Friends of ASCCA: Great Things Come in Small Packages

Big news here in my house: We have a new puppy! Friends of ours had a litter of Yorkshire
Terriers, and we couldn’t resist one of the little girls. We picked up our black-and-tan Yorkie on June 4
when she was 8 weeks old.

I named her Lexi Mavis, and we call her Lexi. “Lexi” comes from the word “Alexien” which
means “warrior” in Latin. “Mavis” is of Old French origin meaning “song thrush.” It is one of those old
names that is still pretty today, and it sounds very beautiful to me.

Lexi is so small! She weighed just under two pounds when we brought her home. Today, we
took her to the vet for her first checkup. She weighed in at 2.3 pounds. She’s still tiny! We expect her to
grow to be about 5 or 6 pounds, like her parents.

Lexi is feisty – she has to be with a two-year-old, 13-pound Cairn Terrier as an older brother! Click here to read about her brother, Scout. Scout likes to roughhouse, and Lexi is a fierce fighter too. As Shakespeare would say, “Though she be but little, she is fierce.” Her Latin name definitely describes her personality! However, we keep a close eye on her and intervene when Scout gets too rambunctious because Lexi still tires easily and she’s fragile.

Scout and Lexi are actually getting along really well. I am very proud of how Scout has accepted her. Sure, they fight occasionally, but don’t all siblings? It is so sweet to see them worn out and napping together on the sofa. Lexi follows Scout everywhere and takes her cues from his reactions to people and situations. She was scared of the trash bags the first time she saw my brother bag the garbage, but since Scout did not seem too bothered by them after a sniff or two, she ignored them too. Like Scout, she also runs toward anyone who enters the room.

This little pup is very smart too. Lexi already knows her name and comes when called. She already knows where to go to potty (most of the time), and definitely knows she gets a treat when she goes potty in the correct place! We bought a pet step so Lexi could reach our sofa, and she soon learned how to go up and down. She tumbles now and then, but she’s still a pro!

Of course, as a lapdog, Lexi loves to cuddle, so much so that when you have to leave her to go
into another room, she whimpers and cries until you return. Then she will smother you with kisses! She
loves to snuggle in my lap or curl up on my neck, and because she is so young, she naps a lot.

Her favorite toys are a tiny stuffed bear and a small toy in the shape of a chip bag labeled
“Ruffus,” which is a play on the Ruffles brand of potato chips. We also bought her an anxiety aid
stuffed doggie with a heartbeat that she sleeps with at night in her puppy apartment. We had one when
we first brought Scout home, and he never whimpered or cried at night with it. Lexi has not reacted
quite as well as Scout did, but it does seem to help her settle down and go back to sleep when she
wakes up in the middle of the night. Since the three of us sleep in my room, we all benefit from a
restful night.

I am looking forward to all the fun that Lexi, Scout and I are going to have together. The old
saying “Great things come in small packages” is definitely true for both Lexi and Scout. I am excited
about all the great things in store for our future!