Callous Cruelty

When I opened up the recent edition of the Missouri Humane Society online newsletter, I was horrified.  At the very top of the page was yet another story about someone burning a dog.  The graphic photos showed that the dog (named Zeus) was burned on his eyes, legs and body.  He had no pads left on his paws.

 

Would you believe that the owner had the gall to surrender Zeus to the Humane Society?  The owner claimed that “Zeus got loose.”  Yes, when my dogs have gotten loose, they have always returned with burns all over their bodies.  Seriously?  Who could believe this person?

 

I truly cannot fathom what sick, twisted, demented individual would want to burn a dog, or any animal for that matter.  Does this make the person feel macho?  How are you “more manly” for picking on a defenseless animal that trusts you with its life?  Lording physical power over someone does not make you a stronger, sexy individual.  In fact, quite the opposite is true.  You become a heartless bully that seeks only to bring others down.

 

And how can you take your frustrations out on a dog?  My dogs provide comfort and bring me joy.  After a trying day at work, I look forward to going home and being covered in sloppy kisses.  I cannot wait to see their tails wagging like crazy at my arrival.  They are always happy to see me and love unconditionally.  Why on earth would I want to knowingly hurt them?

 

I am greatly concerned about this rise in dog burning incidents.  What is going on in the minds of the individuals that are performing these cruel acts?  How do they justify the behavior to themselves?  This is reminiscent of Trooper being tied to the back of a pick-up truck and drug for miles down the interstate.  She was mad at her ex-husband and took it out on his puppy.  So, what exactly did this heinous act prove?  If she was really mad, couldn’t she have just tried to take all of his money in court?  Why resort to abusing a puppy that has no say or control in the divorce matter?

 

If you cannot or no longer wish to take care of your dog, PLEASE, give the dog to someone else.  Turn the dog in to your local humane society or animal shelter (preferably a no kill location).  Or, if worse comes to worse, please just abandon your dog unharmed.  He/she will have a better chance of surviving or being rescued by someone without physical injuries. 

 

Burning, kicking, stabbing, shooting, throwing, hitting, dragging or any other despicable act that you can think of is NOT A SOLUTION.  To me, this just proves how un-manly/womanly you truly are.  You are not a human being deserving of happiness.  You are a monster that needs to be stopped and have the same callous cruelty that you inflicted upon the dog/animal done to you.

 

END THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE!

Portly Pooches

I love going to Petsmart!  I especially enjoy taking one of our six fur babies with us.  People always “ooh” and “aah” and tells us how cute the chosen pooch is.  And I soak up every second of it!

 

Last night, my husband and I headed to Petsmart sans dogs to purchase a basic litter box for the kitten we rescued.  That is when I noticed something:  Pets truly do resemble their owners.  My favorite is when the fur of the dog matches the ‘do of the owner.  Priceless!

 

But, I also made another disturbing discovery.  Many pets are matching their owners’ weight issues pound for pound.  I watched a portly gentleman tugging on the leash of a grossly overweight Beagle, trying to get him to walk.  I can tell you exactly why the dog didn’t want to move:  it hurt to do so.  When the dog did decide to move, his steps were slow and labored.  His little legs were covered in flapping flab.  We felt horrible for him.

 

I think that we, as pet owners, need to take full responsibility for their health.  Sure, we take them to their annual vet visits and make sure that their monthly flea/tick/heart worm medicine is administered.  But, we tend to “over treat” our pampered pooches.

 

I know that I have personally been guilty of this sin.  And this is especially true after I have acquired a new dog.  I want to make the dog feel loved, so I feed it treats every time it turns the corner.  “Look, the dog sat!  Have a treat!”  “Now, the dog looked at me!  Have a treat!”  “The dog wagged its’ tail!  Have a treat!”

 

Much like Jillian Michaels says that we try to comfort ourselves with food, I think that we end up doing the same thing for our pets.  We never want them to feel deprived or unloved.  So, the yummy treats are a way that we can show our unconditional love.  But, this type of behavior can have dire consequences.

 

When I was living at home with my parents, Theo was often given table scraps.  Grandma always looked forward to sneaking him bits of the rolls we always have on Thanksgiving Day.  Mom even let him lick cheese off of our dinner plates before washing them!  A few months after I got married and moved out, Theo began peeing…a lot.  Plus, he began peeing inside the house.  Theo had been house broken for years.  

