Saturday, July 17, 2010

Chiquita

So it goes like this: I've always wanted a Chihuahua, given that they're the one recognizably Latino dog, and even though one of the two dogs who have bitten me so far was a nasty Chihuahua who belonged to a neighbor childhood friend.

I walk into the vet's office Thursday, a day after returning from a difficult trip to Puerto Rico to take my father's ashes for his memorial mass, and there is this crate and there are these two Chihuahuas in it and they're being given away with discounted vet bills as an incentive. One of the two tiny dogs is this pathetic looking Chihuahua, named Rickie, which I assume is a male and I start weeping because the dog is so scrawny and so clearly starving for affection and attention. A true underdog.

I call my husband, who is a saint and who loves me beyond reason, and he agrees that I can bring the dog home if no one else adopts him by the end of the day. I leave the Chihuahua there, thinking that's the end of that since the vet had posted the dogs on Facebook and they had people calling about them all day.

I get a call around 5:30 p.m. from the vet's office manager that the smallest Chihuahua is yet unclaimed and would I want to give her (not a male after all) a try over the weekend. I consult my beloved husband and he agrees, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Chiquita, as we've christened her, cannot fill the immense void left by my father but she is trying hard. Lizzy isn't sure what to make of her and isn't easing into being a big sister but the cats have taken Chiquita in stride though they don't know what to do when she starts jumping around and play-bowing at them.

For a Chihuahua, Chiquita doesn't evidence any of the breed's bad traits. She is truly Omega (doesn't have a single Alpha hair on her) and has a personality that is eerily similar to our very loved Geni girl, who left us last year. She isn't housebroken, so we're working on that and I've purchased a book on Chihuahuas to learn more about the breed. I've also got her a pink collar (6 inches!) and her own halter and leash with bling. I am now in search of a Chihuahua carrying purse...

I'm fully aware that having five furry children is ridiculous but there are some offers life makes that you simply can't refuse.

2 comments:

Maruca said...

There is no better, more loving family for Chiquita. Geni, reincarnated, and Lizzy will have someone else whose neck to chew on, Hamlet is thanking God.
She is adorable, Nana. TQM.

Boricua en la Luna said...

Gracias, Muli. Today we had a small success because she peed in The Pee-Pee Room, as our laundry room is now known since it has the cat litter and the space I've laid out for Chiquita to pee. I'm hoping she'll start pooping there, too, although she preferred the kitchen floor for that earlier today.