It is with great pride and pleasure that I introduce you to my newest fur child, Minnow! She arrived at 5 years old weighing 3 lbs, 11 oz of pure love and joy! Mother and daughter are resting comfortably 
You may have gathered from my tribute to the late great Pickles, that I recently adopted a new little girl into the family.
The first thing I did upon getting little Minnow home was to show her a photo of Pickles and tell her tales of her late sister.
As for Minnow's story, I'll let her tell it to you herself....she's quite well spoken.
1 Hi there! I'm Minnow...well, I wasn't yet Minnow in this photo. I was at the shelter just waiting and hoping.....I had an emergency surgery and had just been what they call spaded? So that's why I have a silly collar.
2 This is the other photo of me at the shelter. My mommy (Dr. Pia) got these photos in an email. Someone said I needed help and a home so she came and got me!
3 I was scared and a little nippy at first. I was so confused. Here I am on our ride home.
4 I didn't know if this lady was just another of the many humans I would meet or if she'd be my mama. She did seem to like me an awful lot though!
5 She told me about another little dog she had named Pickles and introduced me to the rest of her furry family!
6 I told her about what happened to me and she cried!
7 Apparently I had something called Dystocia which means I was trying to give birth to the 3 puppies in me but couldn't. It hurt a lot.
8 The animal control people had to remove the babies after many hours of my trying to birth them. They said they had died so that makes me sad :(
9 I'm OK now though. When Dr. Pia got me I had a big line of stitches and milk for my babies. But now i'm all healed up!
10 I'm rested and starting to trust humans again. I don't need to nip anymore either- my mom says that was just something called fear.
11 They think I was used for breeding to sell puppies and since I was so skinny and sick, they took lots of photos. They said I was a cruelty case that needed to be investigidated or something.
12 I weigh only 3 lbs and 11 oz. so I'm only little!
13 My mom is little too. She made me a special necklace with my phone number on it and beads and a silver dog pendant. I love it!
14 I need help getting on the couch and bed so Mommy always help me up!
15 Mom took a while to name me. She tried Bug, Fiona, Fig, Hiccup, and some other funny names. She decided to call me Minnow because I am little and Minnows are very little fishes. I like my name. Photo by Leigh Moore
16 I can wink!
17 I have lots of fun stuff to wear now! Because i'm so little my mom makes me cool sweaters out of socks! This is my chenille one- it's soft!
18 This is a more everyday kinda basic sock one!
19 And this one says i'm naughty. What does that mean?
20 Sometimes I wear a tie...
21 I have a stuffed Minnow...
22 And sometimes I fall asleep on my face. My mom calls me a 'face sleeper.'
23 I have lots of friends now. Here I am with Penelope (she has 3 legs!), Bruno and their mom Michelle. They were rescues too!
24 Daisy is kind of like my sister. Look how pretty she is!
25 And Tyler really likes to play with me!
26 My sister Luna does too!
27 And she let's me cuddle up to sleep with her too. That makes me feel safe!
28 The cats also let me cuddle! Here I am with Max. I love my new family so much!
29 My pit bull sister's tail makes a nice cuddle partner too! She's alot bigger than me but is always gentle when we play!
30 I've been to Central Park!
31 I'm so happy now! I wish every animal in a shelter could have my life!
Stay tuned for Minnow updates in the coming weeks and months!
In kinship,
Dr. Pia Salk
From: Sonya | 8/12/10 at 12:41 am
Dr. Pia your heart is big and so full of love. This little girl is certainly lucky she found her way into your home and heart. You are equally lucky that she found her way to you.
The polite version of what should be done to those evil puppy mill breeders is that they should be drawn and quartered. Very slowly. I'll just leave it at that.
From: martine | 8/12/10 at 3:15 am
So cute ! she looks so happy now ! that s great !
From: Zoe | 8/12/10 at 6:45 am
Dr. Pia your new addition Minnow is adorable. What a sad story but I'm so glad it has a happy ending. You know how I hate those sad stories first thing in the morning.
Minnow looks so happy with her new family and she is so very lucky to have you as a mama.
I love stories like these they make me want to go kiss someone. Maybe I'll go give dad a few licks he's still sleeping then snuggle up and catch a few zzzzz's.
Zoe
From: Aussie gal | 8/12/10 at 9:03 am
Dr. Pia,
what a very kind thing to do, adopt a poor little abused puppy, I wish they would outlaw these "puppy farms" they are doing it in many parts of Australia.
God bless.
From: E.B. | 8/12/10 at 9:14 am
I especially loved Minnow's sock wardrobe!
From: Kirby Bear | 8/12/10 at 9:42 am
Hello ladies, Kirby here.
And a good morning to you Dr. Pia and Minnow too. I have been surfing the web and finding out all about these rescue shelters for pets. If they have a Facebook page (Kirby Bear), I send a friend request to them. In this way I will be keeping up with adoptions and can tell friends where they may find animals up for adoption. People who have friends all across the US should do this; it can help the shelters find homes and their friends can tell their friends who are seeking animals. Had my walk, breakfast and now it’s nap time.
Catch you later, Kirby.
From: Basil | 8/12/10 at 10:21 am
Hello Dr. Pia,
What a fine lady you are for helping all our friends. I think Minnow's sock sweater is the best. Mom is taking all of our dear Tasha's canned Wellness food (she had allergies and was on that food and I can't eat it because of my allergies), which is 5 cases, to the Table Mountain Animal Shelter, because we know Tasha would want that, as she was adopted from there. She would want to help other friends have nutritious meals. I better go rest. Mom is still on her cleaning spree. I think I saw my name on the list for today--a bath, oh no!!
Take care all.
Love & licks,
Basil
From: Trish | 8/12/10 at 1:18 pm
Dr. Pia,
It broke my heart to read about the treatment Minnow went through but I am so happy for her now that she has you for her mommy. She is so adorable and I loved seeing the pictures of her with the rest of the family. She knows she is home! Bless you.
From: Michelle | 8/12/10 at 1:27 pm
What a lucky little girl Ms. Minnow is. Hard to imagine I know, but those pictures don't do her justice. Welcome to the family little one!
From: DDR & animallover jan | 8/12/10 at 2:02 pm
Hi Dr. Pia, What a wonderful person you are and how great that you were able to adopt such an adorable little girl! She is beautiful and certainly did fit in well with the rest of your delightful family! Your photos are superb and I will look forward to seeing many more as time goes by! Sweet little Minnow very much resembles my wonderful Dudley Do Right. He weighs 12 pounds, has a little more hair, is more of a brindle color and is a mixed breed. Is she part chihuahua? He is chihuahua, pomeranian and Boston Terrier. Thanks again for a wonderful blog! Jan
From: delia | 8/12/10 at 6:00 pm
From a sad story to a happy ending for dear Minnow....how very lucky Minnow is to be a part of someone with a huge heart...an Angel named Dr.Pia.
You are someone I admire...Thank You for being you!
Take care, have a wonderful weekend,
delia
and a meeuw from Kitty
From: Sarah | 8/12/10 at 6:39 pm
Congratulations to Minnow and her entire family! Lovely!
From: Terri Salerno | 9/13/10 at 2:38 pm
The outrage I feel that someone would breed a dog of that size . I'm a shih tzu breeder I breed for the proper size .There is no such thing as an imperial or tea cup pup! They are runts and have to be on a proper diet to live .I read the newest problem and can help ,I've been researching this for 2 years.