Helping…

Gotta keep that mousing arm warm amd limber. You’re welcome, Mom.

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She’s Waiting…

Chihuahuas do not like closed doors. This was what I saw when I opened mine.

“Where WERE you?”

I Dream of Chihuahuas

The other day,  I said to Angel Joe, “What if we woke up and it turned out that Chihuahuas were something we dreamed and they didn’t really exist?” We’d tell people,

“In the dream, there were these tiny furry animals that would follow you everywhere. They understood some words, and would do tricks, and they could sleep on your shoulder but also keep up on a hike. And they had giant ears and eyes, and you could buy outfits for them and dress them up.”

And people would say, “What an imagination you have!”

Take your Vitamin D(og)

You’d need a big glass of water to swallow me.

Owning a dog has a lot of health benefits, but here’s one that surprised me. According to an article in Time, it appears that a little dog dust may protect kids from a common respiratory virus that can lead to asthma.

Working with mice, the scientists found that exposure to house dust from homes with a pet appeared to protect the mice against a common virus called respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which infects the lungs and breathing passages and is a major cause of respiratory illness in young children. (In adults, it usually causes run-of-the-mill cold symptoms.) Severe infections in infancy are linked with an increased risk of developing respiratory problems like asthma later on.

And here’s the kicker – it’s not breathing dog dust that helps, it’s eating it.

The researchers then examined the microbes living in the protected animals’ guts, and found that the types of bacteria they harbored were different and more diverse than the bugs in the RSV-infected animals guts.

What do gut bugs have to do with asthma? Potentially a lot. Researchers are discovering that the microbiome, as it’s known — the vast community of good bacteria and viruses that live in and on the human body, including in the intestines — not only play a vital role in basic bodily functions like digesting food, producing vitamins and fending off infection, but may also contribute to the development of chronic conditions and diseases like obesity, cancer and asthma.

You can read the whole article here:  Why having a dog may keep kids asthma free.

I have to issue a warning: Chihuahuas, while my favorite dog breed, are not suitable for small children. To a Chi, a grabby toddler is like a cross between Godzilla and a threshing machine.

The people, the people!

Angel Joe (my husband) is working just off the Pearl Street pedestrian mall, so I decided to take Josie O on a walk to see him. Dogs aren’t allowed on the mall proper, but there’s a ton of people on all the surrounding streets, and Josie LOVES people. We even got pulled into Zing salon by Joy, the owner, so we could meet the people there and also Francois, her toy poodle. He weighs exactly the same as Josie: 3.5 pounds. (I swear I will get better about taking pictures.) Anyway, Joy says I should come back and have some of those tinsel strands put in Josie’s tail. Since it’s only $15, I might do it. I doubt Josie would notice, and I like sparkly things.

Anyway, she met lots of people at the salon, and walking, and in Joe’s office. She was in heaven. The problem came when I tried to walk back home.

Me: Come on, we’re going home.

Josie O: But the people are back there! I can hear them!

Me: Let’s go, Josie. Don’t be a goober.

Josie O: I don’t know what that word means! The people, the people!

It doesn’t pay to drag a Chihuahua. They don’t give up, there’s the risk that their harness will come off and you’ll have a loose dog, and people look at you like you’re a monster.  We were about ten blocks from home. For eight of them, I would put her down and she would try to go back the other way. Luckily, 3.5 pounds is not much to carry.

She’s fluffy, she’s friendly, and now she’s on the interwebs.

Josie O attracts a lot of attention on walks, because she’s little, fluffy, and adores people. So I decided she should have her own webpage, with a lot of info about Chihuahuas in general. Many people have no idea what Josie is when they meet her (Pomeranian and Papillon are common guesses), and Josie O wants folks to know that Chihuahuas can be quiet, friendly little pooches that can do everything a big dog does, except tear your stalker limb from limb or accompany you snowshoeing. (Well, unless you carry her. Then it’s easy.)

Keep an eye on this site. When we get going, the information and photos are going to FLY.

Thanks!