Meet Mikey, My Mini Writing Partner

Say hello to Michelangelo, the world's most unbearably cute chihuahua. (Advice: if your chihuahua believes itself to be the most unbearably cute in the world, don't mention this post.)

A year ago, had someone asked me how I felt about chihuahuas, my reply would have been...less than glowing, let's say. I thought they were yippy dogs who bit ankles and looked funny. And I would have been completely right. But I would have been terribly wrong, too. Because just as a butterfly is a six-legged insect with creepy eyes and two spindly antennae, it's also a wonderfully beautiful creature, a flash of color in the wind, and a joy to encounter---especially when one happens to land on your finger.

So while Michelangelo is the King of Yip and Yap and has been known to make the most hilarious chihuahua faces (see below), he is also the coolest little dude on the planet.

Which means that he is never actually called Michelangelo. (Is any cool pet ever called by its real name??) On any given day, Michelangelo might be called:

Michael

Mikey

Michel-iscious

Sir Mikes-a-lot

Bobo

Bobes

Bubs

Bubba-lisicous

Sweet Potato

Hairy Potato

Bobe-tato

Bobes-a-lot

The Most Cutest Hairy Potato Man

Cutie Patootie

Cutie Patootie with the Cutest Little Bootie

Bobo Meister Bootie Man

Cute Man

Stinky Bootie Boy (this is a lie; Stinky Bootie Boy smells like roses)

The Most Cutest of Mans in the World

Or just Mikey.

And oh boy, does this little guy's personality fit all of his nicknames. He is one year old and is, hands down, the sweetest and most loyal dog I've ever had. He is my little shadow. But he's also the sassiest dog I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. He protects me fiercely from shadows, from strange noises on TV, from my older children if they move too quickly for his liking, and from the two loud boxers who live on the opposite side of our backyard fence. They are SO LUCKY that Mikey can't reach them, because I'm sure the sight of this six-pound chihuahua would send them quaking to their dog house! (Or so Mikey clearly believes!)

Mikey also wears many hats. Not only is he Mikey the Guard Dog Mike; he's also Model Mike (The Marvelously Manly), Gardener Mike (his specialty is radishes), and Outdoorsman Mike (favorite things: sticks and sunshine).

He's also the world's best writing partner: Mike the Muse. And anytime I am writing, you can be sure that Mikey is there too, making sure that my laptop never has more room in my lap than he does.

And naturally (being the avid reader that he is), Mikey is also a huge fan of The Girl with a Spoon for a Soul, and he says that if he ever went to Small Hours, those Doctors wouldn't know what hit them.