What can I say?  I've always been inclined to do things in a big way.  Some of you know that I saw the Oprah show on puppy mills and it upset me a great deal.  I decided to adopt a little dog.  I then decided to adopt another little dog to keep her company.  Well I ended up with 4.  I'm finished now because that's all I have time and resources for, but they are the little loves of my life.  They are blond Pomeranian (Ginger), white Maltese (Sugar), red Toy Poodle (Cinnamon), and black Yorkshire Terrier (Poppy).  I call them my "Spice Girls".  They are all tiny and very easy to care for.  There isn't 20lbs of dog between them.   

Ok - I know I said I was finished, but I've had in the back of my mind for a while that I was disappointed I didn't find a little long haired Chihuahua to adopt.  I just think they are cute as a bug.  Well, I finally convinced myself that I needed one.  After all the original Spice Girls singing group had 5 members.  That seemed like as good a reason as any to adopt another dog.  I found my little Pepper today!  I will pick her up the first of April.  She is such a little sweetheart and only 8 weeks old.  She will be a good playmate for Poppy.  Her picture is at the right.  

This is what my darling little Ginger looked like when I adopted her.  She was skinny as a rail because the breeder who had her only fed his dogs a slice of white bread every couple of days.  Poor little lamb had gone through her first 4 years of life with hardly any protein and no exercise.  She had been shaved by the shelter because her fur was so filthy and matted.  The man had never brushed or bathed her.  I can guarantee she has had a few good meals since then and her lovely coat came back in as silky as could be.  Mama loves to brush her and she is very good about sitting still for me.

This is a picture when I first brought Poppy home.  Poppy's mom was actually the puppy mill rescue dog.  She was pregnant and gave birth at the rescue.  I adopted Poppy at 3 months old and she was a teeny tiny girl.  She still weighs only about 3.5lbs.  She is probably the least neurotic of the girls since she was never in a place where they abused her.  She is still an active little puppy though and quite a handful.  She instigates play with the other dogs which is good for all of them.  She does have luxating patellas (backwards knees), but we will wait till she gets a little older to see if she needs surgery.

I adopted Cinnamon and Sugar at about the same time.  Sugar came from a puppy mill where she had very bad care.  She is afraid of everything and struggles to bond with any human including me.  When she was spayed they found lots of scars from previous C sections.  The puppy mill just kept cutting this little girl open to take her babies.  Poor puddin. She also has a heart murmur, but it doesn't' seem to slow her down the least. Cinnamon had a better situation.  She is a retired breeder dog and was never abused.  She did however have some dental problems that hadn't been taken care of.  My vet said that when he went to clean her teeth 4 of them basically just fell out in his hand because only the tarter was holding them in.  She's eating much better since having her dental work and I'm hoping she puts on a bit of weight.  She also came from a home where there were lots and lots of dogs and only one mommy.  She is desperate for attention and I hope she is finally getting it.  Luckily my girls are so small I can hold 2 on my lap at the same time.  Cin also has luxating patellas, but she is a good example of a dog who has matured and isn't bothered by them.

They love each other and get along great.  They all seem to be calming down and adjusting beautifully.  This picture was taken at our local Renaissance Faire.  I had the girls with me in my booth.  I took 2 doggie beds to the Faire, and had one on the bench beside me with 2 of the girls in it.  When I got up to retrieve something for a customer I put the 2 doggies down in the pen, but forgot to put the other bed in the pen.  The girls solution was to all crawl in one bed.  I didn't notice it till I had a crowd gathered round talking about how darned cute they were.  One man from the crowd had a cell phone camera and volunteered to take a pic and email it to me.  It's not the best photo, but my babies are soooo very adorable.  We started out the day with red plaid bows in all the girls hair, but Poppy systematically removed all but her own.  What a brat!

When we go to bed at night the girls have quite the routine.  I set them up on my bed and tell them "Go to bed".  They go jump in their bed and then sit up and wait for me.  Once I lay down then they each curl up and go to sleep in their little bed.  

Off the charts cute if you ask me!

If you are planning to get a pet please, please, please don't buy from a pet store.  More often than not the mama dogs are basically tortured in the pursuit of a profit.  Here are links to national rescue web sites where you can find a wonderful pet that really needs you.  If you buy from a breeder learn how to check them out first.

www.PetFinder.com

www.AdoptaPet.com

Here are some more pictures of my babies just hanging out on the couch.