 

One of the most frustrating moments was when Theo awoke from the foot of our bed, walked up to me, and peed right there on my pillow!  This was not like him at all.  Then, on that fated trip to Pestmart, we saw it:  blood in pee puddle.  After we took him to the vet, we found out he had bladder stones.  What caused them?  The believes that it was a reaction to something that he ate, such as…cheese.  Yep, people food given to him years before was wreaking havoc on his little body.  Not to mention our wallets after the $400 surgery we scheduled to remove the stones.

 

Thankfully, Theo made a fully recovery, but it wasn’t easy.  After the surgery, he laid on the couch and made the most pitiful sound I have ever heard.  And I was filled with guilt.  Why had we given him people food?  All this time, we had believed that we were “treating” him for being a good dog.  What we were doing was setting him up to feel horrible.  He now as to be on special dog food (Urinary SO) for the rest of his life.

 

While I seriously doubt that dog treats will have the same drastic effect as people food, the tendency of being overweight still exists.  Just like a human, any additional weight makes the dog’s heart work harder.  Keep in mind, their hearts already beat way faster than a human’s.  Imagine their heart having to work even harder due to extra pounds.

 

Theo’s situation was my wake up call.  None of my other dogs have ever been given people food.  I want my dogs to be happy and HEALTHY.  My husband and I love going on charity walks with our dogs.  While we do have a pet stroller (that we won), I like to see my dogs walking happily beside me, getting the exercise they need.

Kitten Caper

As you know from my previous post, my husband and I have recently acquired a kitten.  We discovered the kitten in the middle of the street while taking a walk around the neighborhood. 

 

Thankfully, the fur babies think she is the neatest thing since kibble.  They constantly lick her face and chase her around the couch.  And the kitten is a total diva!  She loves all of the attention.

 

So, my husband and I are trying to figure out the next steps to be taken.  We have never personally owned a cat before (my mom hates cats and his sister has a cat that only really likes her).  That being said, we are relying on advice from friends that have (or have had) cats.

 

Imagine my excitement when an animal rescue group that I used to volunteer for posted on their Facebook page that a partnering animal hospital would be offering $10 spaying in September!  My husband and I were over the moon!  Since we are considering keeping the kitten, this was fantastic news (especially for our wallets).

 

I made the call this morning and received this cold response:  “I ONLY have room for male cats.”  Excuse me for trying to take care of the kitten that has fallen into our laps!  And you can honestly tell me that from Sunday evening when the announcement was posted to 9:00 a.m. the following Monday morning that all of your appointment times for female cats are full?  Seriously?

 

I was enraged.  I realize that fixing male cats means that female cats will not become pregnant.  But, spaying female cats is just as important.  All of our dogs are spayed/neutered.  Simply put, it is the responsible thing to do.  Plus, I read this horrible book once about a dog being raped by a neighbor’s dog.  True story.  At least if the dog was fixed, she wouldn’t have had to go through the stress and trauma of giving birth.

 

Not to sound self-righteous, but, my husband and I have ALWAYS taken excellent care of our dogs.  Even if this meant that we had to go without something that we needed.  Our dogs are our children.  And that’s not as crazy as it once seemed.  Many people are choosing to have fur babies instead of the two-legged variety.

 

Bottom line:  This animal hospital seems to only care about the health of male cats.  What is a responsible pet parent to do?  Do we not deserve a financial break for our animal’s care?  This is when I began my search for other low cost spay/neutering facilities.  I actually saw one listed that stated, “Low income-food stamps and disabilities only!”

 

Wait, people on food stamps can receive low cost spaying/neutering services?  In my opinion, you should not own a pet if you can barely feed yourself and possibly children, as well.  I simply do not understand the mentality behind this.

 

While we will be getting the kitten spayed when she becomes of age, I still think that it is crummy that we will have to pay full price for a life that we are trying to save, not necessarily keep.  However, I have found in the animal world that there are three options: 

 

1.       Leave the animal where you found it and let it die

2.       Save the animal and give it over to your local animal shelter where it will be killed by the end of the week (if not that very day)

3.       Save the animal and keep it yourself so you know EXACTLY what type of care the animal will be receiving (and deserves)

 

I think you know which choice my husband and I will make.

Shocking Shelters

The most amazing thing happened last night.  My husband suggested that we take a walk after dinner.  So, we harnessed up Cole and headed out.  As we were walking along the sidewalk, I saw something in the middle of the street.  I said, “Is that a dead kitten?”

