25.-YES
KAPOH, Jan 25, 2023
- Description:
- JOURNALING:
Yes.
My “perfect” Shih Tzu had passed away the week of Thanksgiving in 2009. I was so puppy-lonely I couldn’t wait until spring to contact the breeder and get another Shih Tzu. I couldn’t imagine my life without one. However, I also couldn’t picture my life trying to housebreak a puppy in the WINTER! But, I needed a dog in my life! And there, on the computer screen, was the cutest Yorkshire Terrier, a 3-month old rescue from an Amish puppy mill. At a sanctuary just a few miles away. And ready for a “forever” home. I asked my 94-year old mother if she wanted to drive out to see her with me. And, thank God, she said, “Yes.”
When the woman running the place put the pup in my Mom’s arms, it was all over. LOVE at first sight. I, on the other hand, was, skeptical. I’d had flat-faced, curly-tailed Shih Tzus in my life for 30 years. They were MY breed! My first reaction to seeing this half-breed terrier (she was part Chinese Crested), was, basically, SHOCK! “Her NOSE is so big,” I exclaimed. And, then I turned her around and exclaimed, “And, where’s her TAIL?!” Yorkies are supposed to have a small tail back there, just enough to pull them out of “trouble” when they “go to ground” after critters. That’s what they were bred for. This one’s tail had been docked WAY too short. There was barely enough back there to even SEE it with all the hair she would soon have. No. I don’t think this is for me. But, then I looked at my mother again.
We took “it” home.
Don’t get me wrong. I knew I’d GROW to love this - thing. And, I already LOVE my mother. I’d break her heart if we came home without - A TERRIER!?! I do love the terrier temperament, but, you have to know what you’re getting with a terrier. And, they can be a hand-full. And...OH DEAR! What have I done?
My perfect Shih Tzu had been the textbook dog on housebreaking. Wake up in the morning. Take her outside to the grassy area and tell her to “potty.” Wait a few minutes until “it” happened. Bring her back in. Feed her. Wait a bit after she ate. Take her outside again. Tell her to “potty.” Few minutes later we’d have pee AND poop. Etc. Etc. Eventually, she would use the doggie door and go out on her own. It being DECEMBER when the “mutt” (my first) came into the home, I decided to paper-train her. Wake up in the morning. Take her downstair to the “pee pad.” Put her on it and tell her to potty. And sit there and wait. And wait. Okay. Nothing. Feed her. Wait a bit and put her back on the pee pad. “Potty.” And wait. And wait. HOURS. Nothing. Give up. But, keep an eye on her. And-grab-her-quickly-when-the-first-signs-appeared-and - JUST MADE IT to the pad! Weeks of this. Is she ever going to “get it?” One day, I’m standing in the far corner of the kitchen, watching her eat her morning meal. And, for some reason, my heart just burst with love for this sweet little thing. I fell in LOVE. Those looks that my Mom always gave her were coming from me now. And, then “it” happened. A couple of days later, after she ate, she went over to the pee pad without me even saying a word to her and -- PEED! More love. And, she started going out into the garage and doing “#2!” She’d even come inside from running around in the yard, scratch on the garage door, go out, and poop! Oh, well. That works for me!
I had taken my perfect Shih Tzu to a puppy training class so she could learn the basics of good canine behavior. And she’d ACED the class. NUMBER ONE (of course.) So, I signed my sweet little baby up for a class. Remember, she had started life in one of the worst environments a pup can begin in. A puppy mill. They don’t call them “rescues” for no reason. But, I really had no idea, until - we got to the class. She was SO SCARED, she went under the chair I sat on and NEVER, during the entire 6 week class, came out. At home, we could work on the tasks and she did fine. She would “sit,” “stay,” “come,” “shake hands,” “walk on a leash”, even “roll over” and “fetch.” In class, she sat under the chair and stared out at the other dogs. In the 6th week, she finally acted like she wanted to venture out with the rest of the pups. She even came out from under the chair. But, she would still not leave my side. IT BROKE MY HEART. She just wanted to be with me. She would nap on a pillow next to my desk. She would curl up next to me on the sofa if I read the newspaper. And, she definitely did NOT sleep in a puppy crate at night. NO. Right next to me, in bed. She would run around looking for me if I had to leave the house without her and act like I’d been gone FOREVER when I’d return, even if it was just within a few minutes, showering me with puppy kisses.
She had a big fenced back yard to run around and play in, but there were the few occasions when she (somehow) accidently got out the FRONT door. The first time it happened, I was scared to death. She just took off running. But she never went very far, basically just around the FRONT yard. And I learned that, if I put the garage door up and yelled for her to “go home,” SHE WOULD! I was “home.”
Oh, and “dog treats.” There was only one kind she liked - sweet potato stix. I finally found something she would eat so I started buying them for her, of course. Then I discovered there was a problem with that type of treat. Most of them were made in China and there was a “health” problem with some of them. I’ve been making them for her myself ever since.
She may not be my “perfect” dog, but this little “rescue” is MINE. And I’m HERS. All because my mother said, YES!
CREDITS: PHOTOS: by me; KIT: "Fur Babies Puppy Dogs" by Kristin Aagard; FONT: Arial
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- Category:
- Month of Challenges 11 - Coming Home
- Uploaded By:
- KAPOH
- Date:
- Jan 25, 2023
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- 83
- Comment Count:
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