Anthony Carter, Galya Stetsenko, their son Adrian, daughter Abigail and their dog Cookie happened to be at Lincoln Park when we encountered them and they gave us their story.

Cookie is a five year old Teacup Poodle, very tiny at 3.5 pounds, that they got, "From my friend Anne," said Galya, "There were too many dogs and it became a little bit too exciting so Cookie came to live with us.

Like many dogs Cookie loves to chase and be chased. "Whenever kids are running around she's very much a member of the family. She likes to chase others and play tag with kids."

They recently had a close call with Cookie when she apparently disappeared. "A week ago Cookie ran away or was stolen the day after I got in a big accident. We searched all over the neighborhood and posted signs and we couldn't find her and even checked shelters. We kept searching every single day, driving around. Then miraculously, six days later she just ran into the kitchen and we had almost given up on ever seeing her again. It turned out that she was just two houses away but she had gotten out and the lady did not know her."

Cookie eats a lot of leftovers, "She loves it, Anthony said. This is in addition to the kibble style food from Costco. She does love a bit of steak now and then and really loves the steak bone. "She can handle the T-Bones," said Galya.

She's not into toys and but she has a lot of relatives to keep her busy and she herself had a litter of pups, with two offspring.

As a guard dog, despite her diminutive size, Cookie excels. "Any time a car comes by she's on it," said Anthony.

Abigail and Cookie are good friends and Abigail will carry the dog everywhere. "Abby does not say many words yet but 'Cookie' is one of her main five words," Galya explained.

Anthony describes Cookie as, "Vigilant and attentive. and extremely intelligent. She's analyzing everyone. She's judging people and I think it's inherent to their breed. They are very thoughtful animals. I'm impressed." "She's a climber," said Galya, "we actually have a video of her climbing. She climbs baby gates. When Abby was smaller we had gates and we had one with spaces that Cookie can easily pass through but this new one she has figured out how to climb."