If you have followed my website for a while, surely you read posts with pictures of my dog Choya, AKA- the Cactus Mutt. He has been in at least 30 different posts on this website and mentioned on the Tomcat's Outdoor Adventures Facebook page many more. He has spent far more time in the mountains with me than any person has. Sadly, Choya passed away on November 10, 2026. Since he has been a frequent guest on here and such a great adventure and training buddy, I wanted to make this post as a memorial to him and tell his story.
Choya came into my life just after Christmas in 2016. We saw him at the Fremont County Humane Society in Canon City, Colorado. We were initially looking for an older dog to join the aging dogs we had at the time. In the shelter he was easy to overlook. He was a quiet dog surrounded by loud barkers. Thinkin he was much older,we were surprised to find out he was estimated around two years old.
The animals in the shelter in December had Christmas themed names. He went by Elf. He was rather chunky for his size and the shelter workers referred to him as "Fat Elf." He weighed about 60lbs when he came to the shelter and around 55lbs when we took him home.
We decided to have a meet and greet with him. He was super sweet natured, and we instantly bonded with him. He came home with us a few days later on December 31, 2016. Because of a special anniversary of the shelter's start in 1950, his adoption fee was only $19.50, and he was worth every penny. Actually he was a priceless dog. The first thing he did when he reached our home in the mountains was slide in the snow like an otter.
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| A very dense Choya, not long after we got him |
He was brought to the shelter as a stray that was found roaming around Penrose, Colorado. This area has a lot of scrubby vegetation, including cactus called cholla. We decided to name him after the cactus. So people pronounced it correctly, we spelled his name phonetically as Choya. Since he got his name from a cactus, the nickname Cactus Mutt was born.
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| He was obese when we got him |
I wanted to slim him down to a healthier weight. I started walking him about 3 miles a day to start. He was aleady a very well-mannered dog on leash. After a month or so, I decided to take him on his first hike on the BLM land in the Arkansas Hills. We ended up hiking about 12 miles. He handled it very well. Soon the walks turned into runs.
By summer I decided to take him on more ambitious hikes in the bigger mountains. In June we climbed our first 13,000' mountain together, Hunt's Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Range. I continued to take him on shorter hikes in the nearby mountains with daily runs on the other days.
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| He seemed to enjoy the views as much as me |
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| The two of us on a climb of 14,421' Mt Massive |
I wanted to take him hiking on a 14,000' mountain by the end of the year. I decided to take him on an easier 14er hike called the DeCaLiBron that summits four 14ers. Despite the four summits its a relatively easy loop just over 7 miles long. Even though it was November, there was barely any snow. It seemed like a good first trip over 14,000'.
By this time I had hiked with him long enough to know he was distracted by wildlife and hiked with him on leash. However, I would occasionally unhook his leash where it might hinder his scrambling on rocky stretches or I risked stepping on him in steep sections. On this particular hike I unhooked him several times. When he spotted a distant animal, he took off and the leash snapped losse from his collar. I had been wearing gloves and my guess is with my gloves, it kept the leash from clipping properly. He got away from me and was quickly out of sight. I had lost him. I spent the rest of the day searching until dark until I had to call it quits due to nightfall and my lack of overnight gear.
I had to leave him on the mountain. Finding him was a time crunch with an incoming storm a couple days away. The mountains in the area are also littered with mine shafts. Fortunately he was found at the trailhead the next day. He managed to find his way back to the start of the hike somehow despite being several miles away. The complete story can be found in a link at the end of this post.
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| Choya leading the way near the Crestones |
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| The two of us on 14,003' Mt. Huron |
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| Enjoying the view on Hunts Peak in the Sangre de Cristos |
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| Ready to start a climb |
We lived in Colorado with Choya about 2 1/2 years. During that time we hiked a lot all around the Salida area in the Sawatch Range, Sangre de Cristos, and Arkansas Hills. He climbed quite a few peaks over 13 and 14,000' and countless lower elevation mountains. He was always ready for any trail, canyon, mountain scramble, or bushwhack that I asked him to join me on. By now, the once obese Elf was now a sleek 40lb mountain machine.
