Yo Quiero Taco Bell

I planned a trip to Europe before my last day at work. A trip for my family to go to London, Athenry, and New York next month. It’s going to be my first time to travel to Europe, and would have been one of the few times I would leave Hardy home to travel without him. I’ve taken Hardy to Santa Cruz, Wine Country, Lake Chelan, Seattle, the San Juan Islands, Ashland, Roseville, Mendocino, Sonora, Strawberry, San Francisco, too many beaches to mention, and lots of places that had dog events, mostly agility.

My dad and mom were going to watch Hardy at our place in Santa Cruz while we went to Europe. My parents like to be near the Coast during the hottest months of summer, so it was convenient for them to watch the dogs. The ocean breezes and the fog in the mornings make for a nice temperate climate. Now there will be only one dog for them to watch, my daughter’s dog, Chico.

The story of how we got Chico is really cute and merits noting. He came to us as a “foster” dog. We were told that he was aggressive towards the mailman (something I never witnessed even once, which makes me believe that it was something someone encouraged him to do to be a good watchdog, but that’s another story entirely). My job was to care for him and eventually find him a new home. But my kids, who were twelve and fourteen at the time, had other plans.

It was during the Taco Bell ad campaign when that cute little Chihuahua delivered the line, “Yo quiero Taco Bell.” The kids were begging me to keep Chico, especially my daughter, when I remarked something about how we would keep the dog if he was able to say the famous line. So one day, the kids staged a set-up. They put Chico in a rocking chair and fed him a little peanut butter. My son hid behind the chair, and my daughter ran to come and get me. When I walked into the room, Chico was moving his jaws, like he was talking. Meanwhile, my son was reciting the line for Chico from behind the chair. And that was how we acquired our second dog.

But now Chico is solo, and my dad and mom will only have one dog to watch while we are away. My mom commented to me that she was really looking forward to watching both dogs. Like me, she cries almost everyday about our loss. Chico fills most of the empty space though. I wonder if he feels pressure to do so. Last week I could tell he was working hard to help us cope, but now I see a different Chico. At first he seemed sad, and kind of mopey. Now he seems like he is enjoying being king of the castle.