My dog Elvis is a chihuahua/jack russell terrier mix.  He was a rescue.

One evening I left the coffee shop after our language group, and my girlfriend, Tere, was outside.  She came to pick me up.  She told me there was a surprise in the car.

The surprise was a little puppy.  He was malnourished, scared, and dirty.  He had been abandoned.  Tere saved him from the street.  He almost got run over by a car, so Tere went into the street and grabbed him.

We took him home, fed him, and washed him.  His skin was pink and irritated.  He had bugs all over his skin.  They must have caused him horrible discomfort.  I picked the bugs off him one by one with tweezers and killed them.  It was uncomfortable for Elvis, but he seemed to know I was helping him, so he let me do it.  Later we took him to the vet.  We got him the medications and shots he needed.

After a brief recovery and much love, Elvisito is a different dog than when Tere found him.  He is no longer anemic and tired.  He is a fountain of energy.  He wants to play more than any dog I have ever met.  Elvisito’s philosophy is, “It’s playtime, all the time.  24/7.   Until you drop.”  It’s an admirable way of being.

We take him to our friends’ house, and he runs around their dog, Sammy, for hours without getting tired.  When he runs, he gets low to the ground like a race car, and his ears pin back to make him more aerodynamic.  He changes directions on a dime.  I absolutely love watching him run.  Thankfully our friends have a big back yard so he can open up into a full sprint.

He loves going to the beach and playing in the sand.  He is a good swimmer, but he doesn’t like the water.  He tries to play with every dog and every human he comes into contact with.  He is very social.  He is not shy or timid at all, despite being a rescue.  Sometimes rescues are nervous, scared, or aggressive because of the trauma they experienced.  Elvis is not like that.  He is a very social little dog.

He is also very physically strong.  Since living in our house, he has been getting proper nutrition and exercise.  The results are showing.  He only weighs about 4.5 kilos, but he’s all muscle.

He is healthy as a horse but listens like a donkey.  Chihuahuas are not known for being great listeners.  Elvis doesn’t like to do what he’s told.  He likes to do what he wants.  I understand that entirely because I am the same way.  They say that dogs take on the personality of their owners, so maybe Elvis and I are alike.  We love playtime and like to do what we want, when we want, without being told what to do.  We are kindred spirits.

I believe that everything happens for a reason, and God put Elvis here for Tere and me.  We were meant for each other.  He was meant to be our dog, and we were meant to be his parents.  I wouldn’t have it any other way.

My goal one day is to have a yard that he can run around in.  Right now, we live in a condo, which is big enough for him to run around because he is a small dog, but I wish I had a big yard where he could run at full speed.  He loves to run at full speed, and it’s very good for his health.  Running at full speed is essential for dogs.  We take him outside as much as we can, but its hard to find places where we can take him off the leash.  There are no dog parks where we live.

Right now, I am just glad that he is happy and healthy.  My boy, Elvisito.