I Love My Chi 2024: Tiny Dogs with Huge Personalities

Cathy Bendzunas from I Love My Chi is an avid dog lover and owned many dogs throughout her life but after rescuing her first Chihuahua she became hooked on the breed. DeliveryRank heard more from Cathy about these furry companions, what to expect as a pet parent, and where to get some great insights and useful advice.

Please tell us about your background in working with animals and why you decided to start I Love My Chi

I’ve had a love affair with all animals, but particularly dogs, all of my life. I trained as a dog groomer after school and worked at that for a few years but have had other jobs in the pet industry too. I’ve worked at kennels, PetSmart pet hotel, pet-sitting (which I still do), and have bred and showed Yorkies.

I started I Love My Chi because I really wanted a pet website and at the time I’d just rescued my first chihuahua (a breed I’d previously disliked because of bad experiences I‘d had as a groomer). I immediately fell in love with the breed and realized they were different than other breeds of dogs. I wanted to share this awesome breed with others and teach what I’ve learned about them so I decided that's what my website would be about.

What advice or guidance can people expect to find on I Love My Chi?

We have articles about chihuahua health, training, behavior, grooming, raising chihuahua puppies, and even how to find good breeders and rescues. We also have chihuahua stories submitted by readers and other fun posts such as gallery posts featuring photos of cute chihuahuas and posts of favorite chihuahua memes.

You have a great number of fans following your I Love My Chi Club. What’s your favorite part about creating your online community?

I love how everyone helps everyone else, whether that’s with advice, sympathy or encouragement or just sharing experiences. And I’ve learned so much from my community too.

What are some of the traits that drew you to the Chihuahua breed?

Their extreme loyalty to their person. Their cuteness, playfulness, and quirky personality.

What should pet parents expect when caring for a Chihuahua?

Chihuahua owners will never be lonely again. LOL. What I mean is that Chihuahuas are Velcro dogs. They want to be with their person every second of the day. They pick up on their emotions very easily and will try to make them feel better when they need it.

They’ll also rule the roost if you let them so they need to know that the pet parent is in charge.