 

Just then, the kitten looked at me and Matt and blinked!  “It’s alive!” I shrieked.  “We have to save it!”  Cars continued to race over the cat, who luckily, managed to stay in the middle and avoided getting squished.  Matt then began to step out into the road and tried to get the traffic to stop.  One particularly rude driver nearly hit Matt with his/her 4 x 4 and sped on.  But, the woman driving the car behind the 4 x 4 stopped.

 

Matt carefully scooped the kitten up as we did not know if any of its limbs were broken.  We waved ‘thank you’ to the person that was kind enough to stop to allow us to save the kitten’s life.  We then made several phone calls and much to our dismay, the veterinarian’s offices that we spoke with stated that they could only keep the kitten overnight and would then have to turn it over to their local animal shelter.  This is not what we wanted to hear.  We have 6 dogs and have never really been cat people, but we know that sending it to a shelter is a death sentence.

 

So, we took the kitten home with us, making sure to keep our fur babies locked in their crates since we do not know if the kitten has any diseases.  Matt and I decided that we should give the kitten a bath.  The water turned brown from all of the dirt covering the poor baby.  That is when we discovered the fleas….and ticks.  They were crawling all everywhere!  Matt attempted to pick them off with a pair of tweezers.  We soon realized that we needed to give it a flea bath.

 

I sent Matt to Wal*Mart while I watched the quarantined kitten in the bathroom.  When he returned, I was amazed at how fast the fleas began literally dropping off.  We are lucky enough to have a large room attached to our house that used to be a barber shop, but is now our storage room.  We placed the clean kitten in a spare dog crate with a towel and some Fancy Feast.  We were not going to take a chance of our dogs catching something, no matter how kind we are trying to be.

 

I called my vet the next morning and explained our situation.  I was sorely disappointed to hear that I was not going to be offered a discounted rate since this was a rescued kitten.  I take all 6 of my dogs there.  I find it very hard to believe that they cannot give me some sort of a break for trying to be a good Samaritan.  So, this will probably cost me around $100 to have the kitten tested and vaccinated.

 

Then the debate begins:  Do we keep the kitten or give her away?  Matt and I figured that there must be no kill shelters in the area.  However, if I am going to be spending This kind of money on an animal, I am more inclined to keep it.  Matt thought of calling the Missouri Humane Society.  We have always been impressed with their gorgeous facility.

 

That is when we learned something shocking:  HSMO is NOT a no-kill shelter!  Plus, they refused to take the kitten because it is from Illinois!  Honestly, I am disgusted by this.  This is one of the nicest shelter facilities that we have ever seen.   Classical music plays in each room to sooth the animals.  Small, plastic dishes with treats are attached to each dog pen so that treats can be given by visitors to the dogs via a large plastic tube.  This shelter receives thousands of money each year in donations through special events as well as private donors.  They even made enough money to build a second facility.  How can they not be a no-kill shelter?  What are they using all of that money for?  The last time I was there, there were hardly any animals present.  This disturbs me greatly.

 

And shouldn’t they want to help animals out no matter where they are from?  I have adopted two dogs from the St. Louis Senior Pet Project.  They did not discriminate against me because I live in Illinois.  We are only 45 minutes away from St. Louis.  Hundreds of people commute to St. Louis from Illinois daily for their jobs.  But, the Humane Society of Missouri is snubbing us because we are from Illinois?  My opinion of this group has drastically changed.

 

I am a huge animal advocate.  If I can save an animal’s life, I will.  Obviously, I am not going to become a crazy hoarder, but I will do my best to aid an animal in need.  I thought that was the point of a shelter, to provide shelter.  Protection.  Not a one way ticket to death’s door.

Peculiar Peppe

This time, www.petfinder.com is not to blame for the final addition to my family.  I received an e-mail from Diana’s Grove Rescue because this is the organization that I adopted a dog (Tito) for my mom.  When I opened the e-mail, I saw a color flier for their upcoming adoption event.

 

On the front of the flier was the craziest looking dog that I had ever seen!  Peppe, the Chinese Crested.  He looked nothing like the crested featured in the movie “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.”  This dog had not fur on his tail and was spotted!

 

It was insta-love!  Even my husband was a bit excited.  This was definitely different from our mostly Chihuahua filled household.  Upon meeting Peppe, he gave Matt a big kiss on the chin.  He was hooked.

