Drama...

Hi all!  I hope everyone is doing well.  Macho and I have been having some drama at home lately which has been annoying to say the least. 

When I moved into the house I'm in last year, I noticed that the wooden fence between my house and my neighbor's was falling down in certain spots.  I didn't mind because it was all the way in the back of my very large yard, Macho was completely oblivious to it, and my neighbors didn't have pets or kids.  When the people who lived next door moved out, a new family moved in with two very large dogs.  They tried to fix the fence, but some of the wood is rotten and it won't hold the nails. 

Back in July, I took Macho outside and noticed a very large pile of poop that clearly could not have come out of Macho.  I checked out the fence and noticed that the whole thing fell over in the back again.  I talked to the guy who owns that house, and he came to "fix" the fence.  I didn't check it out completely, just saw that it was back together and looked ok.  Well, earlier this week I was outside with Macho running around and playing.  The dogs saw Macho (I think maybe for the first time) and got excited and wanted to play.  I was ok with it, until I noticed them trying to push the gate down to get into my yard.  I hurried up and let Macho in, and maybe 10 seconds later, the dogs pushed over the fence and came into my yard.  They are completely friendly and let me pet them for a minute before I went and got their owner.  However, Macho is not nice to some dogs, and I am afraid he will growl at them or show their teeth, and then these dogs may not be so nice anymore and could easily hurt Macho.  So I went back and fixed the fence where they were able to push through it.  

On Wednesday I was leaving to go to my exercise class, and while pulling out of my driveway, I noticed one of the dogs was just hanging out in my backyard!  I didn't have time to deal with it, so I just left.  When I got home I let Macho out, and just as he finished going to the bathroom, I saw these dogs charging at him.  I hurried up and opened the door just in time for Macho to run in.  When I turned around, one of them was almost running into my house.  I had to yell "No!" and stop him from actually getting in the door!  My neighbors were outside so I was able to talk to them about the fence and having their landlord come and fix it.  I went back into my yard, and that's when I noticed that the dogs were able to pull out the stakes of the fence and create a hole large enough for them to easily run into my yard.  They had also completely ate my entire garden, leaving only one lone tomato.  

Yesterday their owners put up a large crate in front of the hole, and I was able to put a few cinder blocks from my yard on my side of the fence to hopefully keep them out until the landlord can fix it.  I am just hoping that the crate holds the dogs out, as Macho is nervous to go outside now after the fiasco on Wednesday.  I also hope that the dogs did not get sick from eating my peppers and tomatoes!  I found some remnant, chewed up pepper and tomato in my yard, so I know they for sure ate some of it.  They are such cute dogs, I wish they could be friends with Macho, but given their size, I know there's no way that's possible!

Not much else has really been going on.  Macho is still doing really great and seems to be a happy dog!  I am going to Mexico in a little over a month for 5 days, and it is the longest I will be away from Macho in a very, very long time.  He will be staying at my parent's house during that time, so I'm going to be taking him over there a lot to get used to their house.  Other than that, things are the same, and Macho is as cute as ever.  Picture here for evidence :)

Busy Summer!

I haven't posted in forever even though I have so much to update on!

I mentioned in a post that I wanted to take Macho on my family's vacation weekend up in Northern Michigan.  I was nervous because there would be approximately 25 people and 3 other dogs up there for the weekend, and I didn't know how Macho would act around them.  I had the dog trainer come out a week before I left to see how Macho is doing and give me some tips on getting him to go into his carrier.  She said that she thinks it would be great for Macho to go and showed me some easy ways to get him used to the carrier since he would have to go in it for the 4 hour car ride.  I worked with Macho on this for the next week, and then we were off for the trip....

That morning, while packing up my car, I was super nervous just to get Macho into the carrier because he hates going in it.  But that morning, he walked right in!  I didn't even have to use his leash and pull him into the carrier through the front door.  He had no problems at all in the car and just most of the way.  I parked the car at a park right by the cabin so that Macho could go to the bathroom without everyone crowding around him.  He loved being out in a new place and didn't want to go back in the car even though it was only for a minute.  I was nervous to take him out, but there were only about 15 people at the cabin so far, and there were no other dogs yet.  I saw a different side of Macho in these moments, that is for sure.  He got out of the car on his leash and just walked right up to people wagging his tail.  We sat on the front porch of the cabin, and Macho would just sit there with us like it was no big deal or walk up to people for sniffs.  

As more people came to the cabin, Macho got a little more nervous.  That first night he parked himself underneath a chair in the kitchen and just watched everyone.  This didn't surprise me, but I think he was still enjoying himself (especially because he got a lot of table scraps that way!).  The next day there were 3 other dogs, and I was really only nervous about my sister's dog who is a crazy pug who acts like a puppy even though she's 8.  Macho definitely did not like her dog.  I put Macho in his cage, but he would still show his teeth.  Daisy (the pug) didn't care, until Macho really started to show his teeth when Daisy was sticking her face into the cage.  This is when they started to go at each other even though the cage was between them.  But Daisy had this affect on one of the other dogs as well, so I knew it wasn't too big of a deal.  I just had to keep watch on Macho whenever he was outside and Daisy was as well.  Other than that, he enjoyed the weekend and did so much better than I anticipated!

Macho is still his goofy self back at home.  The other day I walked into my bedroom to find a ginormous spider crawling on my curtain.  I got a shoe to kill it, but it took a minute to get it off my curtain because I didn't want bug guts on it.  After all of that, I find Macho hiding in the corner of my bed.  I had to kill the spider, yet Macho is more afraid of it than I am.  

More Chihuahua Hoarders....

