Good Doggie

Did we just get a pat on the head and an ‘atta boy” from the Miami Herald for being good little Chihuahuas?

The last time the dog catcher came to take one our little Chihuahua friends away, we all barked and growled and marked our territory.

That smack in the josico with a folded up Miami Herald apparently taught us our lesson.

Cuban Americans welcomed this week's Solomonic resolution to what has been a protracted and acrimonious custody fight over a 5-year-old girl, a marked departure from the high passions that dominated the Elián González saga seven years ago. A sign that hard lessons were learned from the painful Elián affair: The buzz on Miami's Cuban radio on Thursday centered on Venezuela's upcoming election and fears that the Hugo Chávez regime will turn into a dictatorship in Fidel Castro's image.

Even the queen of the Chihuahuas got her belly scratched by the Herald. They interviewed Ninoska Pérez Castellón, considered by the Monster on the Bay to be the yappiest of the ankle nippers.

''People were calm because they knew this kid had her day in court,'' she said. ``It's totally different than Elián.''

Grrrrrrowl.

You know, I have a Chihuahua, Brutus. He’s a refugee from the streets of Hialeah and his tiny 4 ½ pound body has telltale signs that he was abused and had a hard life before we got him. He was so thankful to be given a home. So proud. But the one thing about him is that he doesn’t do tricks. He’s not eager to please. He’s loyal and will defend anyone in the family fiercely, and at his own peril, but never for a reward. If you say “good boy” and pat his head he growls. I like that about him.