Democracy Made Me Write a Blog About My Chihuahua



You may be asking yourself, “Why would a concept of government force you to write about a tiny dog?”

The answer: Twitter made me do it. Please, allow me to explain.

I ran a Twitter poll which gave my followers a chance to decide what topic I should focus on for my first blog. I approached this as an opportunity to show off my mastery of the English language and wit. In retrospect, I should have provided choices that lent themselves more readily to these traits, like why I left teaching in public schools or what it’s like living a stone’s throw away from Washington DC.

But no, I offered the following choices in my Twitter poll: a summary of myself, vision boards, my dog, or how a bet led to my first novel.

In true Internet fashion, my dog won. So, now I’m faced with writing an insightful, poignant, and humorous piece about my chihuahua. Which now, when I think about…is awesome!!!

Some history on Little Man

I respect the privacy of my family; therefore, I will refer to my fur baby as “Little Man” from here on. That may seem like overkill, but if I provide you with his real name, then you could find him on Facebook. And while I want him to experience the world, I don’t think he has the maturity to experience “fans”. I’m sure you understand. Anyway, I met Little Man when he was about two-months- old (see picture) with the intent of “seeing some puppies” friends of ours had. To quote my best friend, “No one just goes to see puppies.”

Me, not Chelsea Clinton, and Little Man (March 2012)
Me, not Chelsea Clinton, and Little Man (March 2012)

Needless to say, my wife and I became proud owners of a puppy (we waited until marriage to expand our family). We didn’t take him home that day because we wanted him to have more time with his bio-mom. However, due to a separate incident, we did assume the role of full-time puppy parents a little sooner than anticipated.

Puppies and babies

I’ll never have a human baby, but having a puppy has to be close.

Toilet training. Chew on this, not on that. This is when you go to bed. This is when you wake up. Very similar to what I’ve witnessed with my friends who have children, but my fur baby only mouths off to squirrels and I don’t need to worry about saving money for college or him knocking up the Yorkie next door. #winning

The Highlight Reel

Okay, I’m running long on words so I’ll finish with a top five list of why Little Man is the most awesome creature on the planet. Sorry, baby pygmy goat in pajamas, prepare to get schooled.


  1. He fits in Build-a- Bear clothes. Don’t believe me. Here he is as Yoda.
  2. When little kids see him, they have been known to point and yell, “Kitty!” That’s hilarious.
  3. He can stand on his hind legs for up to 45 seconds. I can only assume he does this to either see the squirrels out the window or “look big”.
  4. Speaking of size, he weighed 7oz at his very first vet appointment. That’s 0.2kg for my non-U.S. friends.
  5. He audibly sighs, much in the style of Al Gore, and will make frustrated little noises if the furry blanket isn’t arranged “just so”.
Yoda Dog

I really could go on and on about Little Man, but I think you have the gist. I still find it amazing that something so small can provide so much love and completely changed my world.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to cuddle my Little Man and start on my next blog, which I will not leave up to the Internet.