I know that’s not typical opening to one of my columns, but this one is different because I’m having a real hard time writing it. I’m in pain. Real physical pain. There are two holes in back left knee of my sweatpants, and I also have about a one inch scratch right on back of that same knee that’s really stinging. And guess why? A &%*@ dog bit me!

That’s right, a dog just took a little chunk out of me. And ya’ll might be wondering just how it happened, at least I hope y‘all are.

I typically walk a couple of miles each day, and I do it on roads that wind through our subdivision. It’s a pretty hilly walk, you get a nice view of some great houses, and I typically enjoy it.

Today, I was out walking and was working my way through one of our side streets. I’d just walked past this one house with an open garage, and when I did, I heard some barking. Didn’t pay much attention to it at first, but that changed when it became obvious that barking was getting closer and closer to me. I turned, and found myself staring straight into eyes of a chocolate brown lab.

This lab was a good sized dog, and he was growling like he meant business. I figured that best thing to do was to just slowly walk away, which is exactly what I tried to do. I took a couple of steps, and then felt something nip up against back of my left knee. When I turned around, dog jumped back, tensed, and I thought it was gonna try and bite me again. Note that I said try and bite me again. I’m not ashamed to admit that that I was going to kick living hell out of him had he gone for a second helping. Fortunately, he backed off and I got out of there as quickly as I could.

By Bill Knell

Some say it started with Taco Bell dog. A five hundred million dollar ad campaign featured a talking Chihuahua which continually repeated slogan, “Yo quiero Taco Bell,” which is Spanish for “I want Taco Bell.” Then came Legally Blond films and unstoppable Bruiser. The topping on cake was when Paris Hilton appeared on cover of Seventeen magazine and later tried living The Simple Life on Fox TV with Tinkerbell, her pet Chihuahua. Celebrities have discovered what many pet owners already knew: Chihuahuas are best dogs to own and care for. In process, they’ve set off a Chihuahua Craze that is reaching towering proportions.

When most people think of Celebrities and their toy dogs, Yorkshire Terriers, Toy Poodles, Pekinese, Lhasas and Shih Tzus usually come to mind. That’s because famous folks like Audrey Hepburn, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Mia Farrow were regularly photographed with their beloved pets. In Audrey‘s case, it was a Yorkie. In her early days of fame, Mia Farrow was rarely seen out in public without her Lhasa. Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor loved to walk through hot spots of Beverly Hills and be photographed with a multitude of Toy Poodles, Pekinese and Shih Tzus. But times have changed!

The always innovative Madonna may have set standard for change not long ago when she sported her beloved Chihuahua, Chiquita, for a press photo op. Noah Wyle, one of hot stars of ER, was recently photographed with his Chihuahua while on holiday. Jennifer Lopez has also joined exclusive club of famous Chihuahua owners. Younger celebrities like Britney Spears, Hilary Duff, Paris Hilton, Christina Ricci, Reese Witherspoon and members of Simple Plan have found themselves attracted to these fabulous canines and brought a huge amount of attention to them.

Chihuahuas make great pets because they are very low maintenance, world’s smallest dogs and longest lived breed. Celebs love fact that Chihuahuas prefer company of humans more then they enjoy being with other animals and can easily accompany their owners everywhere. Chihuahuas love to be held or carried around in their very own shoulder bag and that makes them especially attractive to busy celebrities and people who are always on move.