Finding a companion for Bambi

When Bambi was about a year old, we actually toy with the idea of finding her a companion. So, we went on the internet to check for suitable breed of dog which would make good companion for Chihuahua. Given their small stature, it is advisable to get only small dog, such as toy poodle and of course, another Chihuahua would be ideal.

After much persuasion, my parents finally agreed to bring us to go to Pasir Ris Farmart to shop for another dog. Our first stop was back to the pet shop we bought Bambi, but unfortunately, it has folded up. We went to a few other pet shops to try to locate our “ideal” Chihuahua such as one with “apple head”, cream colour, big teary eyes and so on. It was not an easy task. We actually went to more than 5 shops before we chance upon “Belle”, a short-coat female Chihuahua with almost the same colour coat as Bambi. “Belle” was rather timid when I held her in my arms. She was a sweet little thing. We agreed to purchase her for a thousand dollar.

We were all excited to see how Bambi would react to Belle when we brought her home. Upon seeing Belle, Bambi started barking incessantly at her. She was obviously not taking well to Belle’s presence. We had to enclose Belle in a cage to protect her from Bambi and also to familiarize her with her new home before we allow her to explore. Sometime unfortunate happened the next day. My mum noticed that Belle had this funny behavior, as though she was chewing something in her mouth. She seemed to have no control over this strange movement in her jaw. We got a little worried and Mum called the pet shop owner. He told us not to be too concerned as this be a teething problem in puppies. We were told to observe her a few days. The strange jaw movement did not stop after 2 days, so my mum decided to bring Belle to the vet for a thorough check up. The diagnosis was born with an incontrollable muscular defect. My mum had no choice but to return her to the pet shop for a refund. According to mum, Belle actually cried in the car on the way back to Pasir Ris Farmart. It was as though she knew we had to give her up.

Champion, a female Jack Russell, was the second dog we tried adopting as a companion for Bambi. Champion’s owner had to give her up as her grandson was suffering from asthma. As we were unsure if Bambi could get along with Champion, we told the owner we would like Champion stay with us for a couple of days before we decide on the adoption. Champion was a lovely dog. Though she was much bigger in size than Bambi, she was kind of afraid of Bambi. Again, Bambi did not seem to like the presence of Champion. Her behavior towards her was territorial and unfriendly. She would bark at Champion and scratch her belly whenever Champion went near my mum. My dad thought that Champion was too big to handle and her barking was also shrill. We were afraid that our neighbours would be unhappy with her barking. Champion stayed with us for two days. At the end of the two days, we decided that she was not suitable for Bambi and returned her to her owner.

Looks like our attempt to find Bambi a companion had failed again. Never mind, perhaps one day, the right dog will come along.