Does your dog remind you of.....Yourself?

I recently read an article on PetPlace.com that I found intriguing. It asked the question, "Does your dog remind you of yourself?"
I immediately knew the answer for me was yes, but I had to think about why...
Collectively my husband and I have 4 dogs. But the truth is, I have 2 dogs and he has 2 dogs...and we all live together and make it work like the Brady Bunch.

So my 2 dogs are both Chihuahuas. They have been with me through everything....all the important and not-so-important highs and lows in my adult life. A little history...

FANCY
Fancy is my heart (and the one this blog is named after).
She is 14 years old, and has been the most consistent part of my life for the last 12 years. I picked her up in Midland, TX from a lady who was moving from a house to an apartment that did not allow pets. This lady worked with the mother of a friend of mine, and my friend knew I wanted a small dog that was potty trained, so she connected us.
I remember the day Fancy stole my heart like it was yesterday. After the introductions my friend and I sat down on the lady's sofa. Fancy came into the living room from the hallway and looked around for a minute to see who had come in. The lady called Fancy's name and she went over to the lady then sniffed around at our feet. (Here is the kicker...) Fancy then jumped on my lap and pawed at my hand when my petting her slowed down too much. She stayed on my lap for the duration of our visit. It was like she just knew I was there to take her and love her forever. She had me at Hello.
During the visit the lady told me all about Fancy's 1st two years of life....we all cried.
The lady had been a foster Mom to a little boy from age 2 until age 5 or 6. He was neglected and abused as a baby and toddler, so when she took the boy in, he already had some problems. He first asked her for puppy, which she gave him. But it turned out that when the dog got big, the boy was scared of it. So then he asked for a small dog. This time she made him save up his allowance to pay for the next dog himself. He did so and found a mix Chihuahua puppy in the newspaper. They brought the Chihuahua puppy home and the little boy named her Fancy. I have no idea why he chose that name, but 14 years later it still fits her perfectly.
Soon the foster Mom started realizing that the little boy was abusing Fancy. He would chase her, hit her, swing her by her tail, and more. The foster Mom tried to teach the little boy to respect animals and how they should be treated, but she had a really hard time with this and had to keep a close watch on Fancy whenever the boy was around.
Apparently the boy had several severe episodes that led up to the final straw... One day the boy pulled a knife on the foster Mom and told her he hated her and wanted to kill her. She immediately reported the incident to the case worker and the boy was taken away.
The foster Mom was so upset about losing her foster son that she decided to get rid of everything that reminded her of the boy. That led to her moving to an apartment and giving Fancy to a good home.
The lady told me that Fancy never takes to strangers very well (especially kids) and usually runs and hides after she sees who the visitors are. (Which Fancy still does.) She was completely shocked that Fancy had so easily and quickly taken to my lap and stayed there. She knew I would take excellent care of Fancy and could see the instant connection. I, of course, left her house with a new best friend that day. I wish I had kept her contact information so I could tell her now how Fancy is still with me and has had a nice life.








