Lola is a three and a half year old, six pound, pure bred Chihuahua. Her dam lives in Star Valley, Wyoming, and her sire is a stud at DJ's Chihuahuas in Idaho Falls, Idaho. She is not flawless, as one ear droops, but she has a super groovy hackle/cowlick up the back of her neck. She is brown with white markings on her feet, tip of her tail and neck. She is the same color as the dirt on the trails that she loves to run, so I rely on her white markings to see her in the weeds as her "strike indicator." For those of you who fly fish, particularly in the Rocky Mountains, you know what a strike indicator is. For the rest of you, go look it up.
Lola eats home cooked dog food and premium canned food. She is a classic chihuahua as you would think she was a boa constrictor the way she can distend her jaw to grab any food of any size within reach. Weight management is critical and avoiding people food is a premium on keeping the carpets and chair upholstery clean!
Lola has an older step sister, an adopted/rescued Australian Shepherd/Spaniel mix named Isa. This dog stares at critters and sneers at people in happiness, showing all her teeth and tap dancing, like most Aussie Shepherds, but she flushes birds like best spaniel. Lola will chase a mouse, but wouldn't know what to do with one if she caught it.
I did not realize I would grow so fond of very small dogs until I spent time around my friend's dog, Axel, a Chihuahua-Poodle cross. He weighs seven pounds but has very long legs and can leap nearly five feet in the air. He is a quirky dog, but very sensitive and lovable, and it was being around Axel that made me realize I would really bond to and love a tiny dog.