"Until you have loved an animal, part of your soul remains un- awakened, and the concept of unconditional love a mystery" 

These girls are my little ambassadors for rescue doglet adoption.  They have an adorable pink and black plaid stroller and they go everyplace with mama.  (usually just 2 at a time)  We go shopping, to the post office, the bank, and even the dentist.  I always have a crowd around asking where I got my little cuties and it's the perfect opportunity for me to tell folks about the horrors of puppy mills and how to adopt wonderful rescue pets.  I end up being a matchmaker looking for exactly the right pet to match up with someone I've met.  My big mouth and these precious babies are a perfect team for spreading the word.

Thought I would add a little update on Pepper.  She is growing like a weed, but so far it seems to be mostly her legs and her ears.  She is this tiny little dog that is all legs and ears.  I can't tell if she is going to be incredibly cute or very goofy looking.  I'll love her either way.  She is such a sweet little girl.  She is quite the puppy and needs to settle down some, but she is learning her "Good Dog" behaviors and getting better every day.  One of her cutest tricks is that she insists on turning her bed upside down.  She likes to climb on top like it's a stage or crawl underneath like it's her personal cave.  It's too cute to see the little bed wiggle around with just a tiny black tail sticking out under the edge.  I took some pictures.  She is now big enough that her little stage collapses under her weight, but she still seems to like the bed upside down.  It's tough to photograph a little black dog on a black background, but she really seldom sits still unless she is in (rather on) her little bed.  Right now her sissies hate her because she is such a brat.  She pulls their tails, chews on their ears, sits on their faces, and generally annoys them any way she can.  They don't really fight so I think they will like her once she grows up a bit.  I just keep them separate for now.  The terriers tolerate her, but I know the little poodle is plotting her demise.

Thanks to all who have asked about my precious little Ginger.  The picture at right is after her 1st surgery, but she is now on her 3rd surgery.  I'm now driving her down to Birmingham to see a specialist.  We are trying everything to save her little leg.  Doc says her little bones are yellow and brittle like a 16-17 year old dog.  I'm sure it's because of her early poor nutrition.  It does make it more important for her to remain a 4 legged dog though because we have to worry about the possibility of other breaks in the future.  We don't want to compromise her balance in any way.  We do seem to be making progress.  She doesn't hesitate to put weight on the leg and runs around on her little splint like it was part of her.  The x-rays look good so far and we are very hopeful.  Say your prayers for my little angel pup.  She is such a sweet girl she deserves much better than she has gotten in life.

Well we finally decided that the little black Pepper dog just wasn't working out for us.  She is soooooo rowdy and does not seem to be calming.  Poppy totally calmed down when she got close to 6mths so that's what I've been waiting for with Pepper.  I'm afraid it's obvious she needs a fenced yard where she can run, and run, and run or someone to take her on long walks.  She needs to be worn out every day and that's just not our lifestyle.  My girls go outside and sniff the flowers for 5-10 minutes then they come sit under my chair.  They are saying mama lets return to the air-conditioning.  We would like a cookie and then a nap please.  The real problem is that the little black dog is now bigger than some of her sissies and she plays so rough that she is hurting them.  Mama has spent a fortune trying to heal Ginger and just can't take an obvious risk that rough play will seriously injure one of the others.  We have arranged for Pepper to go back to the rescue in West Virginia.  She will find another family easily because she is young, very healthy, and cute as a bug.  I will miss her, but I think her sissies will not.

The new Spice Girl arrived yesterday.  This time we got a little Chili Pepper.  I've been warned about the Chihuahua temperament so this time we picked a little girl that can't cause much problem no matter how high strung she is.  Our new little Pepper is 3lbs.  Actually that's what they told me, but I suspect she is less.  She is much smaller than Poppy who is around 3.5lbs.  I can't wait to take some pictures of all the girls together.  I'm waiting for Ginger's splint to come off the first of next week.  This little dog fit in with her sissies immediately.  They were eating out of the same bowl and napping together the first afternoon.  

WHAT DO I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS?

This is Fuzzbutt and she adopted me several years ago.  She simply came to my patio door and refused to leave.