Katy special needs chihuahua with 'big personality, little body' warms hearts

Based out of Katy, Texas, 8-year-old fiery chihuahua Nessie McNubbin is an internet celebrity and social media influencer with more than 15,000 followers on Instagram. Based out of Katy, Texas, 8-year-old fiery chihuahua Nessie McNubbin is an internet celebrity and social media influencer with more than 15,000 followers on Instagram. Photo: Courtesy Theresa Loyacano Photo: Courtesy Theresa Loyacano Image 1 of / 30 Caption Close Katy special needs chihuahua with 'big personality, little body' warms hearts 1 / 30 Back to Gallery

If Nessie McNubbins could fly, she probably would. No one told the 8-year-old fiery chihuahua she had only two legs.

The way the tiny kangaroo-like dog leaps around will make you think twice about feeling sorry for her. Her mother Theresa Loyacano, who adopted the miniature canine, calls her "fierce."

"I'm telling you, she is something else," Loyacano said. "She is fearless. She's curious. She is, oh my goodness, she is protective. You see a two-legged dog and you think, what's she going to do? She's not yappy, but she's a big personality, little body."

Loyacano jokes that Nessie is part dog, part kangaroo because of the way she gets around. The family keeps fluffy pillows – "landing pads" – all over the floors to protect her from harm in case she decides she wants to jump off her seat on the couch.

"It does not even occur her to her that she only has two legs," Loyacano said. "Nobody told her. She's all over the place. Even when she's riding around in her stroller, she's attempted to jump out. We've got to tether her. She just wants to get down and play."

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Based out of Katy, Texas, Nessie, an internet celebrity and social media influencer, has more than 15,000 followers on Instagram. But she didn't start out that way.

In 2017, Loyacano was heartbroken when her 18-year-old dachshund named Sunday, a dog she had her entire adult life, died.

"I didn't want to get another dog, but I missed having a dog," she said.

For months, Loyacano began following dog rescue pages on Facebook, Instagram and other social media or her friends' dogs just to fill the void of loneliness she felt about losing Sunday.

Then one day she saw Nessie.

"I wasn't looking to adopt a dog," Loyacano said. "But when I saw her story and the fact that she'd been abandoned and she only had two legs and oh my god, how scared she must be, I just felt like she needed me. And she did. And I needed her too."

Loyacano adopted Nessie from Texas Chihuahua Rescue, a nonprofit organization that according to its website helped save the lives of 759 animals in 2017.

Nessie was born with only two legs, but her disability wasn't a result of any kind trauma or accident, Loyacano said.

"It was likely due to overbreeding or poor breeding," she said. "But she lived for eight years with only two legs. So, she was actually pretty used to that."

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Prior to her being taken to Texas Chihuahua Rescue, Nessie had been returned and abandoned at the shelter three times. She had a history of abuse and she had some health issues, such as a tumor and some dental problems, that the family is still working to resolve.

Mobility is obviously an issue for Nessie, but she's well adapted to her two-legged life, her mother said. She loves to be carried around in a sling, she said.

"It's been really challenging to get (Nessie) to get used to her wheels," Loyacano said. "We practice a lot, but you know, to live your entire life upright, hopping or walking then being strapped into this big intimidating contraption, it's a bit challenging. But we keep doing it."

Nessie's early life might have been hard. But overall, Nessie is in a much more stable home now, Loyacano said, adding that the family's life revolves around the tiny canine.

"I can't imagine life without her," she said. "She is so much apart of the family. We plan everything around her. 'Can Nessie come? How would Nessie like this?' It's almost like we recognize that her life has been so tough up until this point that ... it's not just, let's have a dog. It's what can we do to make what's left of her life the absolute best for her."

The family adopted Nessie on Jan. 14, 2018, coincidentally one year to the date after their dog Sunday passed. Loyacano, 42, said it was not planned.

"It was just sort of happened that way," she said, adding that she does see similarities in the two dogs. "They have similar attitudes. They are both, 'it's my way or the highway.' They are very stubborn. It didn't really matter. They were going to do their own thing."

michelle.iracheta@chron.com