 

Peppe was actually used for breeder.  His owner suddenly passed away, leaving him homeless.  The organization called him “the Velcro dog.”  I soon found out why.  Peppe wants to be everywhere that you are.  He wants attention 24/7 and he will not be ignored!  But, he is a super cutie pie (except at dinner time).  I have to say that I have never seen a dog eat as fast as he does.

 

My vet was quite surprised to see him.  She told me that Chinese Cresteds are not popular in this region.  I suppose this would have to do with the skin care that needs to be provided.  Peppe must be bathed once a week to replenish his natural skin oils.  He also needs to have coconut oil slathered on once a day to help keep his skin hydrated.  He doesn’t mind.  Peppe loves to lick himself after being oiled.

 

He completes our fur family quite nicely.

Priceless Penny

I am not going to lie.  Penny’s adoption story is my favorite out of all of my fur babies.  My husband and I were talking about the fact that we never expected to have so many male dogs.  I had always envisioned having female dogs, like my grandma.

That is when Matt opened Pandora’s box.  He said, “It would be nice if Adriel had another girl to play with.”  That is all I needed to hear before heading back to www.petfinder.com!  Someone really should ban me from that website!

I found the most adorable Chihuahua that had the biggest ears that I have ever seen in my life!  And the face?  Like a little furry angel!  The only problem was, someone else had discovered her first.  I was told that if things didn’t work out, they would let me know.

While I had been searching, before I found the big eared baby, I discovered yet another unique pooch.  This dog had a severe overbite and a deformed front paw.  The “leg” is short and looks like a stump with two toes on it.  One “toe” is long and stiff, the other is short and floppy.  For some reason, I kept being drawn back to that dog.

Why not own a special needs dog?  I was already blessed to share my love with four perfectly formed dogs.  And this dog deserved to be loved, too.  My husband looked at the pictures and made a face.  My response?  I e-mailed the head of the rescue organization.  Boy, did I get a story!

Daisy (now Penny) was found as a stray in California!  She was sent to a high kill shelter where she was discovered by one of Cynthia Lee’s (the head of 2^nd Chance Animal Rescue) friends.  Cynthia got the call that she so often gets, “Can you take one more?”  Before Daisy knew it, she was being transported via Flying-B Pet Transportation.  Her destination?  Springfield, Illinois.

So, we set up a visit with Daisy, Cynthia and her foster mom, Sherri Sharf.  Daisy was then driven another 2 hours to come to our house in Freeburg, IL.  When I opened the door, my heart dropped.  She did look quite different that I had pictured her from the photos.  Cynthia and Sherri set her down on the floor and I almost cried as I watched her hop around the living room.  “Well, what do you think?” Cynthia asked me.

My husband pulled me aside and said, “That dog is fugly!”  But, his mind was soon changed as we watched Daisy launch onto the couch.  Wow!  We thought that she was going to need special care.  Were we ever wrong!

We completed the adoption and named her after a character from our favorite T.V. show, Penny from “The Big Bang Theory.”  Penny is such a loving, caring dog.  She absolutely adores Cole.  He bites her stump, she bites his nose and they have a great time together.  She also loves getting bathed by Adriel and chasing Domino up and down the hall.

She further amazed us when she managed to scale a 3 foot pet gate that was placed on our kitchen step.  She used her stump to latch onto the gate and then kicked her back legs to help her land in the middle of the living room.  Check it out on YouTube:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0bVijS9JTw.

Her amazing spirit inspired me to write my first ever children’s book, “Priceless Penny” (currently in production).  Check out the official Kickstarter.com campaign at:  http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/838723198/priceless-penny-childrens-book

Penny is one amazing pooch who has truly earned the title of “priceless.”

 

Charismatic Cole

Around the time that I had set the date to adopt Domino, someone at work posted onto our electronic bulletin board that they had a dog free to a good home.  I should not have opened the photo attachment.  When I did, staring back at me was twin of my husband’s dog, Duchess, that had recently been put to sleep.

 

Before I knew it, I found myself e-mailing the poster and requesting to know more about the dog.  I soon learned that the dog was not free.  The woman was posting the dog for her daughter who was fostering him.  His name was Doodle (yes, he had a brother named Yankee) and he is a gorgeous Min Pin/Chi mix.  I knew that my husband would love him.

