Heather and Paul Fairchild got their dog Mickey, a pure bred Maltese through an EBay classified ad in Spanaway, they said. Mickey is two and they've had him a year.

Mickey came from a home that could not care for him any longer.

"They had a daschund already and they had adopted a few children. Between their work schedules and the children and side jobs they were not able to care for two dogs any longer. Mickey had just sired a litter at that time too, so they said between the puppies and all the dogs he had to go," Heather explained.

That was clearly fortunate for the Fairchilds and they love having him be part of their family. "He's just a fantastic dog, great temperament, and just a good boy," said Heather. "When we are gone he doesn't do anything destructive. What he does, is so cute. We have a couch that borders the front main window and he sits on the back of the couch and waits for us to come home."

When they come home, Mickey has a rather special vocalization. "It's part Wookie (from Star Wars) and part trumpet," said Heather laughing. "It's like he's Chewbacca and he has a tiny trumpet."

When it comes to food, they head to Pet Elements and buy Mickey Wellness brand dry dog food and some Merrick canned dog food. What he really likes is Wingaling, it has chicken wings in it." (Note: this food has bones in it and might not be appropriate for all dogs. Please read the labels carefully).

Mickey likes freeze dried liver treats for snacks.

While he has not yet had formal training, that's on the agenda for the Fairchild's because, "We want him to be better socialized," Heather explained.

They take him to the Westcrest Dog Park and, "it's a little bit of a crap shoot," Heather said," he gets along with smaller dogs but anything a little bigger than him and he goes into guard mode."

His favorite toy is a parrot with a squeaky head.

Paul summed Mickey up by saying, "He's my best friend and he's there for me no matter what happens. He's probably the best companion i could ever have."

Heather said, "For me he's almost a surrogate child. I haven't given birth to any children so he kind of fills that role. He's a great companion and a great friend."