TAZ's STORY, by Robin, Taz's new human

The first time I saw Taz was on the Chihuahua Rescue website. It said
he had been emotionally and physically traumatized since he was a
puppy and that he cried incessantly. His sad face along with his
heartwarming story made me fall in love with him. I wanted him to know
what it was like to be in a family that was loving and non abusive. I
felt like he deserved that. My boyfriend Jon felt the same, except he
was worried about the fact that he was a special needs dog. He thought
we wouldn?t have time or understand a special needs dog the way one
would need to be. However after the first time we met Taz, we were
both completely set on getting him. He was very calm and timid and Jon
held him for over an hour. We realized all he needed was someone to
hold him and love him and just be gentle and loving towards him. We
weren?t as worried about any baggage he might come with, like barking
or crying or possibly biting.

The first night we brought him home he was really excited. He ran
circles in the living room, slipping on our hardwood floors and
sliding everywhere. Unfortunately our first Chihuahua Lola, who is
also our spoiled baby, was not so sure about Taz and didn?t like him
coming to close. He kept trying to snuggle up with her and she would
growl. That worried us, but after a couple of days she started to
realize he was a friend to play with. Ever since she has wrestled and
chased him non-stop. She has grown to love him now that it has been a
few months. They sleep curled up next to each other, they play
constantly and they get into trouble together (like the trash).

Since we first brought Taz home, it has been heartwarming and a lot of
fun to watch him progress. He used to sit near us at first, now he
insists on sitting on one of our laps, most likely Jon?s. He really
bonded with Jon and follows him around everywhere. Whenever Jon sits
down he hops up and makes himself comfortable. With Lola we have
always done a big greeting when we get home after being gone. She
barks and howls and licks our face and we play with her. In the
beginning Taz would just watch but slowly his tail started to wag and
then a few days later he jumped up on us. Now he has a special happy
bark and jumps up on us over and over, he licks our face and runs
around as fast as he can with his favorite toy.

He is the most loveable and full of love dog, he is happy as long as
he is with us or at home with a cozy blanket. He is much more relaxed
and mellow than Lola who is very active. He likes sleeping on our lap,
being brushed or massaged and tug of war. He didn?t used to like to
leave the house very much, so on walked we would have to carry him.
Now when he sees his leash he gets excited and he absolutely loves
walks. He has the cutest little prance like he is in a dog show.

We named him Taz because when Lola and him play fight, he bares his
teeth so he looks vicious and growls and grunts to be intimidating.
When he does this he looks and sounds just like a Tasmanian devil, so
that is where the name came from.

Taz has been great with people and will jump up onto your lap even if
he has never met you before. Jon and I are so happy we adopted him and
can?t imagine not having him now. He becomes happier and more alive
every day and we just look forward to the new positive changes we know
he will continue to make. We never knew how happy it would make us
feel to watch him grow and progress. It is a really good feeling
knowing that he is part of our family now, and I?m so glad we decided
to take a chance on him.