 

When I told him about the fourth dog, he was less than pleased.  We are not wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but, our small dogs really don’t eat that much.  I convinced him to just meet the dog.  As we got out of the car at the dog park in O’Fallon, my husband took one look at Doodle, looked back at me and said, “Lauren, I love him!”

 

He saw the Duchess-like qualities that Doodle possessed.  We had also taken Theo and Adriel with us to see how they would get along.  Amazingly, they were soon chasing each other!  I then found out that Doodle was also from the St. Louis Senior Dog Project.  He had been abandoned and was found wandering the streets of St. Louis with his brother.

 

Doodle’s skin was covered in ticks.  He even had to have several surgically removed!  Interestingly enough, the patches of fur where the insects were taken from are now white.  Even after being put through all of that pain, Doodle is the biggest sweet baby ever.

 

Of course, the name had to go.  Doodle?  Really?  That is not a very respectable name for a 21 pound dog.  My husband was reading a book at the time that had a character whose name was Coltrane.  That was clearly a no-go with me.  Then I suggested Cole.  His ears perked up the minute he heard the name.  So, Cole chose his own name.

 

I was told at a recent vet visit that Cole is the “best behaved Min Pin” that the vet had ever seen!  Apparently, Min Pin’s have a history of being snappy.  Not our Cole baby!  If you are looking for an absolute love bug that wants to cuddle, Cole is your pooch!

Darling Domino

Domino came into my life completely by accident.  While taking my break at work, I did a Google search for Chihuahuas.  That is when I discovered Chihuahua Rescue Midwest.  This group is out of Missouri and specializes in rescuing…Chihuahuas!

 

Upon opening the page, I found a dog that looks exactly like Theo.  They could literally be twins.  I continued searching through the photos and then my heart dropped.  The animal in the photo was black and white spotted, like a cow.  I actually thought it was a cat!

 

I blew the picture up and discovered that this was a Blue Merle Chihuahua.  I had never heard of such a thing!  The merle refers to Domino’s coat.  He has black and white spots all over (including the inside of his mouth!), but his front legs have two patches of gray fur.  And his eyes are as blue as the sky.  One thing I knew for certain, I had to have this dog!

 

I immediately put in an application.  I received a call about wanting to set up a home visit.  Uh-oh!  We were currently renting a duplex and were in the process of purchasing our first home.  Our land lord barely let us keep Theo and Adriel.  I knew that a third dog would put him over the top.

 

Since the group is about an hour away, it was decided that photos of the house would be sufficient.  So, I frantically got in contact with the person we were purchasing the home from to ask if we could take pictures.  Thankfully, the pictures sufficed and we were able to adopt Domino!

 

His original name was Solo and I could see why.  This dog was a loner.  He liked to be by himself and had issues with dogs getting in his face.  I won’t lie, it was a bit tense in our household until Domino began to get comfortable and adjust.  He now loves getting kisses from his sisters Adriel and Penny.  He also enjoys playing with our 21 pound mutt, Cole.

 

I chose the name Domino because, well, he looks like a domino!  We also call him:  The Mighty Merle, Merlinator, Doms, The Doms and Dominator.  Now that I think about it, he has so many names because he has so many personalities.  He really does act like a cat.  This tends to frustrate my husband because Domino comes to me every time that I call him and lets me pick him up.  Not so much with the hubby.

 

Still, every day he comes out of his Merle shell a little bit more.  It is amazing to see the transformation that has taken place just within the year that we have had him.  Dogs are fantastic creatures!

Adorable Adriel

The second fur baby to come into my life was Adriel (formerly Petra).  My husband and I were living in an apartment at the time and noticed that Theo was just laying around on the furniture.  He was not sick (he was still eating like a horse).  I soon figured out the problem.  He was lonely!

 

So, the search began to find Theo a friend to play with.  I headed back to www.petfinder.com.  I decided that I definitely wanted another Chihuahua.  That is when I found Petra.  She was so cute and tiny.  I fell in love instantly.

 

I showed the pictures of her to my husband.  He said, “She’s cute.”  I eagerly filled out the adoption application and waited nervously for the response.  To my dismay, the woman fostering Petra was concerned that we did not have a fenced in back yard.  I explained that we were living next to a huge park where Petra would be walked several times a day.

 

The e-mail came back:  I could adopt her that following Saturday!  Unfortunately, my husband had to work so, I recruited a friend to go with me.  I couldn’t believe it!  I was so excited!  I raced into the Petsmart where the St. Louis Senior Dog Project was hosting an adoption day.

