Stories of the Middle Kingdom

Six Years Old

When I bought Mimi the first week of March 2005, the lady told me she was six weeks old. So I counted back and determined that her birthday is January 16th (awesome date for a birthday).

I chose Mimi because she seemed to be the smartest in the litter. She and her brothers and sisters were in a cardboard box together, and Mimi INSISTED on climbing over them to get to me. She was starved for attention. I picked her up, put her back down, and again she climbed to the top to get my attention. I decided we were meant to be together.

For the next two weeks, I doubted that decision. Mimi was a little terror. I read every dog training book I could find online...I couldn't wait for a book to be delivered to my doorstep.

In the end, I realized if I gave her back to the original owner, every time I saw a little white homeless Pekingese, I would wonder if that was the dog I gave up on. I couldn't bear to live like that.

So I made the decision to keep her, no matter what.

I later read an article that said having a dog meant having a relationship, and that my dog wanted to be my friend, not my adversary. She sure seemed like an adversary at first. But I took that information to heart and found it to be so true. She can't bear to live without me.

We are inseparable.