Chihuahua Pug Mix Adoption
Have you ever had something fall so serendipitously into place that you can only think, WHOA?
That’s a bit how adopting our little Bea went down. Before I get into the story, Bea is our new chihuahua pug mix dog that we adopted on April 6, 2017.
I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to write about her, but we’ve been enjoying the heck out of her.
Adding a Third Dog
After we had said goodbye to our Hilo in October 2016, we went through a wide range of emotions about adding a third dog.
As anyone who’s lost a dear pet knows, there’s no replacing that animal, but there’s also the urge to fill a void.
At first, Mike wanted a large dog since Hilo was our big guy that mostly followed him around. Then we decided to just stick with two for a while.
The house was easier keep clean, there was less fur, and everything was just a bit calmer than when we had three dogs.
Then, of course, I got the bug. Most women get baby fever; I get puppy fever.
Mike no longer wanted a big dog due to the size of our house. I craved a little one to hold.
Our other littler two awkwardly allow me to hold them for a hot minute.
I started to ask Mike if could start looking. He brushed me off.
I convinced my sister to go hold puppies at the pet store. (This is a horrible idea good for masochists only — don’t do it.)
I could write another entire post about the horror show that is the pet shop. I felt like I was being sold a car, not a living creature.
After a couple more weeks of me mentioning it here and there, Mike suddenly said, “If you want another dog, I am fine with it, but try to find similar to The Grump.”
Grump’s our Pug/Boston Terrier mix who’s basically the perfect specimen. He has the perfect fur that neither of us is at all allergic too, he’s hilarious, calm, and ideal for our household.
Now, I know that each animal is unique no matter what the breed, but we also know a bit about which breed goes best with our lifestyle.
About four seconds after Mike gave me the go ahead; I was on Adopt-a-Pet.com. It wasn’t long that “Lil Bit” popped up – a Pug/Boston Terrier mix.
No way. Only it said she was 6.5 pounds and nine months old. The Grump is 25 pounds.
That seemed strange, but her face was so flipping cute, I had to see her.
She was brand new to the shelter, so she wasn’t allowed visitors for a few days.
I filled out the shelter’s application and tried to put it out of my mind and not get my hopes up.
My mom happened to see her on there, too and said she looked like an animal made for us.
A day later I called, and they said I was approved. They said there had been a bit of interest for Lil Bit so it would be a first-come-first-dibs sort of thing.
WHAT? The shelter requires everyone in your household to go with – humans and pets.
That made me nervous only because Franklin has horrible anxiety around people – not dogs.
The shelter is 3 hours away from us. OMG. Still not getting my hopes up. Maybe this is stupid anyway…
Mike got a call that he was off work the day Lil Bit was first allowed visitors.
I found out that she was transported from a high kill shelter in Kentucky. She was surrendered because her owner died.
THAT’S IT! I NEED THIS ANIMAL. So much for “not getting my hopes up.”
I had a pull like no other that she had to be mine. However, I was still trying to keep my cool.
Mike had his own thought process going on cause he suddenly said, “So, I’ll get there at like 6 am and park in the parking lot, and then you can meet me there at 10 am when they open.”
You know, like we’re camped out for a Black Friday sale? But, that’s one of the many reasons I freaking love my husband.
We left nice and early, but not that early. We arrived in the shelter’s parking lot at 9:30 and they open at 10.
I saw people in there, so I went in. They said I could sign in, but I still wasn’t considered “first” until no one else showed at the exact opening time.
WHAT IN THE WORLD? If someone else showed, they would have to pull our applications and see who applied first.
Did they not care that we were THE BEST CHOICE? (LOL, I am not biased or anything.) (Also, I don’t blame the shelter – I know they need rules in place.)
Finally, after staring down every car that pulled into the lot, I bolted into the building at 9:59.
They finally brought her out, and she was the tiniest little creature. She looked massive in her picture compared to real life.
She was shaking like a leaf, and it took a minute to get her to want to come by me. Once she did, she melted into my arms, and I was a goner.
A girl from the shelter (sorry, I forgot all the humans’ names during all of this) took us all outside to meet our two dogs and one human in the car.
Franklin behaved enough to pass the test or whatever. The Grump came back into the building with me since he was pretty unfazed by it all.
Our New Chihuahua Pug Mix Adoption, Bea
I asked if they knew anything else about her breed cause she was clearly too small to be part Boston Terrier.
They said chihuahua pug mix was a better guess than pug Boston. That made a lot more sense to me.
She started sneezing quite a bit, and they said she had a respiratory infection (more on that later).
They also didn’t spay her since she was sick. They said I could leave her there (???) until she could be spayed, foster her until we could bring her back for it, or pay on my own to have my vet do it. Option 3 — give me this dog!
Needless to say, we made it all official. After the 3 hour trek home, I brought her straight to our vet.
