Meet the Lady of the House

We decided a couple of weeks ago that it was time to add another puppy to our family. Tico enjoys play dates with his best friend, Ennis, so much that adding another dog seemed to be the right thing to do.

From the start, Tico has been perfect in every way. At just under 9-months old, he is housebroken, well-behaved, and good with other dogs. His most striking feature, however, is that he almost never barks. He goes days at a time without making a sound--not what you expect from a chihuahua.

Given our experience with Tico, my preference was that our second dog be a long-haired chihuahua, too. We also decided on a little girl that we would call Toodles, after my favorite aunt. Then we started checking ads and searching online to see what was available.

Thursday night we agreed to expand our search to other toy breeds. There just weren't any long-haired chi's available anywhere in the area. Friday I was writing a post for the blog about our up-to-then futile search for the perfect companion for Tico when my partner messaged me with a link to a Craig's List ad for four pups--two boys and two girls--with photos. I knew we'd found Toodles as soon as I saw her picture (above).

I called the number to arrange to see the pups. Turns out, it's the same guy that sold us Tico. The pups have the same father as Tico. He remembered us and said we could have first pick of the four puppies. He's not a breeder--our chi's have no papers. Whether or not he's a puppy farmer we haven't been able to determine. It looks like the dogs are the family pets of country folk that live over on the GA/AL line.

Just as with Tico, we met him halfway--at the Waffle House in Tucker, GA for the exchange. We knew we'd found Toodles as soon as we saw the quartet. We were on the road and headed back to Athens in less than five minutes.

Tico and I went out the back door for a long walk as Toodles entered the front door for a badly-needed bath. Tico was covered with fleas when we got him and we knew Toodles would be, too. By the time we got back Toodles was clean, dry, free of fleas, and enjoying a romp in the front yard. The meeting went very well.

For Toodles, it was love at first sight. She follows Tico around everywhere he goes--as long as she is awake and he doesn't go too far, too fast. Tico didn't know what to think at first, and wouldn't let her out of his sight. Twenty-four hours later, he checks on her every few minutes when she's sleeping then goes back to playing with his toys. The first few times he just looks at her, but eventually he starts nudging her and trying to wake her up to play.

We did a great job raising Tico. With Toodles, we are much more experienced. I'm optimistic that she is going to turn out to be just as good as Tico. I have to admit, with all this adorable-ness in the house, it's not easy to be...

The Crotchety Old Man