Meet Chica

Chica has been in my care since she was 6 weeks old. She was purchased from a breeder not too long after we had moved to Austin TX.  When we arrived at the kennel all the doxie pups were running around full of puppy pep.  I just happened to look behind one of the dog houses and found a small almost impish doxie pup blissfully asleep.  I gently scooped her up, presented her to my wife and 18 years later she is still with us.  She is still healthy physically but her eyesight and hearing are rather diminished.  She has no problem knowing when it is her feeding time nor does she seem not too notice when it is our dinner time.  She has become very vocal with age and has never lost her appitite for her homemeade snacks( beef heart jerky).  She still eats raw beef heart at least twice a week and even a raw meaty bone is still no trouble for her.  She still has all but 2 of her teeth(one abcessed and had to be pulled and the other just turned up missing).  She lives with 5 other dogs(2 pitbulls, 1 rat terrier, 1 terrier mix and 1 other doxie) and can still navigate the house pretty well.  It is still encouraging the times I see her break into a brisk trot when she goes outdoors and she can still find her ramp to come back in after an outdoor romp.