Papa

As I started up the first row of the dog area I just could get no further than this very small but very engaging Chihuahua/Miniature pincher mix, Papa. His whole little body was wagging and at just a little over a year, his joy at someone talking to him was overwhelming. After two tries of finding a collar small enough for him, we were off. He just galloped down the hall not at all intimidated by the bigger dogs coming and going on their walks. I don't know much about his breed mix but, during our walk, he made a point of staying in eye contact with me just as some herd dogs do. In his case however, I think that he is just such a people-oriented dog that he wanted to keep assuring himself that I was still there.

The only really odd behavior was that not once during our half hour walk did he "mark" (lift his leg) and when he finally went - one time, he squatted. At this point I thought his profile must have had a typo, he seemed more like a "Pippa" than a Papa; but the staff assured me that he is a male but likely just neutered very young. They said that this behavior often occurs with early neutering. He came from a home including all ages of people but unfortunately one of them developed an allergy to him. He is really cute and lovable, though a little strange regarding gender issues. He is so people oriented I know he will do well wherever he goes.