This is the first day of my blogging and I must say I do not know what I am doing :-)I guess the first thing I should do it tell you what is dear to my heart. First and far-most is my Christian faith. It has brought me through so many rough times in my life. I could never have made it without Jesus. My family is next and that includes my little shih tzu dogs. A blog of mine has to include them. I will be blogging about them from time to time and other dogs I have had in the pastas swell as other things I have learnt about dogs. I bet you already can tell I am a dog lover.... actually better said .... animal lover.The first one is Tastle. He got this name for the little upside-down tastle (tassel) that show shih tzus wear on their heads. The tastle on his head got to be to much trouble so it was cut off long ago. So Tastle is a registered service dog. I could not make it without him. He is dear to my heart. I got him as a 7 weeks old puppy and he is 7 years old now.
I have another little shih tzu name Freddy. We rescued last May from the shelter. I have had so much joy just watching him learn things he should have learnt when he was a puppy but being kept in a cage he was quite illiterate. He has copied all that Tastle does and is now well trained. I am so proud of him.
This is a little story I wrote about him that I want to share with everyone.
This is Freddy. He is a shih tzu. We adopted him from the HCHS on May 20th 2012. When we adopted him we were not given any information about him so we do not know how old he is or just what his life was before he came to us. Since that time he has told me a lot by the way he has reacted to situations.
Freddy's condition at the the time we adopted him was 'pitiful' but I was told it had been much worst before he was brought in. The vet had already neutered him, cut some badly over-grown toe nails and his hair was clipped very close because it was so matted. He has an overbite which make eating difficult. He had heart worms and a very itchy condition of the skin. He could barely walk, could not run or even climb one little 4" high step. He was under nourished. His rear legs are not normal, probably from bad breeding at a puppy mill .
He wasn't house trained and when he had an accident in the house he tried to eat it because he did not want us to find it. He lays down to eat his meals and still will not eat anything that is given him in a dish so I hand feed him. He walked around just growling but never attempted to bite or fight. He seemed to have a bad disposition. I realized right away that he was a very illiterate, unhappy little guy. It appeared that he had been kept in a cage all his life and had never learnt to do normal things. It is my guess he was used as a puppy mill breed dog and always kept in a cage or maybe a puppy they could not sell because of all his inherited faults.
I knew I would have a lot of challenges to get him where he would be a good member of our family. I rode to the challenge. ;-) My thoughts were " I did not need this dog but he needed us" and I felt it was not fair that he would have to die before he got a chance to be what he really was. Maybe I did need him because I can not begin to tell how much joy he has brought us. Just to watch him change from the dog he was to the dog he is today. It is pure joy to watch him run and play with a toy. (He didn't know what they were before) He loves the squeaky toys. He comes and tells me when he wants a potty time out, when it is doggy food time, the water bowl is empty or he wants his cookie after he eats. He loves his bath, tooth brushing and will let me do what-ever I want to him, even cut the toe nail with no complaints. He loves bedtime because he sleeps with me.
I cannot claim all the credit for Freddy. Freddy has a perfect role model. That is his new big brother. Tastle has taught him far more than I ever could have. If there has ever been a perfect dog, it is him.
Freddy could see how much we loved Tastle and he begin striving to be like Tastle and copying him in ever way. Tastle has been so very patience and kind to him. Never a fight or disagreement but I have to be very careful that there will be no jealousy.... so far....so good. I know that this is not the end of Freddy's story for there is a lot more living for him. He runs and plays now and is a joy to watch. Every day he makes me laugh a bunch of times. I pray that I will live to see the end of his life for then I will know he lived the life he so very much deserved.
