I have two rescues. Chico and Coco. Chico is on the left and Coco on the right. Chico will be 10 on October 24, 215. I rescued him from a puppy mill when he was about 4 weeks old. He's sweet, loving, and very healthy. A few years ago, he wiggled out of my arms and fell to the floor and broke his knee. Poor thing was in a cast for 5 weeks until I removed it and he's been doing very well. He won't jump onto the bed, even though it's low to the ground -- a platform bed. But he will jump on the couch! Go figure. Coco is approximately 9 years old He was given to me by a friend when he was about 2 years old. No one knew exactly how old he was. My friend knew his owner was being foreclosed upon and had to move to a women's shelter with her three kids. The shelter didn't allow dogs. So, my friend called and asked me if I wanted him. I had to put down my second poodle a year before I got Coco and if she had called one day earlier, I wouldn't have been ready. But it was just a lucky day for me and Coco, and I said to bring him over and I'd see how Chico and Coco got along. Well, this was the funniest thing that I've ever seen: both dogs acted like they had known each other in a previous life! From day one they were the best of friends and it was hilarious watching them play-fight. Coco knew a few tricks when I first got him, but over time he lost interest in them. Both dogs sleep with me and keep me warm in the winter, and during the summer make me sweat.
Small dogs are cute but pardon me for saying that we have a phobia of chihuahua dogs. My husband was bitten by a chihuahua in one dog show that we attended. We didn't know that the small dog was vicious. The owner said that she brought her dog in that dog show to learn how to tame it because it really bites. My husband was just passing in front of the dog while the owner was seated in the rows of chair. The bite was deep and it was bleeding. So now we are somewhat scared of chihuahuas.
I can understand that. Their bite is just as painful as any large dog's bite. I had the bad experience happen to me. I adopted another Chihuahua rescue dog that seemed perfect in all ways and he got along well with my two other Chihuahuas. I had him neutered and he was fairly well behaved. One day I propped him up on the counter to clean out his eyes -- you know that sleep stuff that dogs collect in the corner of their eyes? I clean that out every day. I use a baby wipe and it takes about 30 seconds to do. It was also time for an external anal expression. I do that about every two weeks also with a baby wipe. No biggie, dogs don't mind it at all. Well, Chi Chi, my newly adopted dog, was not in a good mood. He 'tolerated' the external anal expression, but when I grabbed a clean baby wipe, and turned him around for the eye cleaning, he gave me a look that wasn't nice. His ears were laid back and his body posture was threatening. I started to clean out one eye, and he bit me. Hard. I was stunned and my hand started bleeding. A lot. He was growling and acting deranged. I put him down on the floor and he attempted to bite me on the leg. I knew then I couldn't keep him any longer, that he was a threat to me and to my other dogs. It was late. I was crying and very upset. I knew I couldn't place him in another home due to his behavior... you just don't do that. I called the after hours animal clinic and told them what's what. They told me to bring him in, and they would put him to sleep. It was the only option. I knew this was all I could do. I called a cab (I don't drive), and waited. Hours and hours and many phone calls to the cab company. He's on his way, he's lost, he'll be there in 15 minutes. This turned into an extremely stressful situation. Here I was bleeding (it didn't stop), and I knew it was going to be Chi Chi's last day on Earth, and I couldn't get a ride right away. Finally the cab came. I had Chi Chi wrapped up in a towel to keep him warm. He was not himself. Something snapped in his brain. When I got to the animal clinic, they took him to the back room after I said my good byes. It was a terrible experience and I still feel bad I had to do this with a healthy dog, but you can't take chances with this kind of a situation.