We saw Bruiser in a pet store last September. Who could resist asking to hold all three pounds of this Chihuahua?

She was so excited to be out of her cage. She jumped all over us, nibbling at everything and everyone she saw. She tried to scratch her way out of the little room. She tried to eat remnants of cat litter on the floor. She ran around as if she were crazed to find just the right piece of air. All the things I didn't want in a dog! Still, she was too cute.

Soon the store manager was telling us that she had an open fontanel in her head (similar to the soft spot on a baby's head that closes with time). Bruiser's would never close. She would need to live in a home with no other dogs and no young children. She was a bad risk. Any bump to the head could cause swelling of her brain, brain damage or death.

She'd been at the pet store for almost four months. No one wanted to buy her — and for good reason. This frisky little love was bound to hit her head.

Two weeks and a big check later, we took her home.

At her vet check we were told to take her back. We kept her anyway.

We looked online for a dog helmet that would protect the spot on her head. They didn't make one small enough. We fashioned a helmet for her out of the biggest lime we could find. She didn't like it and it was sticky. We made a helmet out of a tennis ball, but she eventually figured out how to get it off. Her little neck was so tiny we were afraid she'd injure it anyway from the weight of the helmet.

Bruiser is a year-old now, and we've given up trying to fix or protect her. She is who she is: a frisky, fun-loving, attention-grabbing "people person" who loves to go everywhere and do everything.

Every day with her is a blessing, and if she hurts her head tomorrow and leaves us, she'll still have been worth every penny we spent on her. You can't put a price on JOY!

Laura Danoff
Upper Gwynedd