BEST

What makes an Advocate pet edition model?

It is not necessarily impeccable breeding or a pretty mug but, rather, a personality — a certain je ne sais quoi — that jumps off the page. Our 2011 model pet search garnered piles of adorable photos and amusing anecdotes. These finalists are the non-human neighborhood residents that most captured our hearts.

MILLIE Havapoo

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Millie the rescue

LisaGewaxknewshewanted a Havapoo,orHavanese/poodle mix, forherfamilyoffourinHillcrest Forest. The rare breed is hypoallergenicanddoesn’tshed.Shefound no luck with breeders online, so she triedlookingforpoodlemixesat Dallas Animal Services.

All the dogs were riled up, barking loudly.

Then, there was Millie, her fur dirty and matted — you could barely see her eyes.

“She was sweet and quiet,” Gewax says. “She came up slowly to the window. You could tell by the look in her eye. I knew immediately that she was the one.”

Millie had just been brought in and wasn’t quite ready for adoption. So, Gewax returned every morning for the next eight days. On the last day, she drove to the shelter, braving the icy roads last February. She had to have that Havapoo — and she got it.

Millieturnsheadswherevershe goes.Hergroomersraveabouther incredibly soft fur.

“They say they wish they had a pillow as soft as she is.”

She spends most of her time lounging on her bed. The Gewaxes call it her tuffet — as in “Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet.” Millie gazes out the window, waiting for her best friend, a goldendoodlenamedPuddingwho lives next door. They often have play dates together.

Asluckwouldhaveit,thisdingy drifter is now one pampered pooch.

Diego the YouTube star

That’s not a pig, that’s Diego.

The pudgy-nosed French bulldog was mistaken for such last Halloween by a 3-year-oldtrick-or-treaterwhoseemed to recognize the species of Diego’s pal, Giorgie, a Yorkshire terrier.

“When the boy turned to leave, he said, ‘Bye,doggie.Bye,piggie.’Hethought Diego was a pig.”

Diego’sowner,BradBehringerof NorthavenPark, doesn’t mind the mixup — it just makes his dog all the more special.That, and the fact that Diego can speak. Not bark — speak. YouTube videos catch him in the moment, trying to mimic his human’s voice saying “I love you.”

“He has been doing it since we brought him home.”

Behringerandhisfiancée,Diana, wanted a friend for their 6-year-old yorkie, Giorgie. So, almost two years ago, they traveled to Terrell to visit a French bulldog breeder. Diego was the sole survivor of his litter and came with a few complications. He’s smaller than normal and was born with an umbilical hernia, which caused a large and dangerous bubble to grow on his stomach.

“We couldn’t leave with him,” Behringer says.

After a nail-biting five months, Diego was old enough for surgery to fix the hernia. Now he deals with chronic allergies and must receive a shot once a week. But Diego’s health issues have never dampened his spirits.

Coco the entertainer

She has been hugged and squeezed, dolled up and stuffed into a stroller. But unlike most felines, Coco is perfectly content providing amusement for little girls.

“She is always good when one of the girls runs and tackles her down and gives her hug. She just smells their chins and acts like she really appreciates them taking the time to love on her,” says Kathleen Ekstrom, who lives in Glen Meadow Estates with her husband, Doug, and her two daughters, Alexis, 7, and Loni, 5. They call Coco “a dog in a cat suit.”

TheEkstromsboughtherfrom a Maine Coon breeder in Fort Worth and gave her to Alexis as a Christmas present about three years ago.

“We wanted a big cat with a great personality,” Kathleen says.

The mischievous cat has been caught