C.J. (Chihuahua)

 Oh, does that name bring sweet memories! Of, course, all my pets' names do that, but I had a different kind of relationship with C.J. than I did with my other pets, particularly my other dogs. Don't get me wrong: I love all my pets equally. It's just that the type of relationship was kind of different. For example, Lucky, Lucy, Rusty, Jeffery, and Lu Jack were loved as either a companion (Jeffery), best friends (Lucy and Rusty), or best friend/surrogate sibling (Lucky and Lu Jack). C.J., however, was like my fur-child, or my "baby", if you will, and I have that same kind of relationship with my current dog, Mo (more on him in a later post). C.J. was a purebred Chihuahua, even though a lot of my neighbors would say he didn't look like one. I think that was because he was a bit larger (I dare say a little "chunkier") than the Chihuahuas that you see in pictures or at dog shows. Well, I'm here to say that just because a Chihuahua doesn't fit what are called "AKC breed standards", doesn't mean they aren't a purebred Chihuahua. I've seen Chihuahuas of different shapes, colors, and sizes. Now, did C.J. fit the AKC qualifications for show-dog Chihuahuas. No, he did not...and frankly, I couldn't care less. I have NEVER had a show dog, and personally, I wouldn't want to. If I get a dog, it is for companionship. Anyway, back to C.J. (and sorry about the show-dog rant). 

I got C.J. from Panama City, Florida. My mom, sister, and I, were visiting a relative who lived in Panama City, and I had already decided that I wanted an indoor companion dog. I had narrowed down the choices to two breeds: Chihuahua or Miniature Pinscher. Anyway, I was looking in the classified ads in the newspaper, and found an ad about a woman's Chihuahua that had just had a litter of four puppies. So, we decided to go look at them. Of course, by the time we could make a trip to see them, the puppies already had their eyes open, but they weren't ready to leave their mother yet. Luckily, the breeder was a nice lady, and she was willing to let us pick one out and reserve the puppy for us. Oh, did I mention, when we got there to see the puppies, there were only three of them left? No, the fourth one didn't go to a new home way too early. Unfortunately, the fourth pup didn't make it. Sad, but not an uncommon occurrence in litters of Chihuahua pups. They're so tiny, so they're high-maintenance, as well. Anyway, the three that were left were nice and healthy. There were two males and a female, but I had already decided on a male. One male was mostly black, with a few tan and white markings on his chest, and the other male was white and tan. Well, I took one look at the white and tan male puppy, and decided he was the Chihuahua puppy for me. 

As for his name, you're probably asking, "Why C.J., and what is C.J short for?". Funny story, actually. I had decided on the name "Cisco", but when I said the name out loud, the breeder smiled and said, "Oh, that's his dad's name!" Well, I thought, we can't have two dogs with the same name. However, I didn't want to just give up on a name I thought was so perfect for my little guy, either. Luckily, I came up with the solution to call him "Cisco Junior," but since that seemed a bit too long of a name (and since dogs seemed to respond better to shorter names), I shortened "Cisco Junior" to "C.J.," and there you have it. That's how my little Chihuahua got his name. Tune in to my next post to hear the rest of C.J's story!