Chah-walla

I remember having a book about dogs when I was little and reading on my own. The dachshund and chihuahua baffled me since I had never heard of them, although I had seen those types of dogs. Being a phonics learner, I was very literal and would wonder whether the 'ch' in dachshund was a hard 'ch' or a softer 'sh' pronunciation, and whether the next two letters went together for a 'sh' or were separate with the 's' being ssss and the 'h' making the beginning of the word hundred. But chihuahua, I had down pat, I was sure. It was pronounced cha-who-ah-who-ah, although I wondered why I never did hear that word out loud anywhere like I did beagle (as in snoopy) or german shepherd, etc.

Fast forward a few years to Amelia who isn't quite reading those words yet, but is trying to pronounce the words she hears. Her 'cousin' Hannah adores chihuahuas and after her last visit here I've heard a whole lot about cha-wallas, especially since there was at least one in the stash of Little Pet Shop toys that Hannah passed down to her. When Amelia says chihuahua, it sounds like koala with a 'ch' in front of it. And of course, I think it's adorable!