All creatures, great and small

Here's our new puppy.

Funny story, this whole business.  We had to get rid of our other doggie, Murphy.  Great dog, but a little much for us.  Not a good match.  Not good with the kids.  Beyond our means.  He's happy with a new family now, and honestly, the kids don't miss his biting too much.

We'd been talking about a new pet--for some reason, I think it would be good for the kids.  I can't even explain why.  So we talked:  a bunny? a cat? some fish?  None of these seemed right:  we were looking for something the kids could cuddle, something that wouldn't go after them or have a nasty disposition, and something on the smaller size.  Let's face it:  the smaller the creature, the smaller the poop to clean up.  Less poop is better.

We put off our discussions until after our trip to NC.  But when we get to my mother's, she's got a little dog that someone abandoned.  Someone left this sweet creature on the rectory steps at her parish, and the priest called her, thinking it might be hers (my parents used to have a chihuahua like this one).  Terrible!  But with the economy so tight and vet bills growing all the time, I can imagine someone hoping the priest could find a good home.  No one wants to take a puppy to the pound.

This dog--a chihuahua, mind you--was amazing.  Even with six of us piling into her foster home--four of them loud and boisterous--she was calm and even-tempered.  Very patient with the kids, and whenever they got too rowdy, she dashed off and hid.  Great coping skills, we thought.

After a few days, dh says, "She's the perfect dog.  I would take her in a heartbeat."  ?!  This man who doesn't consider anything smaller than a german shepherd to be a dog?  I was astounded, and soon enough the idea grew on me.

My parents had been running a Lost Dog ad in the local paper, and I put up one on craigslist.  Nothing.  No bites--not for the weeks that they had her.  So we claimed her.  She's our Kiki.

She needed a home; we needed the right pet.  Since we didn't do so well choosing one for ourselves, God just placed her right where she needed to be at just the right time.  Now we're happily home, and she's fitting right in.  She's curious, loyal, protective, playful and mostly obedient.  She's just right.