… I had to get this one.
Before I got Dolce, I was certain that I wanted a chihuahua. I liked their snobbish nature, closeness to their owners and no-one else and of course, their little faces.
I remember Jamie and myself doing weekend runs to pet stores but my heart never seemed to catch with any of the chihuahuas I had seen. And then, ironically, in the pet store across the road was this little brown thing that seemed to sleep all the time and wasn’t rambunctious. I went to look at her almost everyday for 2 weeks (amazing fact alone because Chihuahuas tend to get snapped up quickly). Finally, I persuaded Jamie to come to have a look at her and the minute she was in my arms, trying to claw her way up to the top of my head, I knew she was the one. Like the way you know about a good melon.
We paid $500 for her and brought her home. She weighed about 750 grams and was positively tiny. Within a few days, she had marked her territory everywhere in the apartment, cried incessantly every night, been sat on by Jamie and dropped once.
Her life is Australia comprised sleeping in the sun by the door, playing with all her toys at once and driving with Jamie to pick me up after school or work.
Not shown in the pictures was also her hectic schedule of chewing furniture, being dragged for walks, whining incessantly outside the bedroom door and the continual marking of territory. Finally, it was time to be shipped off (metaphorically speaking. She took a chartered puppy transfer to the airport and then, Singapore Airlines direct) to Singapore!
Dressed in her travel clothes, with her teddy and blankie to keep her company, she made it safely to Singapore to Jamie’s arms and stayed away from everyone else at Mum and Dad’s. Mum (now, Gammy) was nice enough to stay home the day after and finally, Dolce warmed up to her.
I arrived a few days later to my tiny thing and her first few weeks was kept busy with acclimatising to Singapore weather and meeting her cousin, Pepper. That still isn’t going well but we’re hoping their family relations will kick in anytime soon.
She has been here for 3 years now (turning 4 this November!) and she has developed into a dog that loves to sleep, sleep, sleep, play, swim (but only if someone carries her over the break) and being mocked through various devices. She is my pride and my burden all rolled into one delightfully smelly package. She wakes me up in the morning for tickles, lays on my laptop if she wants attention and will do anything for food.
Still occasionally marks her territory.