happy birthday little one...

my, my how time flies. my little baby is now 7 years old today! i really lucked out with this dog; she's the biggest people dog/cuddler/face-licker there is. i remember when i was searching for dogs years ago - i was looking at breeders, i was looking at the humane society, and i was even looking on kijiji. it was new years day i think, and i was browsing the local newspaper online and i saw an add for a dog that sounded like what i wanted (a yorkie, or a yorkiepoo), so i gave them a call. they wondered how i knew about it already, since it wasn't supposed to be in the printed paper until the next day when papers were back up and running. i guess it was my luck that it was online before it was in the paper because they said the next day they had multiple calls. i think it may have even been that same night that me and my mom went to go see her.

the couple was only a short drive from my parents and when we got there, i just remember seeing this little black bullet flying around the entryway and the hallways. the couple had gotten her while the wife was sick (not just flu sick) thinking it would help her and make her feel better, but the little one was just too much work. even though i could see what a little terror she was and that she looked nothing like what i wanted, i knew right away that i wanted her and i told them that. we went back the next night to pick her up and the husband was just a wreck, bawling so bad that he couldn't even come to the door. a few nights later, my parents even got a call from them saying that if we changed our minds, they would like her back. sorry, but no. she was ours now!

i had a heck of time training this darn dog. the puppy stage seemed to last forever, she chewed basically every cord in my apartment, multiple sandles, and hated being crate trained at night and during the day when i went out. but i kept it up, as i think crate training a dog is super important and worthwhile. over the years, she's totally calmed down (though she still has lots of spunk in her, especially for 7), and she's so well-mannered.

happy lucky number 7, chloe!