When I decided to get my first dog, I wanted a female, long-haired chihuahua. Long before I found the dog, I named her Toodles–the nickname of my favorite aunt. Toodles (and Andy’s Tico) came from a puppy mill. Best I can recall, they didn’t have names before we got them.

When I lost Toodles, I wanted another chihuahua and planned to cal her TooTwo–a sort of Toodles the second. Finding another puppy took much longer than expected. There were no chihuahuas to be had. More out of desperation than desire, I inquired about a chi-weenie named Abalone.

My inquiries had always been too late. Finally, I got a yes. On the way to pick her up, I was still thinking TooTwo. The moment I saw her, however, Tootsie popped into my head.

Given how long I hunted for Tootsie, I started searching for her replacement the morning after she crossed the rainbow bridge. I used PetFinder–the same app connecting me with Tootsie–to search shelters.

I narrowed my search to female puppies of small dogs (25 pounds or less) within 50 miles. Six caught my eye. They were similar in appearance, but one called to me. I couldn’t stop looking at her.

I sent an inquiry and then laid down for a nap, repeating the name of the puppy I wanted with a smile. Minutes later, I got a call. She was still available, along with a brother and two sisters–also on my list.

I checked out their profiles again. One looked too much like Tootsie. The other was the cutest of the three sisters, but not enough to sway me from my original pick of the litter.

Her name won me over. Had she been named anything else, I likely would have gone with the cuter sister. I had to have Mavis.

They wanted me to pick her up that day and bring her back on the 20th to be spayed. I explained my driving situation and they agreed to keep her until the 20th. I needed to pay the non-refundable adoption fee to hold her.

They must have expected me to balk at adopting her sight unseen. When I didn’t, she emphasized the fee was nonrefundable. I said my only concern was the possibility she’d get bigger than I wanted, by which time it wouldn’t matter. Furthermore, I’ve yet to meet an unlovable puppy.

Both parents were Heinz 57s, making Mavis a purebred mutt. Toodles was six pounds and Tootsie weighed 12 pounds. I’m thinking Mavis may hit 20 pounds. I love my tiny dogs, but I’ll worry less about her interacting with other dogs.

I miss Tootsie. Getting the house ready for a puppy gives me something more to do than grieve. Friday can’t get here soon enough.

I’ll keep you posted. As always, thanks for stopping by.