I met Little-Bit at a country grocery, feed & seed store. I was on my way to work and had stopped for a bottle of water. I went to the drink cooler and looked down and there was the cutest, tiniest min-pin sitting in front of the drink box. She was about 3 months old and was the last pup from the store owner & breeder's litter.They hadn't officially named her but called her Little-Bit. I had a fit over her and the breeder let me purchase her even though they were planning to keep her. After a couple of days I found a name befitting her energetic nature, Cricket. She would hop across the grass just like a Cricket. Then I soon starting calling her Pookie for a nickname. I had her for almost two yrs and she was the joy of my life. She loved to go Bye-Bye and went everywhere with  me, even on a jet plane ride. She was suspicious of strangers if they approached my door, she would have a fit and would put herself between them and the door to protect me. She weighed less than 5 lbs but as far as she knew she was as big & vicious as a Doberman Pinscher. She loved to be outside on sunny days and she would stretch out and sunbathe for hrs. At dark, though, she was ready to come inside and go to bed. She would dive under her blanket and squirm around until she got her bed fixed just right, then she was out until sun-up, unless she heard a suspicious noise outside then she was on her alert and wouldn't rest until I let her out to investigate. She loved to sleep beside my legs and it was such a comfort to feel her little warm soft body beside me buried under the covers. She was a happy, engergetic dog and very affectionate. She loved her Momma, Daddy & Mamaw.Upon hearing their names her long, slender ears would perk up and her eyes would widen in recognition. Then she would look around to see where they were. She loved other animals, too and on many of our country drives she enjoyed seeing cows & horses in the pastures along the way. She had a pretty broad understanding of english words as well. She knew Kitty-Cat, puppy dog, cow,& deer and learned the  names of her pup friends. We have a deer head on our wall and when told to see the deer she would hop up on the back of the couch and sniff the deer head. She was so smart and such good company to me. She was my little girl. She went to her eternal rest on June 29, 2004. Tragically, she got slammed in a car door. The driver was getting into the car and she did not want to be left behind, he did not know she was on his heals and had jumped up to get inside just as he shut the door. Mercifully, it was instant with no suffering. Now my days are sad and lonesome and I just cannot beleive my Pookie is gone.I am considering getting a new Min-pin, though I know there will never be another Pookie but her mom & dad have a new litter of pups and I would like to have a part of her from the same blood line. This will be her mom's last litter. So, maybe raising another baby will help fill that huge hole in my heart. Goodbye, Pookie. I'll always remember your trusting eyes and that cute little grin you had that made me tell you.."you look like the cat that swallowed the canary". I hope you & sister Jen are chasing butterflies together and basking in the warm rays of the Son. Mommy