dog Challenge National Championship 2020 - extra clip from #IncredibleDogsAtHome

Eevee’s Eulogy:

I remember about 13.5 years ago scrolling through Facebook to see a little chocolate long-haired Chihuahua crawling up the bars of a kennel at East Valley shelter. Even with chunks of fur missing (due to mange) and a cherry eye, he was the cutest dog I’ve ever seen. Because of his condition, he was only available to rescues. I knew damn well if that dog came to my house, he was never leaving. To prevent adding yet another new dog to our home, I watched his shelter listing to make sure he got rescued, but I was ready to tell my mom to pull him if he wasn’t rescued soon. I just wanted him safe. Well, I refreshed his page every few hours and after a day or two, I saw he got rescued…

A transporter brought a few dogs over from the shelter and they were at our house until they would be moved to their fosters. And then my mom brought him out of the kennel. “What the hell is that? Are these dogs from East Valley? ” Yep. That was him. And then I think I probably said something along the lines of “Well, you know he’s not leaving, right?” While it wasn’t knowingly coordinated, fate would only have it that this dog would be my best little buddy.

He had his eye surgery and his hair started to come back. And of course, he needed a name to replace his awful shelter name. He looked like a real-life version of what has become my favorite Pokemon, Eevee, so that’s what I wanted to call him. Most everyone said it was a girly name or just assumed he was a girl. But he loved that name right away, so he chose it. We often joked that he was a real Pokemon due to his enthusiastic, playful, fiery personality. He kind of embodied this character, because the main idea of Eevee was that he could be anything he wanted to be…

While Eevee looked like a purse dog, he was anything but that. He loved to learn tricks, play agility, and go on long runs & hikes. Any trick I taught him was the best trick ever because he did everything in the cutest and funniest ways possible. He was my first dog to get an agility title. His weaves were the most entertaining, but his favorite obstacle was the dog walk. When we would go to the Hills’ house, he’d run up their dog walk and look over the yard like he owned the place. He would run down it just so he could run back up to look again! He would go on long runs and hikes, rarely ever asking to be carried. (Yes, even that humongous hill at Peter’s Canyon…) He always knew when the garage door was open, and he’d race to the back door, scratch it for me to open, and demand we go play. He was the best little study buddy too. He’d just curl up in my lap and chill for hours while I was doing college crap or working on the computer. When we did shows, kids always wanted to pet him specifically – probably because he’s so cute and approachable. Kids who were afraid of dogs weren’t afraid of him. I can’t help but think he may have helped at least one kid get over their fear of dogs. He was so sweet and loved people. Such a happy-go-lucky little guy.

He had a heart condition for the last several years that was well managed with meds, but he had to retire from hiking and agility. He lived with his condition a lot longer than we expected and it finally got to the point where he couldn’t be made comfortable anymore. When I got him, I thought he was maybe a little younger than Torch/Spirit/Rebel, but I think he may have been a few years older than we initially thought, so he was probably 16-17 years old. Still not long enough… It’s never long enough. Of course, I can only wish he lived forever. I was not planning to send Michele a dog for her birthday, but she got one of the best dogs ever. Eevee was the perfect little dog, all 6 lbs of him. His presence was a lot bigger than his physical size, so those who knew him know the void he leaves. I miss him a lot.

Eevee