Leon’s Story

Never have I loved anything more than my Leon.
I never thought that just thinking of an animal would make me so happy and content. I never understood why people hang onto their elderly animals because they can’t imagine life without them. Now I know.

Leon is only three years old and already I dread the day we have to part ways… and this day may not come for another 15 years.

He has my heart and he shows me how to live everyday to it’s fullest.  It all started when my husband was in Iraq and I had to put down our 14 year old Lab/Husky, Oso.

I loved Oso, but he wasn’t quite the perfect match for me.  He loved the snow, I loved the sun.  He loved to run, I preferred to walk.

He was always very loyal to me, but because of our differences, he spent most of his time with my husband and hi hunting Labs.

Making the decision to let Oso go wasn’t difficult.  He hadn’t been able to keep any food down in the days before, and he had that look in his eyes…he begged me to let him go.  He told me he was done.

No, it wasn’t a difficult decision, but it was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.

After Oso was gone, I started looking for a dog I could call my own.  A dog that fit my lifestyle.  Sure, our house was always filled with a couple of hunting Labs, but I’m more of a shopping girl, and I don’t really hunt.  Our Labs seem more like teenagers with raging hormones anyway.

So, the search began.

I knew I wanted a very small dog that I would bring with me on my daily excursions around town.  I knew I didn’t have the energy for a terrier.  And any grooming requirements beyond nail trimming was out of the question.

I searched and searched.  I read every dog breed book I could find and I combed through every dog breed website on the Internet.  Time and time again, the same dog kept cropping up….Chihuahua.

A Chihuahua!

My image of a Chihuahua was that of a yippy, biting dog that is seen being carried around like arm candy.  But the more research I did, the more I realized this was the dog for me.  They were said to be entertaining, good travelers, very loving and loyal and they can even walk up to a couple of miles.

but they can also be yippy, are fear biters and socialization of this breed is a must.  I was determined to socialize the crap out of this dog.  I wanted all the good traits, none of the bad.  I knew it would be a challenge, but I would accept the work if this dog turned out to be the dog of my life.

I looked for months to find the perfect Chihuahua, but they were difficult to find in my area and they flew in and out of the shelters in a matter of hours.  The Chihuahua and Small dog rescue didn’t exist then and I was having a hard time convincing my husband to pay $800 for a dog that “didn’t bring him dinner”.

When my husband came safely home from Iraq, he agreed to help me look for my next puppy.  He had promised to visit family down in Mexico and his mother agreed they could find a Chihuahua puppy there.

The day I picked them up from the airport was the day I lost my heart to a little one pound dog that was all ears.  I couldn’t let him go.  I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.  He was so tiny and yet, he had these big eyes that pulled you into his soul.

I started with the socialization process right away.  Taking my husband’s parents back to their small town several hours away, Leon went everywhere we went; into the stores and the homes of our friends and family.

One thing became clear…this dog attracted a lot of attention!

No one could resist this cute little guy.  Strangers stopped me in the store and wanted to meet him and, since I had made the commitment to socialize this little boy, I would shove him in their hands.

No matter where we went or who was around us, smiles followed.  People would just see him and smile,and laugh and point him out to the people they were with at the time.

I even experienced people pulling their vehicles over when I took him for walks outside.  They would stop and tell me about their dogs at home, or the dog they had growing up.

Even though it took us forever to get through a store, Leon was still in the delicate socialization period, so I always made it a point to stop and talk to them.

Without the intention, an amazing thing started to happen.  I watched as people changed after meeting him.  Many people were smiling and laughing after they left us.  Some even held onto him for several minutes and I watched as he changed their day…many be even their life.

I started to think that Leon was not just my dog, but every body’s dog.  A dog for those needing to smile, or to laugh.  And who can resist a kiss from a big eyed Chihuahua?

The turning point came when Leon was about three months old and weighting maybe a pound and a half.  I had enrolled him in a puppy kindergarten class for the purposes of socializing him with some other puppies.

At this point he seemed very wary of other dogs and I wanted him to stop running every time we came across a dog he didn’t know.  Leon was by far the smallest dog in his class with the next smallest puppy being a Lhasa Apso named Simon, who was about three times the size of Leon.

Just as with any outing involving Leon, the people in the class were mesmerized by him.  Whenever there was a break, Leon always ended up in someone’s lap.

I started to get a little agitated because instead of socializing with the other puppies, Leon was always scooped up by one of the other owners.  But my agitation ended the day Leon was dropped by one of the children who owned the Bernese Mountain Dog named Genesis.

The boy must have been about eight or nine years old and he was holding my little baby in one hand and had decided to put him down.  Leon wiggled and the little boy lost his hold an dropped Leon onto the concrete floor.  I heard his little head hit the floor and my heart sank.

Luckily, the trainer saw the incident and she swooped in and had us take out turn practicing a blind recall.  I walked across the room and around the corner and called Leon.  He came running as fast as his little legs could carry him to find me.

Seeing that he was alright, I walked back to the line and noticed the little boy was sitting on the floor hugging his knees.  I took my place next to him, put Leon’s leash back on and put him on the floor.  I proceeded to watch the other dogs and owners practice their recalls.

I glanced down to see how Leon was doing and noticed that he had crawled into the lap of the little boy who had, just minutes earlier, dropped him on his head.  As I was watching them, they both looked up at me; Leon with his big brown eyes, and the little boy with tears still streaming down his cheeks and that’s when I knew

This was a special little dog.

Leon had touched the lived of hundreds of people that I cross in my daily life.  These are people that I wouldn’t have had the pleasure of meeting, had I not had this little dog that seems to pull them in my direction like a magnet.

I’ve used Leon to help educate children on the proper way to pet a dog and to show people that, with the proper socialization, even a Chihuahua can be a therapy dog.  They ask me how to train their dogs and how to deal with dogs that are anti-social.  Leon is helping me improve the lives of other dogs, just by being a conversation starter.

No matter where I go, I’m used to getting the same look when I tell people I own a Chihuahua.  They look at me like I’m Paris Hilton and he’s Tinkerbell.

But then they meet him an all their preconceived notions are gone.

I received the same look when I took a therapy dog workshop.  Then they met him and melted.

I got the same look we tried flyball.  It was a cold March day and I had Leon in his green argyle coat.  I knew they were thinking that he couldn’t possibly learn to do flyball.  After watching his that first practice, they were talking about their new height dog as if he were already on the team.

He’s proved that a little five pound dog can learn flyball in the same amount of time that a “smart” Cattle Dog learns the sport.  He’s shown that a dog devoted to his human can love the companionship of a dozen dogs at doggy day care and have a great time doing it.  People marvel at how happy he is all the time, with his little tail wagging at everything.

I took him to doggy day care one  day and, while getting out of the car, his tail was wagging so hard, I could barely hand onto him.  The when he realized my husband’s chocolate lab was coming with him, he started barking in absolute delight.

When we walked into the daycare and he realized Josh was working, I though he was going to faint out of sheer bliss.

I smiled all the way to work thinking how wonderful it would be to get so excited over the anticipation of the day.

I used to take Leon everywhere with me in an effort to socialize him with the world.  Now I take my Leon because I get the chance to connect with strangers who would otherwise pass me by without a second look…plus the fact that he brings such an excitement to everything we do.

He’s shown me how to live each moment to the fullest, with unbridled enthusiasm.  Leon is a once in a lifetime dog and I’m not sure what I did to deserve the pleasure of sharing his life with him, but you’ll never hear me complain!