About Us
A love of chi-weenies began with the rescue of a frightened and neglected (possibly abused) black and tan male. When we found him, he was very dirty, smelled horrible, and was starving. We took him in, feeding and bathing him, and offering him a place at the foot of our bed. We knew almost immediately what we wanted to name him, and so, Pedro Sanchez was welcomed into our family. He was tremendously grateful for the attention and love, and was never more than a few feet away from one of us. His fast loyalty and love cemented his place in our home.
I had never seen a dog quite like Pedro before, and was intrigued by his features. I thought that he looked like a chihuahua, but at the same time, there was something I couldn't quite figure out about him. Suddenly, it hit me. He was too long to be a chihuahua! I immediately got online and began searching to see if I could find someone else with a dog like him. To my astonishment, I found that there were MANY people with dogs like him. I discovered that he was called a chi-weenie, and that he was a cross between a chihuahua and a dachshund.
The longer that I had Pedro, the more I realized that he was the perfect breed of dog for me. I know that people with registered breeds of dogs tend to get somewhat aggrevated when a mixed dog is referred to as a breed. I think that a lot of that stems from a fear of competition in breeding. Most mixed breed dog breeders don't charge quite as much for their puppies as registered breed dog breeders do. I've heard all of the arguments for and against breeding, and decided that I would breed my Pedro.
As many people as there were with chi-weenies, it was difficult for me to find anyone that was willing to part with one! I searched for two years for a female chi-weenie. I had pretty much decided that I would never have another one when I pulled into a parking lot and saw a litter of chi-weenies being sold. I was ecstatic! I picked out a beautiful red girl and brought her home. I named her Story, after the red-haired character in a movie I had recently seen.
Story was such a sweet little dog. She was very cuddly and loving, always wanting to be next to me. As she grew, I discovered that all of the characteristics I had loved about Pedro were also in Story. They were so much alike in personality and temperament that it gave me more encouragement to pursue the breeding of chi-weenies.
One day, while I was just surfing the web for information on chi-weenies, I came across an ad for one that I had to have. He was very small (half chihuahua and half miniature dachshund), and dappled. I loved his coloring and size. He was so very cute! My family and I drove quite a drive to pick him up, and named him Pepper Jack (Pepper for short). This brought us to a total of three chi-weenies!
Eventually, we bred Story and Pedro. Story gave birth to four adorable little pups and was a great mother from the start. It was really amazing to watch these little puppies grow and develop before my eyes. My husband affectionately referred to them as "rodents" because they looked like little hamsters or rats at first! By the time they were of age to be adopted, I had a long list of prospective families that were waiting for them.
I didn't realize how hard it would be to let go of the puppies. While I was confident that all four were going to great homes, I didn't know how much I would miss those little wagging tails following me all over the yard. I really enjoyed having little furry bundles climbing all over the place and running around the house.
I fully intended to acquire more chi-weenies and become a full-time breeder of chi-weenies. However, my husband and I decided recently that we would have another baby. I had to make a difficult decision about breeding my dogs. If I were pregnant, I would not be able to devote as much time to Story as she would need if she were to have another litter. Bathing and daily care of my three chi-weenies required a lot of bending and lifting and kneeling and sitting on the floor. This would only increase with another litter of puppies. I decided that it would be best for everyone concerned if we made some changes in our home.
I made the decision to adopt out Story and Pepper. This would leave me with only Pedro and our "big" dog, Sophie. I was fairly confident that I could handle the care of two dogs and three children (two, plus the addition we were planning) better than I could FOUR dogs and three children.
I found great homes for both Story and Pepper. I know that they'll be extremely happy with their new homes (and being the center of attention). Pedro shows little signs of missing them, as he's happy to have the run of the house again, without having to compete with much younger dogs (he's going on 9 this year).
So, anyway, I have decided to turn my chi-weenie breeding site into a chi-weenie information site. I have often gotten e-mails from people with chi-weenies, telling me how much they love their dog and they enjoy this site. Hopefully, people will begin to send in pictures and stories that I can post in a gallery full of chi-weenies!
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