PENNY
Penny is my soul.
She will be 10 years old this September, and I have had her since the day she was weaned from her Mommy. I decided I needed to get Fancy a "friend". Honestly though, Fancy was totally fine with being my only girl...so it was just my excuse to get another dog. I decided I wanted a blond Chihuahua, so I searched for weeks through the newspapers and finally found a breeder who listed her AKC blond Chihuahua puppies. I called her about the puppies and found out she had decided to only sell one of them, and lived in New Mexico...a few hours from me. We agreed to meet in the middle so I could meet the newborn puppy. It was absolutely love at first sight. There was one sister who almost didn't survive the delivery. The breeder had to revive the sister puppy and there were obvious effects of that trauma. The breeder had grown so attached to her little survivor that she decided not to let her go. So that left the one I had immediately fallen in love with. Since the puppy was from a long line of AKC show dogs, the breeder had already sent in for the puppy's AKC registration.....thus, she wasn't a cheap purchase. I paid my deposit and set up a date we would meet again for me to take the puppy home. The puppy was still very young and not yet weaned from her mother, so I had to wait a few weeks to make her mine.
On the drive home from having my heart stolen that day, I tossed around several puppy names. It was harder than I thought it would be to pick the perfect name. I had dogs all my life, but I never had the opportunity to choose the name....it had to be perfect. PENNY popped in my head and it stuck. It stuck for the next several weeks until I was able to take her home. I tried out the name on her and it just seemed to fit.....still does.
She was the cutest, tiniest puppy and I think that she still is! She has a funny, playful personality and never meets a stranger. She doesn't love children, (I don't think Chihuahuas typically do) but she will tolerate them for a while. She has a few toys that she loves to play fetch with, but she does have a favorite that has been her favorite for her entire life....a squeaky carrot. When she was younger she would wear the things completely out, so I bought all the carrots I could find and kept a stockpile. Penny would visit friends and family we would inadvertently forget the carrot. So she has left a trail of carrots behind her that other dogs have claimed as their own.
As Penny has gotten older I have tried to broaden her horizons and bring out different toys to play with. She learns the names of her favorite toys quickly and is always up for a game of fetch. Some of her favorite toys have been her purse, ducky, puppy, Tigger. But even still to this day, when I bring her carrot out of hiding, she forgets all else and that is the complete focus of all her endless energy.



Before Bobby came over to my apartment for the first time, I told him about the personalities of my 2 girls. I told him that Penny would take to him immediately, and if he threw her toys for her she would be his friend for life. I explained that Fancy was quite the opposite. She would come out of her cozy bed in the dark closet, look around to see who was home, then after she realized there was a stranger in the house she would run back to her bed and stay for the rest of the stranger's visit. That is how it always went, even when I tried to get her to socialize, she would take off back to her bed at her first chance.
So Bobby came over for a visit and Penny did exactly as I said she would, but Fancy surprised me. Fancy came all the way out to see and smell this new person. Bobby pet both the dogs and Fancy stayed near him. Bobby threw Penny's carrot for her and as I suspected, won her over immediately. When Fancy didn't run away, Bobby picked her up, petted her, and put her in his lap.....and she stayed with him the entire visit. I was shocked! I had never seen Fancy do anything like that....other than the day I met her for the first time when she took to me immediately.
I guess that is when I knew that Bobby was the man for me (and my girls).

Sometime later, the girls & I made the big move in with Bobby and his two big dogs. It was a huge adjustment for all of us. As a family we have been through some rough times just trying to get the "pack" figured out over the last few years. We have a system figured out now that seems to work for us. It will be VERY interesting to see how the new addition fits into this already too big pack.

Wow, I got really sidetracked. So back to the original question....."Does your dog remind you of yourself?" To answer this question I had to lay out my dogs attributes....

Fancy is, above all else, loyal. To her I am #1 and that never waivers. She always knows where I am and even if someone else is holding her, she demands to have her eyes on me. She is low-maintenance, sweet, and caring. She knows if I am hurting or upset, the best thing she can do is snuggle up with me and hope it will make me feel better. Fancy is a fighter, and even as a small dog, will stand her ground and not take crap from bigger dogs. She can be independent, but always prefers to be with the one she loves. She has a big heart and it has a direct connection to mine.

Penny is crazy and likes to have fun. She wants to be where the fun is and loves to be the center of attention. She makes friends easily and remembers the ones who really know how to make her happy. She loves to make her friends happy too. She is not a multi-tasker....once she gets focused on something, she gets tunnel vision on that one thing. She can fit in with any "pack" and she quickly realizes her place and accepts it. She is happy with what she has, but is always looking for ways to get more. Her soul is lively and sunny and complements mine perfectly.

So in answer to the question.....YES, ABSOLUTELY YES! Both my dogs remind me of myself in an uncanny way.

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