Our wonderful vet, Dr. Dahl, agreed with the chihuahua pug mix guess, weighed her in at 5.6 pounds, and predicted that she would rule the house. She nailed it on that one because she runs this joint like a mini mob boss.
All of the animals get along fabulously.
She’s even softened Franklin up a bit. He doesn’t even seem as tense anymore!
We renamed her Bea although, Mike calls her “Bits,” and she’s the most amazing.
She’s so tiny, yet fearless and fierce, super cuddly, hilarious, and just everything we needed to fill our house with even more joy.
I am so grateful that the stars aligned on this one.
Looking back, so many things fell into place to make this happen.
- Mike saying okay right before she was listed.
- Her misprint of Pug/Boston – had it said Chihuahua we might have passed over since I had a horrible misconception that they were notorious yappers. 🙁
- Mike having that day off.
- Getting to the shelter first.
- Franklin cooperating.
I don’t know, maybe I’m overthinking it all, but the timing of everything made it another day that taught me about faith.
It’s the perfect match since I work from home. Bea hates to be left alone, so on my lap she sits every day while I work.
She adores Mike and has the ability to turn my big manly husband into a giant mush ball. Happiness all around!
Update: We are doing a dog DNA test to see which breeds she really is. Not that it matters, but we’re curious!
Here are the DNA test results!! What a shocker!
Another update: The name, Bea, did not stick at all. I thought it would be a cute “little old lady” name, but Mike hated it. We switched it back to Little Bits, and call her that plus a variety of different names. Does anyone call their dog by their given name? LOL
Bea is adorable! I read your adoption story with a bit of jealousy because we cannot have pets where we live. I still look at the local shelter’s website every week looking at the dogs and picking out the ones I would like to have.
What a great post! You made my morning!
Congrats, she is adorable 🙂 🙂
That is one adorable fur baby. So darn cute. my dogs are just so big and clumsy, it’s so nice to see cute little pups.
Excellent narrative on your search and acquirement of little Bea. Since I’ve had the honor and pleasure of meeting her in person, I can honestly say that she IS TRULY a tiny gem and exactly as you’ve described. I’m so glad you found each other and, I have to admit I’m a wee bit envious. I hope I, too, can find another mini buddy just like her.
Thanks!!! OMG let’s find you one!!!
She is really gorgeous. We have a chihuahua, my husband really didn’t think he would like having a small dog but now she has him wrapped around her tiny, furry paw.
YEP! So funny how that happens huh? 😉
I literally can’t deal with how cute this dog is :’)
LOL! I know. I just stare at her sometimes.
That story is adorable! Bea is so cute. My family LOVES pugs and we’ve been looking to adopt but I never thought of searching pug mixes. We also have some allergies in the house so it’s good to know they hold up to their hypoallergenic reputation.
I would DEFINITELY not call pugs hypoallergenic… I am not sure about that at all. I just meant neither of us in this household have a reaction. I am super allergic to cats, and have reactions to SOME dogs. So, that’s all I meant by that. Pug mixes are AWESOME though!! We have two amazing ones at least. 🙂
Oh yeah, not a Boston/Pug at all. Cute though.
Omg she’s adorable!
that dog is so cute and i love all the pictures of adoption. i think i need to adopt a pug lol .
What a great story! Bea is absolutely precious. I want a tiny friend like her but I have a old cat and not sure how well they what get along. Congrats on your new fur baby!
What a beautiful and adorable baby! Enjoy your new puppy and congratulations.
we too have done rescue adoptions,,yes it was rough but they are so loved now
OMG! At first I thought you were giving her away!lmao. She is the most adorable little girl, I love cats and don’t have a dog but I would love a cute one like that. Her personality just shines 🙂
Oh goodness, never ever!! LOL thank you!!
I love your little dog. I had one that looked t like her.
I have two teacup chihuahuas that shed soo much
I have 2 Chihuahuas that go everywhere with me.
Such a cutie! We have a pomeranian chihuahua mix that we rescued a little over a year ago. The facial features of yours look so similar to ours.
OMG! She is adorable!! You can definitely see the pug in her! I love her calico coloring too!
Little Bea sounds absolutely marvelous!! I am so glad for you, and so glad for her.
How adorable your new fur baby is! I hope to adopt my own at some point this year.
Thank you for taking the time to adopt. So many animals are left because people think something must be wrong with them so why else would they be given up, they aren’t designer dogs, etc.
I know too much at this point in my life to NOT adopt. Plus, look at Bea — she pretty much IS a “designer breed”. Her owner died, that’s all I know, but there’s nothing wrong with her at all! <3
Oh, I know why you feel in love with her when you saw her. She’s a little doll, we lost our Beagle and now have a rescue Doxie. He needs a friend and we are thinking about getting another dog for him. I’m so happy for you, I know she will bring so much love to your family.
