By mid-2002 it was clear that Max needed a playmate. Sure, Delray was close by, but there was a problem with that: Max wanted to play 10 hours a day, and Delray only wanted to play for an hour a day. For the nine-hour delta, Max would either skulk around the house, lonely, or pursue and terrorize the poor cat.

We knew that Max liked little dogs: there was a MinPin in the neighborhood, named Othello, that he loved to play with, and whenever the Eukaneuba Tournament of Champions was on the tube, he’d jump up and run over to the teevee whenever the Chihuahuas were shown, and stare in rapt attention, his tail wagging furiously.

Juli spent a few days, combing the rescue boards online, and looking at various dogs. One day, she hit a board with Chihuahuas on it (one of several, in fact), and when she looked at the photo of one particular dog named “Peanut”, Max leapt into her lap and started licking the screen!

She went on to look at a few more pictures, and came back to “Peanut”. Again, Max jumped into her lap, and licked the monitor. “Well,” we decided, “that’s the dog!”

Juli made the arrangements, and on Christmas Eve of 2002 the little puppy was put onto an airplane in Arkansas, bound for the hinterland of Virginia. He was shipped on Continental Airlines, who have a wonderful service for transporting pets humanely and with the care and attention they need while in transit. Late in the evening, he arrived at Dulles airport, and Juli and Max and I bundled into the car to go meet him.

At the shipping terminal, Max waited in the car. Inside, Juli and I went to the counter, where the attendant produced a wee little pet carrier – the tiniest one I’ve ever seen. Juli opened up the gate, and called him by his new name “Cocoa” (after his coloring). Shyly, the little guy edged toward her – a tiny puppy no bigger than a hamster! He was well under a pound!!

She picked him up, and you could tell he was smitten with her at first sight. Vice versa, too.

Once we had him settled a bit, I went out to get Max from the car as Juli and Cocoa emerged from the building, so they could meet on “neutral ground”. Max went happily beserk – for a stout, alpha-Terrier, he was the mellowest and gentlest I’ve ever seen him. With his huge puppy grin, Max turned and looked at me, as is to say “Can we take him home?!”

Ever since that day, Max and Cocoa have been the very best of friends. They do just about everything together, and watching Max teach Cocoa the basics of puppy play has been a real treat. The little guy’s full name is “Mister Cocoa Christmas” – and he is the ultimate “snugglebug” dog. Full-grown, he’s about 2.5 pounds, but once he snuggles into your lap, he’s just so damn cute that you don’t want to move him!

Wee little housebound pup: during the winter of 2003-2003, there were almost continuous snowfalls, and little Cocoa was not yet stout enough to handle the frigidity.
A splendid spring afternoon in Alexandria, watching the world go by.
Cocoa finally (after 2 years) meets another dog as small as he is! At Petco, summer 2004.
On top of the world - during a scenic stop on a motorcycle ride down Skyline Drive, summer of 2004.
Opposite ends of the puppily spectrum: Bruiser there weighs about 220 lbs. Cocoa weighs 2.5.
One of the little kids in the neighborhood, Cathy, cuddles with Cocoa. Both he and Max are well-known in the neighborhood!
Soaking up the sunshine at Gettysburg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cocoa plots puppily strategy in an attempt to obtain some of Juli's tasty Guinness - to no avail: he's cuddled too tightly.

 

 

 

Snuggling with her puppy!