Meet 'Nalo!
'Nalo is a cross chihuahua who we adopted from the amazing rescue centre Many Tears. After we returned from our 3 months in America it felt like we needed something else in our lives (we were feeling very broody but they timing isn't right just yet to have children). So we began researching online for puppies, originally wanting a Pomeranian as we had talked about getting one for years. However when we stumbled across her photo, we instantly fell in love and knew she was the dog for us.
We waited for about 10 days until her adoption page said she was available and filled in her adoption form with hearts beating. We would've be devastated if someone else adopted her! Luckily we received a call later that day to say that we had been successfully paired with 'Nalo, but we had to have our house vetted first (by a local volunteer).
A couple of days later we had successfully completed our house vetting & we were confirmed soon to be mummies of 'Nalo! (Known at the time as Tipsy). Shortly we were off to Wales to collect our darling, with Megan's mum with us for the adventure.
We drove up on Wednesday 07 February and headed straight to Many Tears to meet her. Oh my goodness!! We were not prepared to fall SO in love at first sight!! She was way smaller than we could even imagine and so gorgeous. We didn't want to let her go! She had been living with her foster mum Louise, who also works at Many Tears. Louise was sad to see her go but happy she was going to be treated like a true princess at Wegan Manor. ..& we all know that's exactly what's happened ;)
Why have we called her 'Nalo?
One of the nights leading up to adopting 'Nalo, we were lying in bed trying to sleep but couldn't stop thinking about her and getting excited. We started suggesting random names & then I suggested 'Nalo, which is short for Waimanalo, our favourite beach in Hawaii where we got engaged. Whitney immediately said yes (haha sounds like the proposal again) and her named was picked! She's also a gorgeous sandy colour.
Has our lives changed?
Oh yes, massively, and in so many ways! We honestly are so surprised as to how much love we feel for her already. We love both our 'children' dearly but Kisses is more of a grown adult that comes and goes as she pleases, whereas 'Nalo snuggles us in bed and wants to be with us always. We are quite frankly, obsessed. We were prepared (or so we thought) for the lack of sleep and dog training, but it's honestly been a lot harder than we thought in some ways and easier in others. We've discovered she sleeps for 8 hours in the bed with us, and gives us great snuggles, so we now stick with that bed time routine. However, we still haven't had a lie is since we got her, and if you know us, then you know that we love our sleep! In a weird way it's been nice getting up early and having breakfast etc and cracking on with the day earlier than normal, but a couple of lie ins here and there would be nice! At night she turns into a true little gremlin and we have nick named her 'jaws', as she wants to bite your toes and hands all the time. We try teaching her to play with other toys, but our toes and slippers are WAY more interesting! So we end up having to jump onto the bed even though she is TINY! She soon calms down and then joins us for snuggles in bed. We've also realised that you will be sent a million different types of advice and the best way to train them, much like we can imagine when you have your first child! It's great to hear lots of different advice to try out different things but we've decided we've just got to go with what feels right for us.
Looking to adopt or donate to a rescue centre?
Many Tears are truly a fantastic rescue centre and we highly recommend you check them out if you are looking for a puppy / dog (majority are ex-breeders) or if you want to help donate to a wonderful rescue centre that are SO passionate about dogs! We have set up a Go Fund Me so please do kindly consider donating to that.
Does 'Nalo have an instagram?
Haha, yes! As 'Nalo is so darn cute, we have set up an instagram page @nalothechihuahua so you can follow along her life with us.
Want to see more of our journey adopting 'Nalo? Then watch below. :)
