In today’s “Cartoon Alter Ego”, we will talk about Nadia.  She was born in Daisie and Denali’s latest litter, born 11-22-12.  Nadia was the runt of the litter.  This litter was very large, consisting of 10 puppies!  When you have large litters, it’s typical to have some smaller than others.  Nadia was an extreme case.  She was less than half the size of the rest at birth, and remained about half their size as she grew.  Today, she is around 35 lbs., which is still about 10-20 lbs lighter than her siblings.

For a puppy that small to survive, it needs:  A) to have intervention from us, ensuring it’s getting the mother’s milk it needs, and B) perhaps more importantly to be a fighter.  As a young puppy, Nadia was as feisty as they come.  She had the attitude about her that said I won’t take a back seat to anyone.  She fought the other puppies in her litter for mother’s milk and pushed them away regardless of size.  As she grew older, she quickly ruled the household, with Akira backing down almost immediately.  When playing with the others, she always got picked on, but fought back. 

Nadia’s carton alter ego is Tinkerbell.  Small in stature, Tinkerbell has an attitude and a feistiness about her that reminds me of Nadia.  It seemed an obvious fit.

These days, Nadia has met her match with Chance.  The two get along well, and are constantly playing and testing each other’s limits.  They have become the best of friends!