Living With A Mocha

When my husband brought Mocha home we had no idea just how much our lives were about change. When I woke up that morning I called my husband to ask where he was. He told me he went to bring his aunt to one of her friend's house. A little while later he called me and asked me if I wanted to take care of a Chihuahua. My Nana had a Chihuhaha once, and his name was Santana. That little demon was horrible. He would attack anyone and everyone, so when he asked me if I wanted to take care of one I said not really because of my experience with Santana.

He told me that this little girl was being abused and picked on by the bigger dogs. When he said that I changed my mind in a second. I have a very big heart when it comes to animals, so I couldn't say no. I did not plan on what was about to come next though. When he got out of the car, and I looked into the wooden drawer that the lady had put this baby in my heart melted. She was shaking, and she had bite marks and cuts on her ears and her body. I couldn't stand to let her go. I held this baby all day. My husband named her Mocha.

For the first couple of hours, I was calling people to see if they would take her, but as I kept looking for people Mocha grew more attached to me, and I grew more attached to her. It took a while, but my husband finally agreed to let us keep her. Mocha is now not only our baby girl, but she is my service dog, but living with a Mocha is hard. If I'm up she's up and if she's up I'm up. If she's sleeping I'm sleeping. If I'm sleeping she's sleeping.

Any food that I have she has to have a little bit of it, or else she throws a fit. When I'm upset she is right there loving on me and making sure that I'm okay. The only way she knows if I'm calmed down is when I tell her I'm okay, but I have to prove it to her as well. or else she does not believe me. When I'm in the shower or using the bathroom she has to come in and check on me. If I am out of her sight for a long period of time she will start to have separation anxiety. I personally think that it's her being so worried about me.

Mocha is a natural service dog which means that she automatically knows when she needs to do her job, without being trained to do so. Just like any other dog though, she did have to be trained to do simple commands such as sit, wait, be gentle, etc. She does pretty well with some of her commands, but sometimes she does need us to be patient with her while she relearns some things.

Mocha is also a bed hog just like me, so my poor husband only gets so much room on the bed, and we have a queen-size bed. She also gets cold very easily like me, so we have the heat on 75 almost constantly, except for when we go to bed. I'll cut it down to 68, but then Mocha will have to be right up behind me to keep warm. Her favorite spots to sleep are right between my husband and me, behind my knees, on my husband's chest, or right by my head. Thankfully she's small enough so when I need to move she moves with me.

I don't know if anyone has heard people say that when you get a Chihuahua they take over. I never heard it until my mother in law said it, but when she did I didn't believe her until Mocha took over. My pillow that was my dad's is now our pillow. If I'm not on it she is. My towel is now her towel. Every time I use my towel she thinks she is getting a bath. I have to keep a blanket in every room of the house and in my car for when she gets cold. She does have her own little pink blanket, but she prefers mine because they're mine.

Mocha is 90% Tea Cup Chihuahua and 10% Apple Head Chihuahua. When we go into stores she gets so much attention from everyone, and I have to keep telling people not to touch her because she is a service dog. I had a lady pick her up, and walk off with her once, but thankfully I had her leash, and my husband was right there. Mocha isn't my first service dog, but she has been my most challenging one just because of all the people that want to touch her, and love on her. I don't blame them though, she is a cutie, but at the same time she is my service dog, so she can't be touched while she is working.

Whenever we leave to go to the store or something I always put her service collar on her but even then people still want to touch her, so it gets frustrating at times. I wouldn't trade it for the world though. Mocha is my baby girl even though we have our moments with her I know my husband feels the same way about her. So, in conclusion, if anyone is looking for a loyal, playful, loving baby, I suggest you get a Tea Cup Chihuahua. You will not regret I promise. You will need a lot of time, patience, and energy if you do end up getting one, but at the end of the day, it's worth it.