Pet of the Month: Mr. Wiggins

Mr. Wiggins is a Mini Pinscher mixed with a little Chihuahua—a pound puppy spotted while on Facebook! Rescued by his NYC owner just days before he was to be euthanized at a center in New Orleans. He is approximately two years old and instantly became a hit with his owner and her other dog, Renaldo, when brought home.  Renaldo is also a deaf rescue dog from Pets Alive in Westchester and now has a new title: Mr. Wiggins big brother!

Name: Mr. Wiggins (aka Wiggins Woo, Wiggly-Woo, Little Guy, The Baby, and Little Wiggins). He came with the name Wiggins but I added the Mr., and the rest!)

Breed: Mini pinscher mixed with a little chihuahua,
Age: Can’t know for sure, but about 2 years old.
Size: 15 pounds – was 12 pounds and malnourished when I got him.
His favorite thing to do:  Play with his ball and chew bones! More recently, it’s curling up in bed, under the covers.
Cool trick: Will fetch the ball and bring it right to your feet. He is also amazingly fast and will catch the ball in mid air and contort himself, if needed, to catch it if it comes close enough to him. He also springs into action after the alarm goes off (not always cool!)

Favorite toy: His blue ball
Weird habits: Makes a high pitched moaning-whining-yelling sound when he sees another dog, even if it’s across the street. Does this in the car, too. Also takes stuffing out of toys.
Diet: Harmony brand kibble (made in the U.S.) mixed with 1 TBS chopped chicken, with another tablespoon of water, then micro-waved for 11 seconds and mixed around by hand. He and his brother get this twice a day. After breakfast, they also get a piece of dried lamb, followed by dental bones, and after dinner they get rawhide covered in chicken and if they are still hungry, marrow bones.

Things that make him happy: Playing fetch, getting attention, having his back scratched (he throws his head way back as he enjoys it), copying his brother Renaldo (if Renaldo scratches in the dirt, Wiggins scratches in the dirt; same with shaking off dust, and peeing on a spot).
Dislikes: The rain and the squirrels who come by the kitchen window to get peanuts.