Martita Chin is a Japanese Chin dog, who turned three years old on the 2nd of September. She lives with Angel Rivera, who is a retired military man and his wife Ixa

"She was adopted. There are only two breeders in Puerto Rico who breed this type of dog. She was born with a birth defect in her front paw and she could not be taken to shows so the breeder was frantically looking for someone to take the dog from him. We decided to take her."

It helped that she came at no cost but they quickly fell in love with her.

She has four names Angel said, "Pagoda Martita Sanchez Chin."

Martita gets dry food and loves going for morning walks but she's relatively new to Seattle. "She's just getting used to the weather here," Angel explained, "We moved from Puerto Rico to here about five months ago. She hasn't seen snow yet so we're getting ready."

She has a little cow and giraffe she got as a gift from their grandsons, who happen to be her favorite people to play with.

Angel noticed something he thought was an important sign about Martita's nature.

"We flew in both times for the birth of our grandsons. When we brought the kids in the house she just laid next to them with no problems. I was impressed. The dog was taking the scent of the babies and to me that was a good signal. Now she takes naps next to them."

Martita also manages to keep the couple amused.

"Before feeding, she goes into a frantic spin, we call it her "Japanese Spin" going in circles and it's funny to watch. Then once she stays still you feed her."

She has no Seattle canine friends yet, "She's still learning to bark in English," Angel joked. They did however train her with English commands.

Angel said of Martita,"I think she came at a great point in my life. As I've retired from the military after 30 years and being in two wars she came at the right moment. She gives me peace. I think her purpose in this family is to grant us the serenity of having somebody to look at in the mornings and to be waiting at home. She has received our grandkids in a very nice way so I'm very happy with the dog. To me personally, it's somebody I can relate to that brings me peace. With all the turbulent things in the world, sometimes I drink coffee in the afternoon and sit next to her and kind of relax. That's very good for me."