(I’m one day late for my Tia post…sorry, Tia.)
In August 2011 when my horse, my then-boyfriend, and I moved to College Station, I never thought we’d be adding a new addition to our family so soon. Until he met Tia, Bill claimed that he hated small dogs and would never get one.
The first day at the new barn, I took my horse out to graze and a tiny little creature bolted from the pasture and started zipping around my horse’s hooves. I tried to shoo her away, but she was insistent on hanging out with us. Her energy was just amazing. For a tiny thing, she was utterly unafraid of playing around 1200 lb. horses. She belonged to my friend Carson who lived on site at the barn and helped take care of the horses. Carson said that Tortilla had been dumped on the side of the highway and left for dead, but a nice lady had picked her up and brought her to the vet office where Carson worked to try to find a home for her before taking her to the shelter. One look at the tiny Chihuahua, and Carson caved. Tortilla (now named Tia) was not the typical Chihuahua: she had no concept of being small and could hold her own living on a horse farm with a bunch of other dogs. The only problem was that she was getting out of the fence and onto the highway. Carson asked me if I knew anyone who would want her, and I said no. As cute as she was, my dorm didn’t allow dogs, and I knew Bill would never want a Chihuahua.
Bill, who always accompanied me to the barn, loved to pick her up and play with her during my rides. For a guy who hated small dogs, he sure seemed to like this one. Finally, less than two months later, he asked me if Carson would consider giving her to us. I was shocked, and when we came to pick her up two days later, I was even more shocked. When I asked why he wanted Tia if he had a strict no-small-dog policy, he answered: “She’s so happy! And she’s crazy!” (100% true statements.)
Four years later, and she’s turned out to be an essential part of our family. She is absolutely the funniest little critter ever. She bosses her sister around, growls at any dog who comes near “her” bedroom, and wholeheartedly believes that she’s the queen. Unaware that Chihuahuas have a reputation of being prissy, she jumps at any opportunity to run through a mud puddle or roll in a steaming pile of horse poop. As crazy and nonsensical as she is, we absolutely adore her. She’s without a doubt the best nap buddy ever, but she can also keep up with the big dogs on a 3 mile all uphill hike. My husband swears that she’s the only small dog he’ll ever like. 🙂
Keep Calm and Carreon 