27 April 2020

There’s random photos floating around the interwebby thing about dogs who look like their owners, or owners who look like their dogs. But we are starting to get suspicious that my current favourite animal around the house is resembling a previous favourite animal around the house….

We think Chewie may be part squirrel.

The thought started swirling in my brain yesterday as Chewie was trying to bury bits of food under a couch cushion. Don’t get me wrong – she’s not real good at hiding stuff. She pushes at it with her nose until she’s satisfied that no one will ever see it lying there on top of the pillow.

But – Chewie and a squirrel. Follow my strange brain down this path, if you will….

Chewie likes climbing trees.

She has a bushy tail.

She eats pretty much anything.

She’s quite a good jumper.

She’s innovative in scoring food – she stands on the coffee table and stares at anyone who dares to eat in front of her and not share. It works.

She’s a fast agile runner. And she springs a bit, kind of like a squirrel leaping from branch to branch.

She is also a bit of a problem solver, like squirrels. She worked out how to negotiate the doggy door, and also how to climb up on Josh’s train track (so often he had to build her a perch above the train tracks).

Like a squirrel showing off their agility, Chewie has a tendency when another dog also climbs a tree, to climb higher up, just to show off a bit more.

Your average squirrel is an adventurous critter – they will attempt anything if there’s food to be had. You only need to see Chewie climbing from one kayak into the other to know she is one tough little Maltese Shih Squirrel Tzu:)

Chewie the MultiShiSquiTzu