 

To my dismay, there were several rescue organizations setting up.  I ran from group to group asking if they had Petra.  As I began to panic, I saw another group just walking in the door.  Sure enough, they had Petra.  It was love at first sight!  The woman placed her in my arms and I melted.

 

Then, I noticed something.  Petra’s tongue was sticking out.  I had noticed this in her pictures but just figured that the person taking the pictures always managed to capture her mid-lick.  As it turns out, her tongue is longer than her head!  It is a birth defect, but a super cute one.

 

When my husband came home he said, “THAT’S the dog you had to have?”  He was not impressed.  Even my mom thought she was…different.  But, I knew that she was a sweet pea and that they would eventually fall in love with her as I did.  Soon, my husband changed her name to Adriel.  I had wanted Angel but he claimed that was “too normal.”

 

Theo wanted nothing to do with her at first.  Gradually, he took to sniffing her.  Then he would eat beside her.  And then, it happened.  One night, he actually began chasing her around the apartment!  Success!  Since then, he had guarded her everywhere that we go.

 

And Adriel came out of her shell after much work and patience.  She is the most laid back dog that you will ever meet.  Plus, she never barks.  She can, she just chooses not to!  It is because of her laid back demeanor that my husband and I trained her to become a therapy dog.

 

She is an official Canine Good Citizen with the AKC and a Certified Therapy Dog through Therapy Dogs International.  Adriel has brought joy to hospice patients, nursing home residents and even kids clubs in our area.  Everyone just loves to see her…and the tongue!

 

Terrific Theo

Meet the first of my fur babies, Theo!  He is a long-haired Chihuahua that often gets mistaken for a Pomeranian.  I tend to think that he looks like a fox (especially when his ears are straight up).

 

Theo has perhaps the saddest story of my bunch.  He was abused by his previous owners.  When we met him, he had a large section of fur missing from under his neck (it has since grown back).  Since all Theo ever knew was violence, he became unapproachable.  He was taken to the Belleville Animal Shelter where he was scheduled to be euthanized.

 

One day, a woman in the area who specializes in rescuing pugs (she had 17!) saw Theo.  She asked the shelter workers about him and got the usually answer:  “He’s mean.”  She didn’t buy that.  The woman understood that all dogs are born loving and good.  Their behavior is shaped by the environment that they are in.  Something horrible had happened to this dog and she was going to try to show Theo how wonderful human contact could be.

 

She approached the area where he was being held.  Theo snarled and snapped.  Calmly, the woman sat outside with her hand up to the wire door for two hours.  Amazingly, Theo had stopped his snapping and even let the woman pet him!  So, Theo left with her on the very day that he was to be killed.

 

My mom found a picture of Theo on www.petfinder.com and knew that I had always wanted a Chihuahua.  She contacted the woman and pretty soon, Theo became one super-spoiled member of our family.  When I got married and moved out, Theo came with me.  He enjoyed being top dog (and still is).

 

Now, he is 10 years old and the best big dog brother any fur baby could have.  He is very protective of his siblings and always keeps an eye on the people that are petting them.  Theo still has some psychological issues:  He hates children.  My husband and I think that children may have been his main abusers.  However, thanks to the kindness and patience of one woman, I have the bestest best friend in the world!

 

Tail Time

Welcome to my new blog!

 

As the proud mother of 6 fur babies, I decided it was time that I created a blog where I could not only brag, but share some of the crazy things that my fur babies do.  I never intended to become a “crazy dog lady.”  But after adopting my first rescue dog at the age of 8, I was hooked.  His name was Spots and he was a beautiful Border Collie.  I can remember many summer nights passed by playing fetch with his favorite ball.

 

Sadly, he passed away many years ago due to cancer.  My family was devastated.  But, once you have a dog in your life, it is truly impossible (at least for me) to live without one.  So, a few months later, I told my mom that I wanted a Chihuahua.  She repeated the same stereotypically words that I still hear when out and about with the babies:  “They have buggy eyes and yap all the time.”  Oddly enough, in a few days, my mom had gone on www.petfinder.com (at the advice of her hairdresser) and discovered Theo.

 

He of course, became a staple in our family.  Honestly, I do not know which upset my parents more, me getting married or the fact that I was taking Theo with me!

 

So, if you love dogs as much as I do, please follow my blog!  I look forward to connecting with you!