This Is…Me: Cheez — Please Look Beyond My Picture
An 11-Year-Old Dog Has Something Important To Say. Will You Listen?
Miami-Dade Animal Services | Doral, Florida
PLEASE HELP CHEEZ FIRST
Cheez is listed at Miami-Dade Animal Services in Doral, Florida. If you can offer him a loving home, please contact the shelter and ask for Cheez, Animal ID A1740050. If you cannot adopt, please consider supporting the shelter directly or sharing his story with someone who might be his person.
Shelter: Miami-Dade Animal Services
Address: 3599 NW 79 Avenue, Doral, FL 33122
Phone: (305) 884-1101 (listed with Cheez)
Website: https://www.miamidade.gov/animals
Animal ID: A1740050
Kennel: TG12
Shelter arrival: September 30, 2026
Support Miami-Dade Animal Services: https://www.miamidade.gov/animals
Please confirm Cheez’s current availability directly with the shelter.
This Is Me…Cheez.
This is me…Cheez. Yes, like the food. I think it’s a pretty good name, actually. It’s short, easy to remember, and perhaps it will make you smile. I could use a few more smiles in my life right now.
I don’t know much about cameras, but I do know that one picture shouldn’t get to decide whether someone loves me. Maybe you were scrolling through photographs of dogs looking for homes, and you almost passed mine. Maybe you were looking for a younger dog, a fluffier dog, or one with a picture taken in a beautiful field with a colorful bandana around his neck. I don’t have any of those things in my picture. I just have me. And I am hoping that will be enough for someone.
I am eleven years old, or at least that’s what the shelter persons estimate. I know that might sound old to some people. I suppose if you are looking for a puppy who wants to chew your shoes and rearrange your furniture, I might not be the first dog you consider. But please don’t decide what I can or cannot do just because of my age. I would love for someone to come meet me and discover who I really am.
There is something else I want you to understand. Being an older dog does not mean I have run out of things to give. I still have a name to answer to, a tail that belongs to me, and a life that matters. I might have gray around my face, and my photograph might not win any awards, but neither of those things tells you how much love I could bring into a home. Maybe my future person is older, too. Maybe they understand that life doesn’t have to be brand new to be wonderful. Maybe they have been waiting for a companion and haven’t realized yet that I have been waiting for them.
I think persons sometimes spend so much time looking for the perfect picture that they forget to look for the perfect connection. A beautiful photograph can make you stop scrolling, but it cannot tell you what it feels like when a dog finally trusts you. It cannot show you the quiet companionship of an ordinary afternoon or the happiness of coming home to someone who is glad you’re there. Those are things you have to experience. And perhaps there is someone reading this who would be willing to experience them with me.
So here is my request. Please don’t scroll past me because I am eleven. Please don’t overlook me because my photograph is blurry. And please don’t assume that the best parts of my life are already behind me. I don’t know how many days, months or years I have ahead of me. Nobody does. But I do know that the days ahead deserve to matter just as much as the days behind.
If you are in the Miami area, would you come ask about me? Tell the shelter persons you want to meet Cheez. Tell them my number, A1740050, and ask them about my personality, my health and what kind of home would be best for me. I want you to make a thoughtful decision because bringing a dog home is a promise, and I would like my next promise to last.
And if you cannot adopt me, would you please share my story? Not just my picture. My story. Tell someone there is an older terrier mix named Cheez who deserves to be seen. Maybe that person will share it with another person, and eventually my name will reach the one who has been waiting for a dog just like me.
I don’t need a thousand people to fall in love with me.
I just need one person to look at my picture and say, “There you are. I’ve been looking for you.”
This is me. My name is Cheez. I’m eleven years old. And I am still somebody’s dog.
I just haven’t met my somebody yet.
Love,
Cheez 🐾❤️
Why 2 Traveling Dogs Is Sharing Cheez
When we saw Cheez’s photograph, we knew exactly why our This Is…Me project matters. Here is an older rescue dog whose entire future might depend on whether someone stops long enough to look beyond one unflattering picture. We don’t know his history or his personality yet, and we won’t invent either. But we know his life matters, and we believe he deserves the opportunity to be known for more than a shelter number.
This Is…Me was created to help real rescue dogs be seen, believed and rescued. We want to give dogs like Cheez a voice, tell their stories with dignity and help connect them with people who might otherwise never notice them. Cheez doesn’t need us to pretend he’s something he isn’t. He needs us to remind the world that he is somebody.
Please share Cheez today. One share could reach the person who changes his life.
Help Us Continue This Is…Me
Our goal is to tell more stories like Cheez’s and give overlooked rescue dogs a better chance to be seen. We cannot do it without people who believe in this mission.
Sponsor a rescue dog through This Is…Me:
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/Q56YEJJTKXY96
Join or increase your Patreon support:
www.patreon.com/2travelingdogsrescue
Shelters and rescue organizations: To submit a dog for consideration, email rachael@2travelingdogs.com.
Thank you for helping us Make Rescues The Breed Of Choice!
Seen. Believed. Rescued.
Cheez’s story is written creatively in his imagined voice using the information in his shelter listing. His individual behavior, health and history should be confirmed with Miami-Dade Animal Services. His current availability has not been independently verified.
