Doggy Love, Part II

Yesterday I discussed my love of Shiver, the shivering chihuahua.  Today it's Chico's turn!

**Again, please don't look too closely at the carpet.  I don't know why it looks so dirty in the picture.  I swear 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 so grossed out by how it looks here!  Eww!!!**

Chico spent his first year of life at a puppy mill.  It got closed down and he went to live with a family who, while I'm sure they loved him, didn't think he should be in the house.  They had a three or four year old son and a brand new baby.  For whatever reason, they didn't think he should be around the baby.  He's just an itty bitty thing so I don't get why they think that having the baby around him would be a problem.  I got Chico in November last year on Thanksgiving weekend.  He had been spending most of his time outside or in the cold garage.  It was a cold winter and we got a ton of snow.  Chico is a short hair chihuahua which means he doesn't have a lot of hair.  I would hate to think of him being stuck outside all winter!  Why bother to have a pet if you're just going to keep it outside all the time?  I just don't get it! 

Several months after I brought him home, I wondered if he was happy.  I was thrilled to have him and Shiver loved that he didn't have to be alone anymore when I went to work but I knew that Chico wasn't Shiver's biggest fan.  Shiver tries to monopolize all situations for his own benefit which means he steals Chico's toys, he tries to steal Chico's treats and he will literally push Chico out of the way if he's getting any kind of attention.  One day I was sitting on my bed watching tv in my bedroom.  Shiver was in his requisite spot on my lap and Chico wanted to be cuddled.  I picked him up and held him on my chest.  Several minutes later, this tiny little dog fell asleep and very loudly snored up a storm.  It was then that I knew he was happy.  If he didn't feel comfortable, he wouldn't have fallen asleep so deeply in my arms.  He doesn't usually snore that loudly.  We've repeated that a few times since then and that's always when he snores the loudest.  It makes me smile.

What I love about Chico is that I don't think he realizes just how small he is!  He's very laid back and sweet but get him around the neighbor's pit bull or the other neighbor's big brown dog (not sure what kind it is as I've only seen bits and pieces of him through the tall wooden fence) and you would think he's just as big as they are!  He barks and growls so loudly in what I'm sure he thinks is a vicious manner.  No matter that those dogs could easily eat him as a small snack and come back for more!  Chico doesn't know this and doesn't let it stop him.  He may not be large but he definitely thinks he's in charge!!!

As I said above, Shiver thinks all of the toys and treats belong to him.  Chico lets him have the toys but refuses to give up his treats.  If anyone comes within 20 feet of him when he's chewing on one of his rawhide bones, he will growl until you're out of his line of sight!  Because he's so little, he can get into some interesting spots that I would never think he could.  In the rare instance I share my human food with him, he runs away and crawls somewhere where Shiver can't get him so he can enjoy his treat in peace.  When he's all done, he'll crawl out and run over to me to beg for some more!

There is a certain chair in the living room that my sweet kitty used to think was his when he was still alive.  Chico has now claimed this chair as his own.  He'll jump up and almost but not quite make it so he climbs up the last little bit.  It's so cute to see his little back legs push him up the rest of the way.  

I love to watch him do his business outside.  He'll lift his leg up like a boy dog and then when he starts to go, he lifts up the other leg!  I'm not sure why he does this or where he picked this up from but it's hilarious to watch!  He never falls down though, he's always careful to put one of his legs back down on the ground before he does.   

I'm Chico's third owner.  I just want him to have a happy life since his early years clearly weren't.  At his first home, he lived in a small cage and was only let out to go potty and make babies.  He received little to no human affection at all.  Yet you would never know this if you met him today.  He's so sweet and laid back.  He loves to cuddle and will seek out attention if he thinks Shiver is getting too much. 

I bought him off Craigs List and set up a time to go get him.  The guy let me in when I got to the house and Chico barked at me for a moment, then came over and hopped into my lap and stayed there for rest of the visit.  I don't know why but I stayed at the guy's house for probably an hour, maybe more, just cuddling Chico.  I'm sure the guy was ready for me to leave several minutes after I got there and paid him but he wasn't pushing me out the door or making me feel uncomfortable so I stayed and cuddled my new bundle of joy.  The next weekend I took Chico to the vet for his shots.  While waiting in the patient area, he got friendly with some guy and tried to hop up into his lap too but the chair was too high up for him.  The guy was a complete stranger to me and Chico both but he didn't let that stop him.  Luckily the guy was friendly and gave Chico some loves.  Shiver, on the other hand, cowered in my lap because he doesn't like new people or new situations.

If I end up losing my house and have to move back in with my parents, they've already told me I'll have to give my dogs up.  They live in a mobile home park which only allows one dog per owner.  My parents actually have two dogs so they're disobeying the rules.  So far they haven't been caught or if they have, no one has said anything.  They already had the two beagles prior to this rule being instated so they may be overlooking it for my parents sake.  Plus one of their beagles is really ancient and probably won't be around for too terribly much longer.  She's in good health overall and gets regular checkups but she's still really old and nothing can change that.  Anyways, back to Chico!  I'm his third owner and final owner.  I refuse to take my pups to the pound.  The three of us will be homeless before it comes to that!  I refuse to give either of them up!!!