Mama Chiquita

When we first met Chiquita, we learned she had been spayed by the shelter.  And while no one confirmed it, everyone (Lisa and Donna from All Dog Rescue, Pam from the shelter, us, even friends who have met her since) was pretty sure that despite her young age (about a year) she's already had puppies, based on the size of her nipples and some other physical traits.  

As we've gotten to know her we think more and more that this must be true.  Additionally we think she was separated from them way too early because one of her most interesting behaviors is her gentleness.  She doesn't play into the stereotypical behavior of a pit bull by being aggressive. In fact, we have a hard time getting her to play with some of her toys.  The first toy we had for her, given to us by All Dog Rescue, is a purple monkey.  We're pretty sure she thinks it's her puppy.  She keeps it in her crate and will occasionally bring it out to sleep on her blanket.  But even when she carries it, she's very gentle and carries it like a puppy, walking very slowly with it in her mouth and barely holding it in her teeth.  When she goes to bed at night, she snuggles next to her monkey and gives it a couple of licks before settling in.

Chiquita going to bed with her purple monkey and her pork chop

Other soft toys are the same way.  She stole my stuffed moose off the bed (long story short--she's not allowed in the bedroom but apparently the door wasn't shut all the way and she got in there, up on the bed and when she found him, she thought he was her puppy and took him).  Dave found her carrying him ever so gently, and when she was caught, she carefully laid him on the floor. 

In decorating for Halloween, I was hanging a little stuffed bat in the doorway.  When I accidentally dropped it, she immediately picked it up and took it to her blanket.

Why is the bat so high up? I can't reach him.

She will play with other things--she has a tennis ball for the yard and loves to find sticks (we're still working on the actual concept of fetch), so it's not like she doesn't play like a dog at all.  But the soft fluffy things are special.  Even when she meets other dogs, if given the choice to play with a dog her size or a little one, she'll go for the little one.

For our anniversary, my darling nephew Aidan and niece Abi picked us out a very fun gift.  Except Chiquita thinks it's for her.  We received two Kung Zhu Battle Hamsters (Drayko and Azer for those of you keeping score at home).  They are part hamster/part ninja, so clearly the perfect gift for me (and Dave).  They are pretty hilarious, but immediately Chiquita thought they were the best toy ever.  

For your enjoyment:

After several minutes of Dave and I torturing her by setting them up again and again, she'll eventually pick them up and move them to her blanket.  We like to think of it as her babysitting and she's having a hard time getting them both to bed.

She loves playing with these, despite her confusion as to why they keep moving after she's told them not to.  It definitely feeds into her maternal instinct.  And it's so much fun to watch.