recently, i found an old "lost" poster of Chicho, with the very 1st pic taken of her the day i found her along with my contact info, which i had posted all over the neighborhood. till now i couldn't remember the day i found her in front of the Resource office. it was January 18th 2002, and according to the vet she was between 3 & 4 months old:
when i caught her sniffing around the front door, detecting the odor of Sid & Mattie, Raquel's pooches, i noticed this puppy had no collar and i was immediately concerned, so i walked into Resource (i worked there) - to drop off my shit. as i went back out to take a closer look at the puppy, i saw her running across the street, fortunately a quiet residential one, and she disappeared. i then took Sid & Mattie with me for a walk to look for her. up the street, she jumped out of a bush & joined us. Sid, Mattie & i were able to lure her back to the house. then i panicked, i had no idea what to do with a lost dog. Raquel was out of town, in Paris i think. so i called Ned, whose dog Duncan i took care of when Ned & Brien went to Italy. Ned came over from his office & took this picture of her by my side, gave me advice, and i called her Punk at some point... when i found out the pound usually kills dogs that haven't been claimed after 5 days, i took Punk home with me. we've been a pair ever since.
in our 1st month together, i got Punk spayed, and interviewed a few candidates willing to adopt her, grilling them with questions about their lifestyles, how athletic they were, if they had a yard, etc. i wanted my freedom back & i didn't think i could handle the responsibility. finally, a pilates instructor on the west side seemed like the perfect match. i was free again to party hardy, crash wherever i crashed and not feel like i had to get home before the sun rose. i was free from worrying about the creature's well being.
the next day, i got a call from a lady who told me she knew the puppy. i told her i'd be happy to get Punk back from the pilates instructor who had just picked her up. the lady then told me she ripped off all the posters i had left on poles & pet stores in the neighborhood, which really threw me off. she then explained that she didn't want this puppy to be returned to the owner, her neighbor, who already had 2 other akitas that were completely neglected, living in a concrete patio enclave on the side of the house, in the middle of their own poop. this lady told me how happy she was that i had found the puppy & placed her in a better home. she gave me the address where the 2 adult akitas lived so that i could go see for myself...
3 days later, the pilates intructor called me back to tell me they hadn't made a good connection. Punk, who had never taken a pee or crap inside my place, and always waited for me to let her out to do her business, had peed on his couch several times & would keep him up at night, wining. he couldn't handle it and asked me if he could bring her back or take her to the pound. urgh! so i told him to bring her back... when he pulled up to the front of my house, Punk leaped out from the open window of his truck, ran to the gate of my house, ran passed me up the stairs straight through my door. after thanking the pilates instructor for bringing her back, i walked back inside to find the puppy fast asleep by the side of my bed, where she had slept every night since the day i took her home, on January 18th. fuuuuuck, i understood right then & there that we were stuck together.
a few days later, i renamed her Cicciolina, but i just call her Chicho. for those of you who don't know, Cicciolina is a famous porn star who became a member of the Italian parliament. i've always loved Cicciolina, who starred in her 2 last movies while she was already in office!!! back in the 80s, she was often uncensored in the evening news, and everyone knew who she was. anyhew, Cayce & Sara who worked together at The Directors Bureau suggested the name to me, which made perfect sense... in a matter of weeks, Chicho more than doubled in size & weight as she took over my life, for the best. i spoil her rotten and am not firm enough of a parent. to her credit, she's not a brat. just a big clutz. Liza nicknamed her Mag Wildwood, the southern bell in Breakfast at Tiffany's who yells out "timber" & falls flat on her face!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHICHO!!! cheers to many more!!!
the next day, i got a call from a lady who told me she knew the puppy. i told her i'd be happy to get Punk back from the pilates instructor who had just picked her up. the lady then told me she ripped off all the posters i had left on poles & pet stores in the neighborhood, which really threw me off. she then explained that she didn't want this puppy to be returned to the owner, her neighbor, who already had 2 other akitas that were completely neglected, living in a concrete patio enclave on the side of the house, in the middle of their own poop. this lady told me how happy she was that i had found the puppy & placed her in a better home. she gave me the address where the 2 adult akitas lived so that i could go see for myself...
3 days later, the pilates intructor called me back to tell me they hadn't made a good connection. Punk, who had never taken a pee or crap inside my place, and always waited for me to let her out to do her business, had peed on his couch several times & would keep him up at night, wining. he couldn't handle it and asked me if he could bring her back or take her to the pound. urgh! so i told him to bring her back... when he pulled up to the front of my house, Punk leaped out from the open window of his truck, ran to the gate of my house, ran passed me up the stairs straight through my door. after thanking the pilates instructor for bringing her back, i walked back inside to find the puppy fast asleep by the side of my bed, where she had slept every night since the day i took her home, on January 18th. fuuuuuck, i understood right then & there that we were stuck together.
a few days later, i renamed her Cicciolina, but i just call her Chicho. for those of you who don't know, Cicciolina is a famous porn star who became a member of the Italian parliament. i've always loved Cicciolina, who starred in her 2 last movies while she was already in office!!! back in the 80s, she was often uncensored in the evening news, and everyone knew who she was. anyhew, Cayce & Sara who worked together at The Directors Bureau suggested the name to me, which made perfect sense... in a matter of weeks, Chicho more than doubled in size & weight as she took over my life, for the best. i spoil her rotten and am not firm enough of a parent. to her credit, she's not a brat. just a big clutz. Liza nicknamed her Mag Wildwood, the southern bell in Breakfast at Tiffany's who yells out "timber" & falls flat on her face!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHICHO!!! cheers to many more!!!
Mag Wildwood quote: "You know what's gonna happen to you? I am gonna march you over to the zoo and feed you to the yak."
