Meet Tini!

Tini [teenee] noun, est. 2005
-a "so-called" chihuahua.
-also known as:Tini Tiny, Tini Weeny, Stinky Winky, Radar (hence, the ears)

For my 20th birthday, mom bought me Tini. She weighed a whole pound and a half and fit in the palm of your hand. We picked her out of one of the many baby cribs they have set up at Trader's Village. (We should have known then that she wasn't going to be the most trained and well-mannered dog but we gave her a chance anyway.)

I mean, how could you pass up this face??

She was by far the biggest puppy of them all but she was the liveliest. I knew I wanted a chihuahua (hence my then obsession with Paris Hilton) but I didn't want one of those tiny, bug-eyed, shakes like a leaf dogs. Which is how I picked her out. Well, back up a bit. I first picked her up because she's a blond. (I know, I know. I was a little discriminatory towards the other pups but let's be honest...blonds do have more fun!) After being licked to death (literally!) I decided she was the one. I didn't have a name for her so as we walked to the car, we threw around some ideas.

I always wanted a dog named "Petri". No, not like a petri dish. Like Petri from Land Before Time! But she didn't quite look like a "Petri" so we threw that idea out the window.

Then I thought of naming her "Hollywood" and calling her "Holly" for short. Then I realized that "Holly" was a real person's name and I could never give my dog a human name.

As she walked (a.k.a. tripped) over her leash on the way out, I noticed her white markings on her face, feet and neck. Her feet looked as if she had little white socks on and the marking on the back of her neck looked like a martini glass (at an angle ok?!) which is where we got the name "Tini". So. Her "legal" dog name is "Martini" but she goes by "Tini" for short...unless she's in trouble. Then, I call her by her full name, "Martini Tiny". If you focus on the white marking on her neck and tilt your head to the right, you can ::kinda:: see where her name originated from:


Which brings me to my next point. "Tini" is by no means "tini". She weighs 11 pounds and puts my arm to sleep just carrying her up the stairs. She's not fat-she's big boned. Literally. She's kinda long like a weeny dog but tall like a greyhound. It's strange but I love her for the dog she is!

So her dress is a little small...

Tini is completely un-trainable and rules the roost. I am convinced she's part human. She's so spoiled rotten that these days she's just too good for dog treats. Every time I give her one, she looks at me like "Seriously?" You see...although Tini is technically my dog, she has never actually lived with me. When Daddy was still here, he was her best friend. He spoiled her to no end. They had long car rides to PetsMart, shared popsicles in the summer time and on a nightly basis, they enjoyed chips and salsa. Tini loved daddy!

So like I was saying, she is just too good for kibbles-n-bits these days. She insists, and I mean insists on eating people food. She's a downright snob. Next thing you know, she'll be demanding only Grey Goose in her dog bowl.

"If you give me one more Milk bone, I'm going to puke."

But she really is sweet. She's the most loving pup I could ask for. Every time I go home, it's like she hasn't seen me in years! Even when she's really bad or I'm having the worst of days, she always makes me smile!