001665816

Jeff Minton

They would love to welcome a baby to their family, but the road to parenthood is proving challenging for Jennifer Arnold and her husband, Bill Klein. At 3 ft., 2 in., and 4 ft., respectively, the stars of TLC's The Little Couple are exploring surrogacy because of potential complications and health risks that carrying a baby would pose to Arnold. But despite the stress, the couple knows they have one "baby" they can always count on — their 2-year-old rescue Chihuahua, Rocky.

"He is the most chilled-out dog ever," Arnold tells PEOPLEPets.com. "He loves to sleep and cuddle. Playtime for him lasts about an hour a day … the rest is snuggle time."

Arnold and Klein adopted Rocky through a family friend when he was just 9 weeks old. But the first days of ownership weren't so easy. "He almost died after we adopted him," Arnold says. "Unknown to us, he had a bacterial diarrheal infection that lead to dehydration and low blood sugar." Rushed to the emergency vet, the then-2-lbs. pup took an IV to the internal jugular and fought for his life. "They had to shave his entire neck, and the hair never grew back," Arnold says. "But thankfully now he is a happy and healthy little guy!"

Rocky, who loves popcorn, chicken tenders and miniature tennis balls, would make a great pal for a child, Arnold says. "He's been around our friends' children and babies, and has always done well," she shares. "I'm surprised when older kids play with him that he tolerates it as well as he does."

For more on The Little Couple, check out the March 8 issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now!

Meet more amazing pets on PEOPLEPets.com:
Lost Dog Survives in Mountains for 40 Days and 40 Nights
Little Miracle: Owner Dies in Plane Crash, But Dog Survives

Kate Hogan with reporting by Alexis Chiu