The day Macho was rescued from that awful house was 3 years ago this past Monday (the 23rd).  While reading the news today, I come across this story where 200 Chihuahuas were rescued from a house in Pennsylvania.  It reminds me so much of the Chihuahua rescue here in Michigan that I almost can't believe it.  It's so sad, yet at the same time it makes me happy to know that there are people out there who care and are working hard to get these dogs rehabilitated and ready for adoption.  I hope that all of these dogs find loving homes the same way that Macho has.  They all deserve that second chance!

And in honor of Macho's Rescue Anniversary, I leave you with the video created about the rescue.  I know I have posted it before, but for anyone who may have missed it, this is Macho's story.

 

Summer Laziness Continues....

We're lazy, and we know it!  It has been so hot in Michigan, but I know I can't complain because it has been hot everywhere else as well.  But it has made us too lazy to do a lot of things, especially post some updates

Over the 4th of July holiday I had a 5 day weekend, and we couldn't even enjoy it to the fullest because it was too hot just standing outside.  Macho got a lot of squirts from the hose while I was watering my garden because he would be panting even after a few minutes of standing outside without even running around.  He started to get cabin fever and would get so excited whenever I opened the closet door with his leash in it because he thought he would be going for a walk.  I would try to take him, but he would make it a few houses down and start panting.  


I recently took a video of Macho going for a walk to show how much he loves it!  He kept stopping to shake himself off, which makes him look a little goofy.  But you get the point :)

Macho has been doing great lately.  He's been doing so well that I decided that I'm going to try to take him on my family's annual weekend up north in Michigan at the end of the month.  My dog trainer is coming next week to see how well Macho is doing so that she can let me know if it's a good idea for me to take Macho for the weekend.  I also want to learn how to work on picking up Macho.  He still hates being picked up, and I figure if I will be taking him for a weekend outside, he will need to be picked up quite a few times.  I'm hoping that he will be able to go!  I found a few outside kennels for dogs that would be great for this kind of trip.  That way Macho can be outside with everyone and be in the action without being completely exposed to everything.  I think it will be great for him to get out, and he loves going for walks, so he might really enjoy a weekend in the wilderness. 

Lazy Tuesday

Ok, Macho isn't very lazy, but maybe I am.  I haven't posted in a while because we really haven't had anything going on!  Macho has been enjoying the nice weather and going for walks.  He usually can make it about a block before getting tired and sometimes we just walk back and forth down the houses on each side of us.  But last week I decided it was time for a really good walk, so we walked down the block, crossed the street, walked down that block, and then came back.  This doesn't sound like much for any other dog, but for a 15 pound chihuahua, it probably felt like a mile.  It was also very warm out, so Macho was out of breath and panting.  I even had to take him in the backyard and spray him with the hose to cool him down!  Surprisingly, this is something that he likes!  I also enjoy it because I think it's cute to see him running in the spray of water.

We also met our new neighbor yesterday!  The house next door has been empty and up for sale since we moved in.  Last night I took Macho outside and was almost scared to death myself when I saw a dog running up to my gate.  I saw his owner running up to catch him, and he said that his dog heard us come out and was very curious.  He told me that he was just walking by because he bought the house and is closing in a couple weeks!  His dog was very sweet, and Macho was even a tiny bit curious of him.  He said the house will require quite a bit of work, so he won't be moving in right away.  But I'm excited to have another dog next door to see if Macho can make a friend!

I snapped this picture of Macho this morning.  For some reason his ears are always up right when he wakes up for the day.

Help the Michigan Humane Society!

This Sunday, June 3rd, my company is participating in a Mutt March to help raise money for the Michigan Humane Society.  We like to do community service a few times a year to give back, and because we are all such big animal lovers here, we decided to help the humane society.  We will be participating in the walk with all of our dogs, but in order to really give back, we are looking to raise money for this walk that helps over 100,000 animals every year!  This is especially needed in Detroit where a lot of animals are given up just because of the economy and owners are unable to afford to take care of their pets. 

Our company goal is $1,000, and mine and Macho's personal goal is to raise $156 as the MHS says that $156 is the amount it takes to help one animal get rehabilitated and ready for adoption. I've personally started the ball rolling by donating a quarter of the amount that Macho and I want to raise, and our entire team is over a quarter of the way to hitting the $1,000 goal.

Would you like to help us out?  Any amount will help me and Macho reach our goal and help our entire team reach our overall goal.  Any $5-$10 helps a lot!  If you'd like more information about the walk or would like to donate to Macho's page, you can do so here

Help us out and you will make Macho very happy :)

 

Cinco de Macho!

Ok, ok, I'm a few days late for a Cinco de Mayo post.  But in my defense, I've been sick the past week and have been feeling like not doing anything besides sleeping and cuddling with Macho!  Anyway, I decided that Macho needed to celebrate his heritage and do a little Cinco de Mayo photo shoot.  So I put his Mexican poncho on him and let him run around the backyard. 

Isn't he cute?!  Every year the animal shelter where Macho was rescued from has an event they call Mutt Strut.  You can create a team and raise money for the shelter, and then everyone is welcome to bring their dog to go on a massive dog walk together.  The event also has a lot of other things to do and see each year for the whole weekend.  The year after all of the chihuahuas were rescued from the house, they invited each chihuahua to Mutt Strut to have a reunion for all of them.  When you registered for the event, they gave each rescue chihuahua one of these ponchos.  It was the most adorable thing to see all of these chihuahuas running around and playing with each other in these sweaters knowing that only a few months prior, they were all living in horrible conditions together.  It was a happy yet sad moment to realize that the last time all of these dogs were in one place, it was in that terrible house.  

I'm happy to say that Mutt Strut is also this weekend, so Macho wearing his little sweater was also a reminder to me of that day and to celebrate how great the Dearborn Animal Shelter is.  If you want more information about the Mutt Strut or wish to donate, all the information is here