Sometimes, one is not enough. Sometimes, it requires a whole pack to meet that cuteness quotient.

This pack of small dogs and their owners does just that. These lovely ladies and their charges meet regularly at the park to play and well, just plain look adorable. 

Even their names are cute: Bailey and Baxter. Harley and Zoey. Lola and Tyler. And …Snookie?

Marnie, mom to Bailey and Baxter, both Chihuahuas, contacted our website a few months ago to let us know that she and some other small dog owners had formed a mini-pack who meet at the park for playtime and camaraderie. Marnie and Bailey and Baxter’s other mom, Amy, travel all the way from Waldwick to enjoy what so many of us who live close by may take for granted. After adopting their dogs, found on Petfinder at about three months old, they knew they wanted to socialize them right away. A call to friend “dog whisperer” Denise (mom to Lola and Tyler) soon had them at the park with their pups for a play date.

“At first I was terrified. I didn’t want to put them on the ground,” admits Marnie. “But they did OK!” Soon, a Saturday tradition was born, with the owners looking to each other for advice and affirmation. “It’s like trading recipes for us – we share information about what has worked – the whole seat belt thing, food, treats, you name it,” says Amy.

Friend Suzanne agrees. With Harley, a min pin who is almost 12 years old and  Zoey, a three-year-old Chihuahua/ Pomeranian mix, she’s been enjoying the park with her dogs for a couple of years now (a third dog, Lola, opts to stay home).

According to Suzanne, the best thing about owning small dogs is their portability. Any challenges? None really, except maybe trying to walk all three at once. But it’s a small price to pay. Says Suzanne, “If I had the space, I’d probably get more.”

With Denise are toy poodle Lola and toy Yorkie Tyler.  A former Montclair resident, “Denise Police,” as her friends jokingly call her, is the group’s resident dog expert and park advocate. She had visited the park with her previous Yorkie, Madison, who passed away at age 18. After Madison, Denise admits she “couldn’t last two weeks without a dog” and eventually rescued the pair she has now. “I didn’t know their history, or what they had gone through, so I started bringing them to the park to get socialized with other dogs.”

Rounding out the group is Linda and her dog Snookie (no, no relation to Nicole Polizzi). Linda has had dogs all her life. and Snookie is her latest rescue. How did she meet the rest of the pack? One lucky day she was just driving past the park and decided to stop in. Soon enough, she met Denise and Marnie, and the dogs were playing together like little kids. About Snookie: “She’s always happy, kisses me to death, she’s smart, and she loves to play,” declares Linda. “She’s a good dog. And I’m a good owner!”

(Linda would like any wealthy people reading this to know that she is also available for adoption.)