Bethesda resident Tracy Lader never imagined that while taking out the trash she would find a lovable eight-pound puppy looking for a home. 

"I feel like he chose us," says Lader, smiling as she and Mickey, a chihuahua mix, shop the aisles of PetSmart on Wisconsin Avenue at the Bethesda-Chevy Chase border.

It was just last month that Lader visited California where her grandmother lives just a few minutes away from Disneyland. 

"I happened to take out the trash and find (Mickey)," says Lader, recalling the day she found him peeking out from behind a trash can. "He was still sitting there the next morning on the steps."

The next day, Lader took him to the animal shelter so the owner of Mickey—whom she aptly named after the beloved Disney character—could find him. But no one showed up. 

"I would have been heartbroken if he was euthanized," says Lader, who had already returned to the East Coast. She decided to fly the pup out to Bethesda via Pet Airways—a flight service for pets only—and Mickey became a part of the Lader family. Within a couple of days, he joined Tracy along with her husband Dan and their children Ian and Melanie.

Although she doesn't know his exact age, Lader believes the full-grown pup is about one year old. He follows Lader through PetSmart, making new dog friends as Lader shops the aisles to find bedding for Sally, the family's pet rat.

"I'm trying to get him more socialized and used to going out," says Lader, who adds that Mickey loves their other Chihuahua dog, Pickles.

Although Mickey is adjusting well, Lader worries he may have become too accustomed to the warm, West Coast climate during his puppyhood.

"We'll see how he does with snow," Lader says. "He might not like it too much."