"His tongue is as long as he is."
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
By: Lous Costanzo

This is a story of a Chihuahua and how he went from neglect to love. It's also about his most tragic loss and how he's doing today. Picture included is of Squirrel and Minny, two days before Minny's death.

In 2010, we took in a Miniature Pinscher named Minny. She was taken in from a family friend. Her and I bonded deeply within five days of her being with us. We decided in August 2012 that it was time to get Minny a companion so we came to the NHS after looking online at available pets. Whenever we wanted to get Minny outside, we would announce a squirrel was in the back yard. She always fell for it, running through the doggy door to get at the squirrel. When looking online we found a blond Chihuahua that the staff named "Squirrel." It was as if that online notice was directed at us personally. We went the next day and Adopted Squirrel. Squirrel was a neglected dog and was given up because he was too costly to maintain. He has a collapsed trachea, blown out knees and most of his teeth were removed. The day we visited him was two days after he was neutered. I almost passed by Squirrel because of the cone he was forced to wear. It would have been a big mistake. Today Squirrel is my "Lil Lover."

After coming home, Squirrel spent most of his first few days sleeping in his new environment. After he was recovered and relaxed he began to come alive. He and Minny avoided each other for a while, but in no time became fab friends. We found Squirrel's reason for living... is to lick you. His tongue is incredibly long and its sole purpose in life is to lick the face of everyone he meets. For those who would never let a dog lick you in the face, you are missing one of the dogs greatest expressions of love. Squirrel and Minny became inseparable, sleeping together, playing together, sitting on the back of the couch together to watch the neighborhood and even going outside together. For all intents and purposes, they became "married."

In early 2013, the same family friend who gave us Minny, asked if we could take her other Miniature Pinscher, Reese. We agreed and took him in. It took Reese a while to be a part of the pack, but Minny was the common bond that brought the two boys together. In November 2013, Minny died tragically after being given a bath. She tried to jump out of my daughters hands, who tried to stop her, but lost control and Minny fell to the ground. Our Vet said she seemed ok and should be fine, but 30 minutes after coming home she died in her bed. Our family was devastated and four months later, I am crying as I write this. Before we took Minny away, we allowed Squirrel to sniff her and lay with her.

Squirrel faithfully laid by her side until the moment we took her to the Emergency Animal Clinic for cremation. Squirrel sank into a depression, not wanting to come out of his house in the living room, didn't want to eat much and looked at us with nothing but sadness. We increased his play and tried to draw him out. After a while we decided we had healed enough and that the boys needed a female playmate again.

So two and a half weeks ago we came back to the NHS and adopted Candy, a Chihuahua-Rat Terrier mix. After a few days of Humping Squirrel, Candy has fit in nicely and absolutely loves my daughter. Squirrel is still adjusting to her, but Reese seems to have accepted her fully. I'm sure that Candy will be that common bond between the boys as Minny once was. Squirrel is being guarded, however like a human would after losing a loved one, Squirrel is taking this new friendship one day at a time.

Thank you NHS for doing what you do and enriching our family's life.