Your Pet's Rescue Story
My name is Miko, but when I was in the shelter it was Chico. I'm a sharpei mix. I was rescued from the Pet Alliance in Orlando on April 16, 2016 (which apparently is a big deal because it also was National Pet Day.) They told my mom that I was brought up with about 20 other dogs from a shelter in Manatee County that was overcrowded a couple of weeks before she met me. They also told her that they I had been in the shelter a total of 5-6 months. I impressed her with my fetching skills and, of course, my adorable wrinkles.

Even though adopting me was a bit of an impulse that day, my mom had been thinking of getting a dog for about a year. She and her mom used to spend hours looking online at rescue dogs together. It was a few months after her mom died that I came into the house with lots of love to give and a ton of energy. I get so excited my butt wiggles back and forth uncontrollably when my tail wags whenever I great her. If how much you're loved is relative to the number of toys you own then she loves me A LOT. (I might be a little bit spoiled!)

I love wearing my seat belt and taking rides in the car. It's too bad I can't go everywhere with her. She has snuck me into work on Take Your Child to Work Day and has also taken me to art openings and happy hour at the Falcon. My absolute favorite thing to do is to go to the dog park and run the trails chasing all of the squirrels. They like to taunt me. My tongue gets huge and I always have a big smile on my face after a couple of laps in the woods. I'm a little obsessed with squirrels and I love chasing lizards in the backyard (and also staring at cats when I'm taking walks in the neighborhood.)

By the way, I'm not sure why, but I have an Instagram account. You can follow my adventures @mrmikothemix. Mom likes to take a lot of pictures and videos. She's always got the camera in my face but, don't worry, I make sure she knows when I'm not in the mood to have my picture taken. 😏

This photo was taken last year by Macbeth Studio at their Dog Days Pet Portraits. The money they made that day was donated to the Pet Alliance to help other dogs like me find their forever homes. Some of the volunteers even remembered me from my time at the shelter so that was cool.

Without Pet Alliance I honestly don't know where I'd be today (or if I'd be anywhere at all.) Please consider making a donation to support them... and because how cool would it be to have this handsome face featured on one of the 2017 My Best Friends wine labels from Quantam Leap Winery?!?

Cheers!