Original Article: https://blog.theanimalrescuesite.greatergood.com/cricket-gremlin-instagram/

When people meet Cricket “the Gremlin” for the first time, they usually have one of two reactions.

“Usually we get the ‘Oh my god she’s so ugly, she’s cute,’” says owner Kymi Aeschliman. “Or some people will just look on in horror because they think something terrible has happened to her when obviously it hasn’t. She’s had the most princess life ever.”

Aeschliman admits, she’s never seen a hairless chihuahua where she lives in western Washington, so Cricket’s striking look often stokes curiosity. But there’s plenty more to this story than looks alone.

Cricket was rescued from a home Texas, but Aeschliman says it was really herself who was rescued.

“I had recently lost one of my dear friends to COVID,” she says. “We lost our beloved dog Olive to cancer just before that and it was a really hard time.”

Aeschliman and her husband wanted “something positive to look forward to,” so they began looking at rescue dogs online.

“I applied for several all over the country and I just kept getting told that we weren’t quite the right fit,” Aeschliman says. “I don’t know what would make us not the right fit, but it just kept happening. Finally, I came across a picture of [Cricket] through a Facebook friend group and I just couldn’t live without her. I just knew she was the one.”

Aeschliman says Cricket was, “literally the combo of my dreams because she was hairless, and she was a Chihuahua.”

From the photos they saw, Cricket looked “like a little gremlin,” a nickname that has since played out well for the pup.

“I’ve never seen anything like her,” Aeschliman says. “My husband is always slightly reluctant to get a new pet and when he saw her he was like, ‘OK.’ It was mutual among the family members.”

Cricket was being held at a home in Texas, but distance is no obstacle for true love.

Aeschliman told her husband, ‘Guess what, you’re flying to Texas, because we just need this in our life.’”

It turned out to be a good decision.

“She has brought so much joy since the moment she came home,” Aeschliman says of Cricket. “She’s just been a wonder!”

The dog is exceptionally smart, Aeschliman says, not to mention lovable.

“She can figure out those dog puzzles in 30 seconds, where my other dogs will just kind of stare,” she says. “We love all three of our babies but [Cricket] is so present and so smart in the way that she looks at you. She’s a little love bug. She came into our lives and literally rescued us. We needed her so bad.”

Cricket has been living with the Aeschlimans and their two other dogs for nearly a year. During that time, Aeschliman says keeping busy with Cricket’s care and social media has helped pull her out of depression. She’s also learned a lot more about caring for hairless animals than she ever thought she would need.

“She has a more extensive skincare routine than I do, and I’m a little bit obsessed,” Aeschliman says.

Cricket’s five-step routine involves exfoliating her skin and a special shampoo that has to stay on her body for 10 minutes to clear away problematic acne. Then she follows up with a moisturizer and sunscreen if Cricket is going outside.

Caring for Cricket can be quite involved. Aeschliman says she is occasionally asked if caring for a hairless dog means you save money on grooming, but Cricket’s weekly skin care routine often proves otherwise.

Still, the effort is worth it when you love your pet, Aeschliman says, but not every new pet parent may be prepared for the same responsibility. To those considering adopting a pet with special needs, Aeschliman recommends getting pet insurance.

“It is worth every penny,” she says, noting that Cricket’s skin issues and bouts with Giardia would have been much more of a challenge without the financial support.

Cricket has found her loving forever home, and the Aeschliman’s are forever grateful she could “rescue” them.

“She could not be any more loved,” Aeschliman says. “My husband and I will literally come to tears because we love her so much.”

Find more from Cricket “the Gremlin” on her Instagram page, @cricketthegremlin.

Source: The Animal Rescue Site Blog