In 2008 a large number of animals were seized from a residence in Brandon, VT. One of those victims was a tiny, timid long haired Chihuahua. I was instantly in love and signed up to foster to adopt. Because there so many dogs seized I offered to foster a short haired Chihuahua as well. That is how Chalupa (aka Lupie aka Ese) came to live with us. Not as a chosen pup but as a good deed.
When the dogs were finally allowed to legally be adopted we placed Little One (the long haired Chi) with our friend Joanne from our vet clinic. It turned out that Little One was terrified of Brian and intimidated by our bigger dogs. Joanne was single and had a family of “littles”. It was a much better fit for this dog I fell in love with and Joanne helped heal my broken heart by giving her what we couldn’t. With Little One gone, we decided, what the hell, we should keep Lupie. She was spunky and nonplussed by our multi pet household. And it didn’t hurt that she was cute as hell.
Lupie was trained on agility equipment and took to it with her usual confidence. Unfortunately, due to her independent nature she was never completely trustworthy off a leash outside, so we tabled my competition plans. Instead she went to work with me at Red Dog Solutions. She was the queen of my small dog playgroup. She learned tricks and performed in our variety show fund raiser. Her performances were often comical, as she had her own agenda… always.
At home Lupie held a commanding position. She felt it was her duty to keep the other dogs well groomed, which she did by licking their faces often and obsessively, whether they wanted her to or not. Lupie peed on our rugs constantly and left poop on the floor for us to step on in the morning. She was independent, pushy and a bit of a brat. She basically did whatever she wanted for 14 years.
A collapsing trachea took away Lupie’s quality of life. And rather than watch her cough and cough and cough and eventually struggle to breathe and lose her lifelong confidence, we let her go today. We will miss the little shit more than I could ever express.