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| Hiking in the Sangre de Cristos |
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| Taking a rest, ready for the next leg of the hike |
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| Posing in front of the peak he just hiked up |
In his first year with us, he ran and hiked over 1,000 miles. By the next year we covered more than 1,600 miles together. Not only was the Cactus Mutt a healthy weight, he was a super fit dog. In the process, I got into better shape as well.
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| Patiently waiting |
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| He was up for a snowy trail too |
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The two of us on Copper Mountain in the Arkansas Hills
of Colorado |
In May of 2019 we found ourselves living in the Adirondacks of New York with a whole new mountain range to explore. In the five years we lived in the Adirondacks, Choya stepped up his game. The Adirondacks are full of rough, eroded trails with that mud that lingers through most of the summer. On several occasions he joined me on long trudges over rough terrain that covered more than 20 miles. Every time he would sleep on the ride home, only to ask for his evening walk, which was normally another 2-3.5 miles. I would only leave him behind on the coldest hikes or trips with deep snow. By the end of our time in the Adirondacks, he climbed quite a few summits in the High Peaks and too many other mountains to count.
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| Enjoying an Adirondack view |
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| Surveying the Adirondack foliage |
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| A muddy Choya in the Adirondacks |
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| Smiling on Whiteface Mountain |
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A painting from the Whiteface
photo above |
While he was always up for a trip to the mountains, Choya loved to run. When we weren't hiking, we ran nearly everyday, in all weather. It started in Colorado, but we began to run more seriously in the Adirondacks. In the town we lived, we were well known for running all around town, in summer and the snowy Adirondack winters. On top of his runs, he put in another 2-3.5 miles on more casual evening walks. When he saw me grab my running shoes or leash, he became quite excited. our third full year together, we put in over 1,800 miles together. The next five years, he would put in more than 2,000 miles with me between hikes, runs, and evening walks. In 2023 we put in more than 2,400 miles together.
Over the first three years he was with us he participated in multiple 5K races for dogs. While the first one was a walk with Puma when I was our of town, he was the first dog to cross the finish line with me on the other two races.
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A dressed up Choya for a
Humane Society Mutt Strut in Colorado |
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The two of us after a 5K where Choya
was the first dog to cross the finish line |
After five years in the Adirondacks, we moved once again, this time to West Virginia. By now he was slowing down a little bit. He still ran daily but our hikes were limited to easy walks on dirt roads rather than rough trails. Even with me gone for nearly two month on backpacking trips and travel in 2024, we still managed more than 2,000 miles together. By 2025 his slow down became more noticeable. He still managed about 1,200 miles of running. He was noticeably tired after a run. He still would happily cover 5 miles, but it would wear him out and his legs became shaky after the runs as he got older.
Finally at the beginning of this year, I became much more cautious running with him. I cherry picked better days to run with him. He still would perk up when I grabbed the leash, but he would be just as happy taking it easy. In the winter he had a cancerous growth on his lip removed. My final run with him was 5 mile jaunt in WV on April 8th. He managed more than 200 miles in the first few months of 2026.
In February he had a cancerous growth removed from his lip. While he seemed ok at first the cancer had spread. Later in the summer he had more aggressive tumors. In September he had a rough day where he looked like wouldn't make. He held on for about six more weeks, declining slowly. On the morning of November 11, his body finally shut down for good.
While he certainly love a run or trip in the mountains, he was also a fun dog at home too. He was just as happy snuggling with his people as he was exploring outdoors. Below are some pictures of him over the years hamming it up for the camera and enjoying his down time.
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| Enjoying a cozy cat bed |
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| Laying in a raised garden box |
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| "Smiling" for the camera |
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| Hanging out on his back |
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| Wearing a Halloween costume |
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One of the last photos about a month
before he said goodbye |
Choya was truly a great companion. I spent far more times on the trails or running with Choya than I have with any person. Together, we covered 17,000 miles through the mountains, runs, and our daily walks. Yes 17,000. That's a lot of time with you that I will always remember. I love you buddy. You will be greatly missed and never forgotten.
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| Posing on Adirondack summit |
Below are all the posts over the years on this website that Choya was apart of. There were countless more outings with him beyond the ones on the website. Click on any of the posts below to read about his adventures or see photos of him doing what he loved.
Adirondacks
Colorado
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| He seemed to be smiling in the mountains. |
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