Dog Divorce. The story of Max Our Neighbors Chihuahua and why he divorced them.

This is the true story of Max, a white chihuahua that lived next door to us for several years. Our neighbors adopted him for their daughter after seeing my 4lb. chihuahua Pebbles. They wanted to get their child a dog like mine, a little toy that would obediently and quietly sit in their daughter's lap and watch TV. A plaything that wouldn't mind being dressed up and carried around in a little bag or wrapped in a blanket like a baby. I offered to give them the name and number of my breeder but when I told them my baby was $700 they declined my offer and set off to search for a puppy of their own.

Max appeared several weeks later. I first noticed him sitting alone in their driveway. My neighbor's backyard isn't fenced so I didn't think much about him being out, it was just a little odd seeing him alone. I also noticed that he held up his back leg when he ran-again odd but no big deal. As the weeks went by I saw more and more of Max. He was always outside and always alone. He was also unfriendly. He would bark obsessively at anything that came within the range of his sight. Quite frankly it got to be annoying and I was starting to dislike my new neighbor just a little. That is until 8 months later when he wandered onto my driveway.

At first Max wouldn't let you touch him and if you tried he would run away. He liked to just sit and watch me as I did some chore outside or played with my dogs. He also liked to  follow us when we went on our walks. He eventually warmed up to the dogs and would play a little with them on his visits. I noticed that he was pretty thin so I started offering him bits of food or treats which he gladly accepted. His visits went like this for several weeks until it became a routine for the both of us. Eventually one day he let me pet him and from that day forward he turned into a different dog.

I learned from the little girl next door that Max was always outside because he was banned from the house. He like to pee on anything and everything inside and her parents decided that he could not come in anymore. She also told me that he limped because her younger cousin stepped on his foot when he was a baby, but they hadn't taken him to the vet for health care. In the country that they come from you don't take animals to the doctor when they are hurt, they either die or get better on their own.

Summer led to fall and fall eventually became winter. Max still visited but instead of sitting in the driveway he began coming onto our front porch. He didn't have a dog house or kennel at the neighbors. We left food out for him as well as a blanket he could snuggle up into if he got cold. He refused to come into our house though, he and our big dog didn't like one another and Max was just too afraid to chance coming into the house. When it got really cold outside we left our garage cracked, moved his food and blanket inside, and set up a portable heater for him to lay next to. I lost count of the number of nights he stayed in our garage. He and my pug struck up a special friendship and Monster would sometimes stay with Max in their garage hideaway.

The next spring and summer were much like the one before. Max was over at our house all the time and he and Monster began running around together daily. Occasionally the little girl that lived next door would come out and play, and Max would run and follow her everywhere. It was sad to see how much he wanted her to pay attention to him only to be ignored. Winter came around again and we set up the heater and blankets in the garage anticipating Max's overnighters. It got so cold outside though that Max overcame his fear of our big dog and began coming into the house to warm up. We had to keep a close eye on him to make sure he wasn't marking our furniture and things, but all in all his being inside wasn't causing much of a problem.

Well it's winter again and wouldn't you know it Max is coming over every day. In fact it has gotten to the point that he doesn't leave. He likes to come inside and snuggle up in front of the fireplace with my other dogs and is even starting to jump into my lap (and my husband's) when I am watching TV or working on the computer. He joins the rest of the dogs in the kitchen when I am passing out treats and obediently waits for his turn and eats from the community food bowl.

I believe that he has made the conscious choice to live at my house now, instead of sharing his time between the neighbors and us. I think he feels more at home and accepted in our "pack". If this is his choice he is most welcome to stay with us and we will continue to love and care for him for as long as he needs us to.