Voo and her Froggy

Meet Trevor!!!

Trevor is the oldest of the "Dallas" Chins.  He shares his home with Chins Mallory and Brock, as well as humans Kevin (my twin brother) and Craig.  He adores his siblings, and his sweet nature makes him a wonderful pack leader.  He also likes to get into mischief, as you can see from this adorable video of puppy Trevor made by Craig:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kD1-5oaAZlU&feature=youtu.be

(Rare) Goofy Chin Pictures -- Enjoy

Somehow, Cumber seems to have more goofy pictures than anyone else.  I'm not sure how that happened?!?

Trevor - What an expression!

Oh, Cumber!

Susan smelling great, but looking rough!

Precious Cumber and her choppers!

Cumber is tired of the paparazzi!

How to Handle Stress -- Chin Style

 Take a nap back-to-back --  a "nack"

Practice Yoga

Just let things slide like Susan

Demand tummy rubs!

And don't worry about bad hair days.

VooDoo Child's Adoption Day

Gumbo meets his new sister

When Gumbo joined our family in June of 2011, he was the only Chin.  There was no one to play with unless you count a 15-year-old dachshund named Beavis and a 14-year-old pug named Marcia Brady.  And neither of those two wanted anything to do with Little G.  By November, he was a lonely little seven-month-old puppy.  So his parents decided to get him a sister -- two-month-old VooDoo Girl.  It was love at first sight!

Watching over puppy Voo

Still watching . . .

Sharing his doughnut bed -- sort of!

Puppy Voo has all of the men in the family

under her spell!

Sharing a chew stick --

the ultimate "I love you"!

Meet Mallory

Introducing Mallory Elise McGuillory, the only daughter of my twin brother, Kevin and Craig.  She looks amazing here in her houndstood jacket (notice the stylist pompoms) ready for a jaunt in her stroller.  Mallory, like Cucumber, is very spoiled!!  She doesn't like to walk, so the stroller suits her just fine.

Mallory in a red bow

Mallory is very proud of the fact that she is the only tri-color Chin in Dallas.  Her beauty is legendary!!  She loves her brothers, since she is very much the boss of them.  Mallory knows that if she runs to her daddy, she'll get anything she wants.  Some might dare to call her uppity, and she definitely agrees!  How could she not be when she is so high above everyone else??  Don't blame the playa -- blame the game! 

Mallory won first prize in the annual Dallas Pooch Parade, held every Easter, wearing this Jeannie outfit.  She's actually won it more times that she can count (which is only up to two), but you probably already know that since it was in all of the newspapers.  If you would like a Mallory autograph, and who wouldn't, just leave a comment requesting one!!  :-)

Meet Nicholas

Nicholas Kickin' the Breeze

This is Nicholas Karl Lagerfield McGuillory.  He was the first Chin in our extended family -- the beloved son of my twin brother, Kevin and Craig.  He is greatly missed, as the world lost this wonderful Chin to congestive heart failure a few years ago.  These pictures will take you through some of his best moments.  Please enjoy them.  They remind me of how sweet and wonderful this little guy was.  He lives on in our hearts and memories . . .

Down on the farm with his Daddy

 This photo appeared in a Dallas newspaper

article about the Pooch Parade.
The orange fluff-ball on the right is his brother, Jason,
a pekenese who is with Nicholas in doggy heaven.

What an adorable eyebrow!

We love you, Nicholas!

Su-dini -- The Escape Artist

Susan "helping" to rake leaves

In Susan's own words:

I had an exciting adventure!!  I went to see what was happening in the back yard, and I noticed Gumbo checking out the gate.  It was left open a smidge, but certainly not enough to squeeze through.  Then Gumbo did the most amazing thing.  He pushed the gate with his paw, and it opened!!!  Our jaws dropped, and we just stared at each other for about 10 seconds.  Then Gumbo ran right through the gate.  I tried to stop him, but you know how Gumbo is!!!  So, I did the only thing I could -- I ran out after him.

Our of the corner of my eye, I saw Gumbo run toward his Mommy, who was raking leaves.  She looked shocked to see him, which doesn't make any sense, since he lives here.  Sometimes, I don't think she's very bright!  Anyway, she saw me and called my name.  I took that to mean that I was free to roam.  While she put Gumbo back into the back yard, I decided to run like the wind!  It was so fun that I had a huge smile on my face.

I ran into the neighbor's yard -- right up to their fence.  Their two dogs were barking like crazy, although for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what they were barking at.  They seemed angry, almost as though there was a stranger around, but I didn't see anyone else.  They were focused on me, so I guess they wanted me to find the stranger and scare him off.  I ran a few big circles looking for anyone, and that's when I noticed my grandmother, Maman, running around after me.  A new game!!!  This day was turning out great!!!  I ran toward the main street to see if anyone else wanted to play, and this really made Maman run faster.  What fun!!

