Chiranian Ally is Pomchi or Chi-Pom

Ally's father is this cute black and white Pomeranian Timmy. Very kind-natured and friendly. We only met him once - when we went to see the puppies.

Unfortunately, I don't have the picture of Ally's mom but she looked pretty much like this Chihuahua on the photo (left). She looked pretty fierce and wouldn't stop barking. She didn't like us one bit, playing with her puppies that were six weeks old at the time.

Ally comes from the family of eight and these are her brothers and sisters in February 2007. They were born on January 8, 2007. The owners said Ally was the smartest of them all. She always figured out the shortcuts
when all the puppies were competing for something, how to get more food and especially - more attention.

I have to admit that it was pretty hard to get any pictures at all. All the puppies were running around, playing, chasing each other, in short - doing everything healthy, happy puppies normally do.

Interestingly enough, the most important thing I noticed much later, from the photos and not when it was happening...

Little all-brown Ally with blackish tail after his daddy, was around us all the time. She is right there, on all the photos, no matter where we moved.

From all these pictures it's quite clear that she chose us at the moment we first met. And here (on the photo below) is Ally again, with some members of her lively family.

It's pretty obvious from this last picture that her father is a small Pomeranian while her mom was a normal-sized Chihuahua - I'd guess she has 12 to 15 pounds or so.

So, Ally inherited after her dad the size, some black hair on her tail and her face and eyes. Her color and pesonality, on the other hand, are only comparable to her mom's. ;)

When eleven weeks old, Ally moved in with us. She was given to us in this bag and it looked like she felt safe in it.

The one thing I noticed about her right away was the fact that she never once cried
It didn't look like she was missing her siblings or parents. It looked like she prefers to be the center of attention - all by herself. Which she was, from the very beginning!

The palm-sized puppy in my lap panted slightly and twitched her ears, unable to decide whether to explore the mysterious smells and sounds of the car or hunker down in fear of the new. She settled for sniffing the air from her seat and looking out at the passing scenery of her very first car ride. Big brown eyes occasionally met mine, as if to ask where we were going. This tiny, ten-week old Pomchi puppy became the first furry addition to our family of four a few minutes before, and we where headed to her new home.

The soft, short tan fur, the big and inquisitive dark brown eyes, and Pomeranian face instantly reminded me of an adored Disney cartoon character-Bambi. That could be her name, I thought. It seemed to fit well. She had the playful nature of a new puppy, the energy of our combined family, the innocence of one who's never been in trouble, and the face of a doe. And although Bambi was a deer, the name can easily fit a female.

As we drove on the little fur ball calmed down, and after all the excitement and newness, she became tired. Her eyes drooped slightly and she lay down on my lap, although she never actually went to sleep and her ears lay almost flat the whole trip because she was in an unfamiliar environment.

As we drove towards home we decided to make a quick coffee stop along the way. We also wanted to see if the puppy needed to potty. It was a hot day, but there was a nice breeze outside as I got out of the car with puppy in my arms. I couldn't go into the coffee shop, so I waited outside with the puppy. There was a small lake next to the parking lot, so I decided to stretch my legs there. It was a nice spot away from the cars and people.

But as I walked along the tiny lake a tall and crooked sign grabbed my attention; Do Not Feed Alligator. Alligator?! I stared at the dark water, searching for any sign of movement or suspicious activity. Nothing. "They're probably seasonal anyway," I thought to reassure myself, "like tourists-here in the winter, gone in the summer-or something like that." I've lived more than two years in Florida and the only place I've seen an alligator was a zoo. Besides, alligators next to a busy shopping area? Isn't that illegal?

Once again I gazed across the peaceful lake water when two little beady eyes met mine. I jumped and took a few steps back. Maybe alligators weren't seasonal after all... It was out of water enough so that its little eyes made hills and its snout was barely visible. It was about fifteen feet away from us, still submerged in water. I could've really used that coffee right then.

It slid up a little further, and I backed away with the terrified puppy still in my arms. I could just see it making a snack out of the little doggie and possibly me, too. Thankfully, there was no feeding of the alligator, and everything turned out fine.

As the whole family sat around the kitchen table that night we debated on the possible names for Puppy. We all agreed Bambi was good, but I felt it wasn't perfect. Luckily, our adventure with the alligator was memorable it provided another name choice: Alligator. I thought this was ok, but a bit too long and strange for a dog name. But soon I had it-Allygator, and Ally for short. The decision was unanimous and that is how Ally received her name.

The first few days Ally would just play with anything small enough that she was able to grab (like the caps of some pens, made of soft plastic) and she adopted a pair of my ballet slippers for chewing, shaking or just carrying around.

Her first real toy was a beanie baby black and brown puppy which in the meantime has lost all the tiny beanies (we were hand-picking them up all over the house as the vacuum cleaner kept spitting them out!). For year and a half, this beanie puppy is still Ally's favorite - from playing fetch to tug-of-war.

AREN'T YOU TIRED OF SPENDING 10 BUCKS FOR 10 CENTS WORTH OF ROPE?

I really don't know what the best dog food is. I'm no expert in this area although - I did some research and read articles and books about how to live with and take care of a happy, healthy dog.

Ally is eating what we eat as 98% of our food is made from scratch, at home. Besides that, here's what we do:

• she always has bones to chew on which (as far as I know) keep her teeth clean and healthy and her favorite bones are




• lamb


• beef and


• turkey bones





• she loves certain kinds of raw veggies, as long as they are chopped/sliced to a proper size for her so she can chew them properly




• broccoli stems


• celery


• rutabaga


• carrots




• fruits are also great, especially




• blueberries


• apples (no peels or seeds!)


• watermelon


• bananas - in the first few months


• dates




• she always has enough of fresh water in a clean bowl

It's wise to learn about the usual recommendations about which foods are bad for dogs but one young vet told me that you do a lot by just keeping your dog away from salt and chocolate.

Dog Food Recipes

One thing is certain. Pomchi would not qualify as a great presidential dog and even if it did, everybody would remember that tiny, bossy White House resident for ever... :)

I'm going to list some personality features here that they all come solely from my personal experience and observance.

• Pomchi is very protective of its teritory which makes it a great watch dog. It makes a lot of noise when someone approaches the house, growling and barking very loudly. I suppose that would come in handy for someone who lives alone and doesn't have too many visitors.


• Pomchi also loves a lot of attention and human company so - if you have to go to work and have to leave your puppy in a crate day after day, you should consider another breed. On a few rare occasions when we had to leave our Pomchi at home alone she was very depressed and wouldn't eat or drink anything, no matter how long we were gone.


• I also wouldn't recommend Pomchi to a family with little kids since this breed doesn't like being "tortured" by anyone. On the contrary - Pomchi will eat up all the attention and love you can give and in return will love you unconditionally. But having Pomchi in the house is almost like having a small child and they sure enjoy being the center of attention.


• Another thing that's really important is to have limitless patience and to always treat your Pomchi gently, without raising your voice.