As I prepare to write this, my heart aches…

I sit here at the keys choking back tears knowing my first baby will never meet my first human baby. :,(

I’d been researching different breeds for months per my own initiative and parental requirement so I’d know which one would best suit me and my home. I finally settled on a chihuahua. I met a wonderful woman at work who’s parents breed chihuahuas. I went over viewed the environment, saw the paperwork and met the mom-to-be. I put my deposit down, made my payments and visited as often as I could. On 9/11/04 my life changed. I received the news that the puppies arrived. They didn’t let anyone see them in person due to mom & pup bonding but I received a ton of pics. My mind was set on one with Doberman markings because well how funny would that be?! It was actually my sister who found the love of my life among the liter of tiny pups. If I can find it I’ll post the pic of the first day we met  held him. He was a twin but he was (at that time…) the smaller one. He was long-haired and reminded me of a Starbucks drink and so he was dubbed Frappuccino or Cino for short. The day finally came when everyone was taking their puppies home. Well as high school senior who was only working part-time I was still in the process of making payments. So one night I begged and pleaded with my dad to let me go pick him up. You would have thought I was bargaining for my life the way I kept at it. Finally, after many promises and reassurance that I’d be an A+ student and do all of my chores without complaining, he agreed.

You would have thought we were picking up a human the way we traveled. My dad’s friend took us in his Denali and I wanted to make sure the car was warm so he turned on the seat heater for me. He knew how excited I was so between him and my dad I had everything in the car waiting for Cino. Warm seat, blanket, jacket to match mine and a stuffed animal so he wouldn’t miss his siblings too much. Needless to say he wasn’t the last pup left like I may have insinuated but I got my fur baby. He snuggled in and soon fell fast asleep due to the warm environment. The rest is a series of learning, loving and cleaning.

Fast forward 11 years and all I have are memories. He’s been with us in good and bad times as well as emotionally and financially hard times. He will never get to meet his human sibling but he’ll always be in my heart and I’ll make sure my child knows that he started it all.

Mommy loves you.