Eventually Maman caught up to me and brought me back to our back yard.  What a party-pooper.  I want to play this game again, so I hang out by the gate now, just in case it opens up again.

Susan in the compost bin

Meet Cucumber!

This is Cucumber Pigeon Littlefield-Couvillion.  She is just about as precious as they come.  As you can obviously see from her photographs, she has it all -- looks, smarts, and attitude!  She thinks that she has her mommy's (Leslie's) nose and mouth  and her daddy's (Barrett's) eyes.  I definitely agree.

Cumber is SPOILED ROTTEN, and we have mostly her Poppy (Jim) to blame.  She and her sister Susan are staying with us, their grandparents, while their Mommy attends law school and their Daddy works in Maine.  Mind you, she came to us already spoiled, but her Poppy has taken it to unbelievable new levels.  Have you ever seen a puppy jump onto the sofa and flip in mid-air to land on her back -- ready for her tummy rubs?  It is quite a sight to see!

Waiting for a tummy rub

Little Cumber is the smallest of the Chins. She eats as much as her siblings, but her metabolism is incredible. If we could only bottle her enthusiam!  She finds house training quite boring, but we are working on making it more interesting for her.

Cucumber is also a thief.  When each of the puppies gets a chew stick, somehow Cucumber always manages to end up with all of them.  She gathers them near her, and then sits on top of them so no one else can get one.  She is quite bold about walking up to the others and taking theirs while they are watching.  Oh, Cumber!

Making Cucumber Salad!

Meet VooDoo!

This is our precious VooDoo Doll.  She is our little miss independent -- at least for a Chin, who generally like to be near someone all of the time. 

Voo is absolutely brilliant -- a regular Alberta Einstein!!!  She is the only Chin who has figured out that she gets more treats by sitting back and looking disinterested, unlike the others who love to crowd the hand that feeds them.  She was the easiest to house train. (We are still working on mastering that skill with Cucumber.)

Voo's lineage is a bit distressing.  A Lothario named Big Boy happens, through no fault of our little angel, to be both her father and her grandfather.  He was uber-brilliant, if a little "loose", therefore passing on his "smart" genes to her twice.  There is always a silver lining.  :-)

To complicate the family tree even more, Big Boy is also the father of Gumbo and Susan.  When you throw human adoptive families into the mix, Susan is Voo's aunt, her sister, and her niece.  I told you our family is complicated!

Our VooDoo Child is always smiling.  She is the least timid of the Chins, often running toward loud noises to see what is happening.  She loves to look out of the windows to see what is going on -- the ultimate nosy neighbor!  Some call her Mrs. Kravits because of this propensity.

Puppy Voo in her carrier

Meet Gumbo!

Take a gander at James Gumbo Dule' Segall-Couvillion.  He answers to Gumbo or Little G.  He is, by far, the largest of the Virginia Chins, although I think the boy Chins in Dallas might be a bit bigger.  He is quite long-legged, as you can see.

Gumbo is not exactly comfortable on a leash.  In fact, he is downright embarrassing!  He is so excited to be going for a walk that he does a very girly dance.  I can hardly stop laughing at him until he finally tires out a little and starts walking normally.

Little G is our pack leader -- gracing the girls with his gentle, loving spirit.  We have a saying -- "There is nothing Gumbo kisses can't fix!"

Gumbo has the sweetest disposition all of the Virginia Chins.  He never gets riled up, even when play-fighting over a toy.  He loves toys -- often spreading them all over the living room and kitchen.  He also loves to kiss and groom the other animals.

(I have not yet figured out how to rotate photos!)

Gumbo and Elise

Meet Susan!

Susan prances to the beat of her very own drum.  She is Gumbo's twin sister -- they were litter mates.  She was adopted by Leslie (my daugher) and Barrett, while Gumbo was adopted by me -- making her both Gumbo's twin sister and his niece.  Our family is complicated!

Susan is very sweet, but she does not like loud kisses.  She constantly makes "Susan Sounds" that are very adorable and endearing.  She is cold-natured and loves to be covered by a blanket.

Susan's full name is Susan Oa Ottavia Littlefield-Couvillion.  You can call her "Susan Oh-Oh!" for short.  Or, if you want her to react/respond to your voice, you must call her "Thusan".  For some reason, that is the name that resonates with her quirky personality.  For her middle names, her parents chose names of two of their closest friends.  Susan loves her middle names!

Notice her beauty mark!  Some have compared her to Cindy Crawford, but she gets embarrassed by the praise.  She is, though, quick to point out her perfectly symmetrical markings.

We all think she looks great in her pink puffy hat.  It brings out her eyes!