I just noticed that in most our posts and photos, we haven't talked much about our little dog, Chico, so I thought I'd introduce him here. He is a pure bred, AKC registered, Miniature Pinscher, born on May 18, 2001. The name on his registration certificate is Cheeko, but I never liked the spelling, so I've always spelled it Chico. He's black and rust colored with cropped ears and a docked tail and the most snuggly little critter you've ever seen.
Chico has a bit of a sorted past, since I was the third owner to him in less than 2 years. A family in Jackson, Wyoming purchased the dog, but then sold him to my friend's brother. I'm not sure what the story was behind that, but I'm a believer that everything happens for a reason. My friend's brother decided to give him away a little while later because they had something like 2 cats and 3 or 4 dogs all living in the same house at the same time. I guess it was just too much, so they wanted to find Chico a new home. Around that same time, I had decided that I really wanted another dog. As a youngster growing up in Star Valley, we always had dogs and I had always wanted one of my own. At that point, I owned a townhouse in Millcreek, so the situation was perfect for me to bring a dog into my home. Anyway, somewhere in the summer of 2003, my friend's brother offered to give me Chico and I gladly accepted and he's been in my life for the past 5 years.
Shortly after bringing Chico home, I realized he was suffering from allergies. Poor guy was always scratching and had teary eyes. I also realized that the little guy was built a little funny, so whenever he'd go outside to take care of his business, his aim was off and he'd hit his chest and both front legs. Thank goodness a little minor surgery helped take care of that problem. Over the past couple of years, Chico's allergies have gone through some serious flare-ups that have been successfully treated with medication. However, this latest flare-up hasn't cleared up, so back to the vet we went. We've now realized that Chico suffers from Canine Autoimmune Disease and will need to be on a low dose of steroids to help combat the symptoms the cause him to itch. My poor little Chico now has to take Benedryl twice a day along with a steroid, thyroid pill and omega 3 capsule every day. It's obvious that our free little dog has now cost us a pretty little penny. . . but I believe it was all worth it. Despite these plethora of drugs, he is as happy and loving as ever!
Chico weighs only about 12 pounds, but his little body doesn't slow him down. I swear he thinks he's a full-grown Doberman. He LOVES to go on walks, especially to Wheeler Farm where he can check out all the animals. His favorite toys are anything with a squeaker in them. He grabs the squeaky toy, finds the exact spot where the squeaker is, then runs around the house squeaking it until his jaw gets tired. His favorite spot to sleep is in out bed, no matter who it is or what time they are in bed, he loves to crawl in with you, but he insists on being under the covers. His little nose is always cold, so whenever he's just sitting somewhere, he likes to push his nose under a blanket. Because of this same thing, whenever we're folding a load of laundry that comes straight from the dryer, Chico loves to nestle into the fresh, warm clothes. For a treat, he will sit, lay,
jump and shake hands on command. The telephone is annoying to Chico for some reason, so every time the home or cell phone rings, there's Chico, throwing back his head in a long, drawn out howl. It is the funniest thing ever! This is one of my favorite pictures. . .I couldn't find Chico one day, I called him and whistled and the whole thing. Finally, when I went into the bedroom to look for him, he poked his little head out from under my covers with that look on his face like I had just woke him up.
I just can't say enough how much I love my little dog. He came into my life at a time when I needed him so much. He knows when I'm having a bad day and he crawls into my lap to snuggle. He is lovable, sweet, snuggly and has so much personality. Chico has been my baby for the past five years and I hope he's around to brighten my days for many more years to come.
Sleepily, the lady next door comes out wanting to know what is going on. Her husband wasn't home, so she and I ran next door to fetch the next neighbor. Out in the their pajamas, they all come to the rescue. I grabbed the water key to turn off the outside water that was right by the house, but needless to say, that only turns off the sprinkler water. While all this was happening, the neighbor got the water shut off out on the street. . . but by this time, the damage had already been done! 
We had water all over the basement. It soaked about 3/4th of the family room, ran into the under stairs storage, out into the garage and out into the driveway. Here's the access panel we were working through (you can't see it in the picture, but the water shut off valve we had turned off is right above the panel in the ceiling). Also, here's a picture of the pipe we were fixing.
