Doggy Love, Part I

Anyone who knows me personally knows that I LOVE my little chi's.  How do they know this?  Because I can (and do!) talk about them endlessly!!!

**Please don't look too closely at the carpet.  I don't know why it looks so dirty in the picture because it doesn't look like that in person.  This was taken around Christmas time and I've since shampooed the carpet  again because I was grossed out by how it looks here!  Eww!!!**

But anyways, back to my babies!  I simply adore them and don't want to forget why I do.  I've been thinking a lot about Max lately and I know the pain of losing a pet.  No matter how long you have them, it's never long enough!!!  Fortunately, Max is still with us but his days are numbered.  Every single time I visit Max's blog, I cry.  I just recently found him through Cocorue but I feel his family's pain in knowing there is nothing else medical science can do beyond making him comfortable in his last days.

So with that ~ I wanted a written record of why I love my babies.  If the memories ever start to fade over time, I can come back here and refresh them.

Shiver

Shiver is a big chihuahua.  I was a little disappointed when I got him ONLY because he was so tall and I've always wanted a little bitty dog.  He was four months old when I plucked him from the mall pet store and he was already a big boy.  When I first got him, people asked me what he looked like.  I always told them that he looks like Paris Hilton's dog, Tinkerbell.  And every.single.time people always said, "Oh, so you think you're Paris Hilton now?"  I don't know why they'd ask this but I found it rather annoying.  I then read that Paris' dog is also a big chihuahua!

I love that Shiver is a Mama's Boy.  He would be beyond thrilled if his life consisted of nothing but sitting on my lap 24/7 while I showered him with love.  He's very shy and whenever he meets new people, he prefers to cower down next to me.  It doesn't matter if he's at home or if he's out in public somewhere.  He truly has no interest in making new friends, he just wants his Mama. 

He's highly jealous of anyone or anything he thinks is taking attention away from him.  If I spend too much time on the computer or watching tv and my attention is diverted from him, he will grab something from another room that he knows he shouldn't have and bring it over to show me.  He stays just out of reach for me to grab him.  As soon as he knows that I've seen him, he'll run off with it, causing me to chase him and give him the attention he's craving.  If I'm reading, he tries to get between me and the book.  He loves to "help" me make the bed.  I'll be trying to put the sheets on and he'll come over to the side of the mattress and lick my face or wag his tail at me.  Or both!

He's very graceful for a boy and very dainty.  I love to watch him when he's sitting on or next to me (always touching me) and doing his little doggy thing, scratching an ear, yawning, chewing his toenails.

There is a house near me that I used to pass every morning on the way to work that has a big deer figurine in the front yard near the garden.  I was looking at Shiver one day and it occurred to me that he looked just like a baby dear when he curls up.  The only thing missing would be the white spots on his back.  Oh, and his tail is too long but he usually sits on that.

My favorite thing about him is that he doesn't ever like to be apart from me.  I used to have to stand outside in the backyard with him while he did his business or else he'd bark and cry to come back in.  If I ignored him, he'd just get louder.  He finally decided last year that it was ok if I went back inside but he has this need to scratch on the door a million times whenever he's outside.  I'll open the door and once he sees me, he'll run off into the yard again to play.  It used to drive me absolutely crazy that I can't get a moment of peace while he's outside.  In the spring and summer when we have warmer weather, he can be out there for quite awhile.  I finally realized he just wants to know that I'm still there even if he can't see me.  I'm the only Mama he's ever known and I'm pretty sure he loves me just as much as I love him.

Tomorrow is Chico's turn!