What cute pups! And i love suprises so thanks for the giveaway!
She is just so cute and little. Thank you for sharing.
Made my day, so wonderful you helped
You know, there is someone in heaven looking down and pretty darn happy that their dog ended up with you! She is a doll face. I love her coloring, and she looks like she would be fun.
You likely also saved her life… did you know the chihuahua breed is the first or second most common breed in shelters? And I am so glad you did adopt and not shopped.
Sounds like she is the perfect fit for you and your household!
Oh! I hope so!!! I didn’t know that statistic about chihuahuas in shelters. I thought the little ones always had better chance of adoption. 🙁 SO sad. We couldn’t be more in love with Bea!!!
Very nice article! ALso having 3 kids of my own I think 3 is a wonderful number of anything <3 Good Luck!!
Sometimes it’s truly amazing how the Universe aligns itself just to make things you REALLY want and/or need possible. It’s happened a few times to me in the past and you just can’t help but be in awe at how some things unfold. I’m SO happy you were able to get the dog you wanted and she is definitely quite the little cutie! I love getting your snaps of all the dogs and hope to one day meet them (and that hubby of yours) 🙂
What a cute dog!
Bea is beautiful! Congratulations to all of you. Thanks for sharing your story, too. 🙂
P.S. I can totally relate to wanting to “fill the void” while knowing you can’t replace a lost pet. When they leave us, nothing can ever really ease that pain, but it’s wonderful to be able to move on and find joy in another pet.
Rescue dogs (and cats and other animals) are the best. While sometimes it’s a crapshoot when adopting – you don’t even know for sure just what breed(s) are in the pet you’re adopting, but no matter what is in them, they are so loving and happy to have homes. Millions of dogs and cats die in shelters in the US every year, and breeders are just adding to that. Only when people adopt and stop buying from pet stores and back-yard breeders, can we start to lower the number of animals killed in shelters. Spaying and neutering is another way to lower that number. In addition to my own rescued dogs and cats (three of each), I am involved in helping several rescues. I’m a volunteer transport driver for a rescue out of Indianapolis. From once to four or more times a month, they send dogs they have saved from kill shelters in Indy, vetted, and fostered, up to rescues in WI and MN where they have a better chance of being adopted. Just this morning I drove three dogs, including a long-haired chihuahua mix, a little Poodle mix, and the sweetest 6-month-old Pit Bull girl with a badly healed broken leg (she will be seen by a vet in MN and treated there – this sweet girl will likely get multiple applications for adoption. She’s that sweet! Thank you for choosing to adopt and not buy your dog!
Lovely dog, good read.
What a cute little dog, looks like a perfect mix between a chi and a pug!! I have a chi/jack russell that I rescued!
he is so cute. unusual coloring. i have 3 4 legged little gals and the oldest has terminal cancer. i cry everyday. i get so upset when she wont eat, feeding her baby food, which is all over my house. walls, me, etc. we are on our 4 th type of chemo. she has outlived all hopes, she should have been dead in oct. with the type of cancer she has. only 20% or less dogs live longer than a few months.
OH my gosh, I am so sorry to hear that. So glad she has to you to give her the best chance at a longer life. <3 IT’s SO HARD when they get sick!
it has been very hard, she has been my baby since she was 6 wks old. it takes abt 2 hrs to feed her. the chemo infusion she is doing now, takes abt 7 hrs. every 2 wks, and she has to have blood work done every wk. she is also deaf, almost completely blind, dementia and has a bad back that she got from developing vestibular a few yrs ago. as long as she is not in any pain, eats, wants to play and love, i will do everything in my power to keep her alive. i dont care how much it cost. my 3 gals are my kids, my family. Evie has been the best little gal. she was great with kids, elderly, my mother, knew lots of tricks and easy to train. she was/is a very smart gal. the vets say it is not time yet either.
My mom did that with one of her beloved pets, too. The vets said like 6 weeks at one time and I think they kept her alive for more like 6 years. It’s a great thing to be able to do for them as long as there is still a good quality of life. If they are in pain, then it’s time to make a hard decision.
it is so nice of you to rescue this little guy. he is so cute. he looks like he has a wonderful personality. those big bat ears are too much.
She’s the best! Seriously the perfect addition to our family. Fits right in, is super sweet, and totally hilarious. <3
That’s a lovely adoption story. I’m glad you got the one you wanted.
Thanks for the contest.
It is the hardest thing in the world to lose a loving pet. But the happiest thing is to adopt another! Bea is just precious and adorable and congrats enjoy her!!
She is so adorable, I love her coloring.
I am so glad they are safe now, they are so adorable. I did several tile jobs for someone who went out and rescued Greyhounds, so I seen what they go through when they bring a rescued one home, once they are at a home.
Dogs are great animals and are known to be a human’s best friend. Congratulations on making this marvelous decision.
Cute puppy!