Here Comes Minnie!!!

Yes, here she comes!!! Minnie is my white long haired, 2 pound teacup Chihuahua, named Minnie Mouse. She turned 2 years old last Sunday, and to me anyway, she is the cutest thing you’ve ever seen!!

My children warned me when I got her that I’d better not turn into one of these weird women with a Chihuahua, but clearly I have. I’ve had a lot of dogs in my life, but some are extra special. I can think of 3 before Minnie whom I loved a lot, a pug dog named Jamie that I had as a child, a black miniature Brussels Griffon (they look like an Ewok) named Greta who had a fierce underbite (Brussels Griffs have squashed noses), and another Griffon (a fawn colored one) named Gracie……and now there’s Minnie.

I was looking for a dog small enough for me to travel with and take her in the cabin on the plane (in a little travel bag), going back and forth to Paris, and the weight limit for that is 12 pounds. All the other dogs are bigger, but Minnie is certainly very, very tiny. I’ve never had a dog this small. Two pounds is very small. She’s about the size of a (sorry, Minnie) small guinea pig. I found her in a pet shop in New York, when she was 2 months old, and weighed just over a pound. It’s a reputable shop where I know the people who work there and have bought great dogs there before. She had to stay there for another month until she was big enough to go home, and you’ve never seen anything so tiny.

She has an adorable personality, and is a really easy little dog. She travels everywhere with me. She has sweaters, warm coats, a couple of really silly little ‘dresses’ that I’ve only put on her once, and a gray sweater with a pink flower on it. Oh, and some raincoats she has yet to wear. When it’s cold, I don’t take her out, because she’s so small. She has an igloo bed, sleeps in a playpen (I can’t sleep with her in case I’d squash her, or she’d fall out of bed and get hurt), and she loves her toys!!! (Her favorite is a little gray mouse toy I got at Ikea, and she got a new pink mouse for her birthday.) She is playful, loving, funny, loves to run around the house, and hates the fax machine and the ice maker. She has lots of personality, and loves to fall asleep in my arms. So as you can see, I love Miss Minnie. And she has inspired me to write about her.

I wrote a book not only about her, but about all our family dogs over the years. It’s full of funny stories about my kids and dogs, with 40 photographs. The book is called “Pure Joy”, and will be out on October 29, for all dog lovers!!!. And having written that book in great part about her and my experiences with her, and our other dogs (Minnie is on the cover, a great photograph), I wrote a children’s book about her too, called “Pretty Minnie in Paris”, about a little girl in Paris who has a Chihuahua just like her. It’s wonderfully illustrated, and I’m working on a second children’s book about Minnie now. Minnie is a star!!! There are also going to be Pinterest Boards about her in September, she’ll have her own page on FaceBook, probably in October, and I’m going to Tweet about her on Twitter…..so watch out world, here comes Minnie!!!!!

love, danielle

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5 Comments so far
  1. jean September 2, 2013 2:38 pm

    if people don’t like dogs, they are on my
    border line list! I love them and would love
    to see and cuddle with little Minnie. Have
    ordered the book…

  2. Mary September 4, 2013 6:15 pm

    Everyone loves dog stories! We all love our pets. They each have their own personality.
    Did you ever read James Herriots Dog Stories?I got that book years ago and held on to it to read again one day.
    I love to hear the dog rescue stories, they give you hope that people have compassion for these poor dogs that all deserve a good life. I wish there were homes for every dog in the world. A being that is capable of giving unconditional love deserves our love back. When you adopt a dog you always have a best friend. I have 4 best friends. ( two are cats )

  3. Mike Reid September 8, 2013 7:44 pm

    Hi Danielle – pets our great & some our almost like humans. I had a pet dog awhile back that was a part lab – called Max. He was my favorite – a faithful pet. He lived along time – over ten years. Some day when I have more room – wherever I’m at – Id like to have another pet. Anyway – I don’t want to sound to bossy –but I wouldn’t waist the time on dressing up Minnie – you might want to take her to that park across the st. & meet some new friends – hahaha- – sincerely mike

  4. Rita Harrison September 18, 2013 7:52 am

    Danielle, I also have a 5 yr old long haired Chihuahua, named Dusty. He is such a smart and adorable young person. He understands commands without much training. We live on an 80 acre farm and he rides the tractors and mowers with my husband all the time. If I say, “Want to go for a ride?” he heads to the car or good truck. My husband says that and he heads out with him to see if he is headed to the barn or garage. He can go either on the tractor, mower or work truck. He recently had his 2nd surgery for kidney stones. I guess this is expected in their breed. I cried when I found out more than I thought I could. done fine and gets stitches out Friday.

    I have read every book of yours and some of them a couple or three times. One of my all time favorites is Fine Things. It touched me so deeply and also Hotel Van Dame. Love all your books. Years ago I wrote a book, and was going to send it to you, unfinished. Like a Harlequin but the bases of the story has never been told, nothing even close to the story. It is kinda, based on my life here on the farm, minus the husband but throw in the good looking guy. We raised hogs and cows and some of the real happenings here on the farm. Of course thrown into the mix, is romance, coming from the imagination.. It has a very deep soul searching meaning to it, and also a lot of laughs.

    Thanks again for so many wonderful hours of reading and I hope to get more books of yours soon. You are a household word here.

    A reader for ever, Rita Harrison

  5. Jaylee September 30, 2013 5:45 am

    Danielle you are a trooper!! Minnie is adorable and I am so excited to read I always get so excited when I hear another book has come out. That’ll go on my christmas list and what a sweet baby she sounds like she is, Does she cope okay on the planes when you take her with you?. I have a King Charles and she’s the sweetest, ( as I write she’s curled up under feet) I’m truly excited to read this book over the xmas break. Hope You’re doing okay Danielle!
    -Jaylee-