My New Life

My name is Tycho. I’m a long haired, apple-head chihuahua. I was a breeding dog for several years of my life. My name back then was Spike. During my time with my first family, I learned some cute tricks, I learned to understand most of the important commands, and I would consider myself well-trained. When I wasn’t being used for breeding anymore, I was mostly in a kennel. I began to develop the behaviour of a dog that wasn’t house trained.

One day I was adopted into a family that named me Mushu after the dragon from Mulan. They took me on a road trip across Canada from Toronto, ON to the interior of BC. I loved it so much. Traveling to new places I never knew existed—I was always in someone’s lap. We made several pee stops so that I could do my business outside with no indoor accidents. It was one of the best times of my life.

But then we came back to Toronto, and I started acting out. Even though my new family took me outside, I would sneak off and pee somewhere in the house. Sometimes my family got too busy, and I would have an accident in my kennel.

It became even more challenging when a very big dog joined the pack. My jealousy was inflamed, and every time I barked at her for getting too close to me, she thought I wanted to play and stepped on me, crushing my little body with her big paws.

One day, I met this lady who was friends with my family, she absolutely adored me, and I absolutely adored her. I get the feeling, the intuition of the leader of my pack, and I knew that this lady and I would be very happy together. One day, this lady came to take care of me and the other dog while my family went away. The leader of my pack told her that I needed a home really soon, because my family wasn’t able to take care of me anymore. This lady asked around and realized that in her heart she wanted to take me home.

Since my new pack leader picked me up, my whole life has completely changed. She takes me everywhere, I have a new bed that is soft. She gave me a bright-coloured collar with my name on it, and a matching leash, a harness that actually fits me for when we go on long walks, bright blue silicone bowls for traveling, and compostable doggie bags. My new pack leader loves to walk. She loves bright colours. She loves the environment, and she loves taking care of me. We go for walks first thing when she wakes up, during the day, and before we go to sleep. I haven’t had any accidents! I’ve met some new doggie friends that don’t look at me like I’m dinner. Phew! Oh yea, and she gave me my new pack name, Tycho. Life is so good.