Maico came into our lives a few months after the passing of our last dog, Monarch. Because of the tragic circumstances of Monnie's death, we thought we wouldn't get another dog, but that idea soon passed. I knew that if we lived in Arizona long enough, we'd end up with something that was part Chihuahua. The other part of the mix was reportedly Dachshund. Her name reflected her roots, Maico the German motorcycle company, and Villa after Pancho Villa, who was a pioneer in using motorcycles in guerrilla warfare.

She was estimated to be 6 years old when we got her, although I suspect that number may have been low. We enjoyed her company for about 4 years.

She was the smallest dog we have ever had, less than 10 pounds (when not too fat) which brought on some unusual behavior. As you can tell by these pictures, she really followed Stowy's (our cat) lead when it came to furniture, even briefly onto her cat castle. Her most memorable behavior is how should she would howl and cry every time Steph left the house, except when she went to work. Then she would settle into a spot and sleep there all day.

Although it looks like they are snuggling, they are actually battling for position on the furniture.

Not only did she have to deal with a younger cat, we had Prince as a house guest for a few months, a 17-pound Maine Coon. Luckily for her, the cats never got along well enough to team up on her.