First,
we have Cooper James. He is our resident Old Man, having just turned 12 years
old. He has the most nicknames of any of the pups: Super Cooper, Super Coop,
Super Duper Cooper, The Coops, and not often, but sometimes we even call him
Super Cooper the Paratrooper. I don’t know why on that last one, it must have
been a silly day.
Cooper was our first Chihuahua puppy, as the original three girls came to us as adult retired show dogs. Cooper was a bundle of energy and loved to drive The Girls crazy. He has slowed down a lot over the years, and now he prefers to be left alone. Cooper NEVER enjoys a puppy. Whenever a new one has joined the pack, he spends days glaring at me from across the room. He eventually accepts the new one, but he makes sure I know he isn’t happy about it.
Cooper is our number one barker in the family. Despite getting older, his hearing is still very good, and he is the first to hear any delivery trucks that stop at the driveway, anyone that comes to the door (even before they ring the bell), anyone that walks by the property, every time the refrigerator door gets open. You get the idea. He barks at everything – even moth farts!
I
know our days with Cooper are short, and I enjoy every moment I can still have
with him.
Next,
we have Finn Robert. His nicknames are: Finner Winner, Finn Finn, and Finny. He
answers to any of them. Finn spends most of his day walking around with a
stuffed toy in his mouth – usually a Lambchop toy. He is the second most
enthusiastic barker. Finn came to us at Christmas time and was a gift from my
husband. Finn is very attached to me and can usually be found either laying on
my feet or leaning against my leg. He is the dog that is most talented at
finding something gross to roll in and relishes in doing so. Finn tolerates the
new puppies but isn’t fond of playing with them. He has a great talent of being
able to smile and is often photographed giving us a toothy smile. Finn has the
same luxurious coat as his Mama, Panda, of the infamous Cheeky Chis. Finn is
our blueberry thief, keeping our bushes cleared of all berries except for the
ones on the very top that he cannot reach.
Next
up is our second Cheeky Chis pup, and half-brother to Finn, Tucker James.
Tucker arrived just six months after Finn and they would wrestle and play all
day. Tucker is the most playful of the older boys and will still wrestle and
play with Benny. His only nickname is Tucker Man. Usually said with a drawn out
maaaan. Tucker is SUPER camera shy and I have to sneak any photo I get of him,
which is why he is usually looking away from the camera in his photos. Tucker
has the thickest, softest coat and reminds me of a rabbit. Which was
appropriate when he was young, as he also hopped a lot like a rabbit. Before
Tucker arrived, I use to always put Sweet Potato Vines in all my patio pots. I
loved how they trailed down the sides. Tucker discovered that he loved the
taste of them and would go along behind me as I planted and tear them out and
eat them! After all my attempts to dissuade him fell on deaf ears, I gave up
and only plant them in the front yard pots. He was a hiney-biter as a puppy,
chasing all the girls and biting them from behind. He did not win any
popularity contests at that time. Tucker has the most endearing head tilt when
he looks up at you. It melts my heart. He doesn’t bark very much. When the
others are barking like crazy fools, he will let loose with one or two quick
barks and then he is done. He is the most patient pup of all, rarely getting
tired of the young ones’ antics.
Fourth
in line is the lovely Leo Thomas. He is our tiniest pup, but thinks he is a
lion. He gave me a run for my money a few times when he first arrived as he
would go on a hunger strike, causing his sugar levels to plummet and he would
have a hypoglycemic crash. One such episode was so bad that he was unconscious
when I discovered him and I really thought I had lost him. But, I was able to get
him back and after that I would get up several times in the night for months to
check on him. His nickname is Leo Banbino. He can run like the wind and would
probably win every Chihuahua race he entered. His biggest nemesis is the
squirrels that live in the trees near our deck. They even like to taunt him by
coming up on the deck and peering through the patio door at him. He is
practically foaming at the mouth in a tiny rage. Leo is our third Cheeky Chis
pup, son of Nitro and grandson of Kilo. He has the vocal talents of his
grandfather and always has a LOT to say. Very LOUDLY. He never approves of
Tucker and Benny’s playing and will speak his mind, while at the same time he
is biting Tucker’s hiney. Which seems rather justified, considering Tucker’s history
of doing the same.
Last,
but not least, and certainly the craziest of all the pups, is Benny Ray.
Nicknames are Benny Boy and BenBen. At times, Benny can actually be calm. But
this is only when he is asleep. When awake, he goes a mile a minute. He runs,
he pounces, he jumps, he runs some more, he tackles the other dogs…you get the
idea. When he went in to be neutered, I begged the veterinarian to find his
crazy energy button and remove it for me. Alas, that did not happen. He turned
one year old in May and I am still hoping that this energy level will
begin to reduce a little. He is such a loving dog that you really can’t stay
mad at him. Well, I can’t any way. The other dogs will tell you differently.
Tucker is his best friend, and they play for hours. He is a beautiful dog, and
as most people know, I have a definite weakness for tri-colors. He adores me
and will look up at me with little squinty eyes like he is trying to flirt. He
rarely barks, but he does do a blood curdling screech that I am sure has often
had the neighbors thinking they need to call the police. This is usually done
when he wants to go outside, and I am not opening the door fast enough. Or
fixing the meals for the dogs. He brings an insane level of energy to
everything he does, and I am considering doing some agility work with him. At
the speed he runs, I don’t know that I could keep up with him though.
So, this has been a long post, but hopefully you have enjoyed getting to know the boys of Cody and Company a little better. I will do a post on the girls next!
