The Chihuahua Chronicles: Chapter Two

Smuckers
While Smuckers may not be famous (yet), her image IS owned by her family and unauthorized use is strongly discouraged. Thank you.

The
Chihuahua Chronicles
(aka "Smucker's Stories")

My Human Family's Experience

	I adopted a family that is familiar with dogs, and with chihuahuas in particular. This is important information for the breeder, so they'll know how much help the new owner needs from an informed human. Deb was raised by "Sugar" a male spitz-collie mix, who shared her life until she was 16. She and her mama lived in a duplex with Boston Terriers, Daschunds and a male Chi named "Killer" who adopted Deb's older brother (along with some (shudder) cats.) She loved Killer and missed him a lot when she married and moved away. Her other brother's family was adopted by daschunds and cats (shudder) while Deb's sisters had been adopted by Golden Labs and Chihuahuas. So they're an ok family. :) Bill's family had a dog named "Pté" for awhile. They're not really "pet" people, but they're very nice anyway. In 1980 a little girl Chi named "Bambi" adopted Deb and Bill. They used to joke about Bambi being their first baby. Bambi was born on the 4th of July in 1980, and went to live with Deb and Bill about eight weeks later. She did a pretty good job of training them. So good, that they had their own litter, which Bambi adopted and loved with all her heart. Her boy Billy was born in 1981. Her girl Annie was born in 1984 and Emily in 1987.
Bambi was a relatively well mannered and easy going dog. She traveled extensively with the family, driving and flying, and wasn't at all yippy and snappy like some people think Chihuahuas are. In 1982 they took a trip, driving from California to Pennsylvania, and then flying to Europe, where they lived for ten and a half years. At one point, they flew back to the U.S. and lived in California for a few months, then returned to Germany. In 1991 the family moved to Belgium where they acquired another dog, which they named Ginger. Bambi trained Ginger well enough... she knows to respect me, although the darned girl hasn't got any manners whatsoever. I think she was just too energetic to learn from Bambi. In January of 1993, Bambi brought her family back to the U.S. and settled them in Florida. Back in the good ol' USA, Deb dreamed of someday having a "Chihuahua Farm", with puppies to love and care for running around the backyard. It was a far off dream, for "someday" but she never let go of it. On Memorial Day in 1993, Bambi had heart failure and passed away while Deb stroked her and told her it was okay to go. Deb tells how even Ginger mourned Bambi's death, and howled from the garage as Bambi crossed over. Years later, after the family moved to Alaska, Deb learned about the , and that gave her a lot of comfort. You would think that when they moved to Alaska in 1995, Deb's dream of little Chihuahuas would fade away. Not on your life. Her friends tease her about her dream of "herd of chihuahuas thundering across the tundra." Ok so she doesn't exactly want a HERD but she still has the "someday" dream that will become reality if her plans work out. In the meantime, I'll train her and the family to handle me, which is plenty, for now!