So this picture shows what I hoped would happen when we got our second dog, but I had started to give up hope that it would ever really happen.
The story of how we got to these two dogs snuggling starts in May of 2009. That was when my kids and husband finally got me to give in and agree to get a dog. I was always the hold out. We like to travel and it isn't always possible to bring a pet with you and it can be challenging to find someone who will take in a dog for a week. It was around this time that an acquaintence of ours started a doggie daycare and boarding facility. My excuses were no longer valid. My husband, Todd, immediately began searching for a dog. We didn't know where to begin. We wanted a small dog, preferably trained already (we had no experience in this area). A search on Kijiji lead us in the direction of Tucker a shih tzu poodle cross.
When we spoke to Tucker's owner, she informed us that she had started to breed dogs, but that after having 2 litters, she no longer wanted to continue. She was getting rid of 8 month old Tucker, a litter of puppies, and the mother of both litters. We made arrangements to come to meet her and the dogs. When we arrived, we realized that she lived in tiny apartment and she didn't stop smoking the entire time that we were there. We walked in and sat down. The mother growled at us the entire time we were there. Tucker jumped up in our laps, was friendly to the kids and was downright loveable. He was covered in matted fur and was dirty. We excused ourselves for a moment, and talked briefly. Both my husband and I felt the same way. We wanted to bring Tucker home and we didn't want to wait a couple of days like we planned. We went to a pet store and bought everything that we would need and returned to pick up Tucker. We brought him home and gave him a flea bath (just in case). The next day, both my husband and I had to work, so we put him in the kitchen and put up baby gates. My mother in law, who works down the street from our house, offered to stop by and check on Tucker. When I got home, I was greeted at the door by Tucker. He had managed to jump over the gates. What I didn't know was that he had also greeted my mother in law at the door and she had put him the kitchen. Needless to say, Tucker had free reign of the house after that. He has been a great companion and we are very lucky to have found such a wonderful and well behaved dog.
This past July, I was on Facebook and noticed that my friend had posted some animals that were on Kijiji and offered free to a good home. Most are senior dogs whose owners are no longer able to care for them for whatever reason. What I didn't know was that these dogs are frequently picked up for use in experiments or are used as bait dogs in dog fighting. One of the ads that I saw caught my eye. It was for a Shih tzu named Minipoo. He was described as being only paper trained, constantly spinning in circles, not liking to be cuddled or petted. Really, in hindsight, I have no idea why I was so drawn to him. I contacted the daughter of the owner by email. I had several questions and received good answers. Nothing was sugar coated. They were very honest that Minipoo was not your average dog.
We scheduled a time to go meet Minipoo and brought Tucker with us. Minipoo's owners were originally from Taiwan and were returning there to look after an elderly family member. Apparently, the quarantine period for animals entering Taiwan is 6 months. Mini does not tolerate being crated and at the age of 10 this would be very challenging for him. We were told that more that 30 people responded to the ad and that most of them simply said that they would take him. The family seemed appreciative that we had asked so many questions and had brought our dog to meet him. I know that you by now have realized that we call the dog Mini and that I said "he". Mini may seem like a strange name for a male dog, but that was not always his name, we found out. He started as Popeye and the family eventually nicknamed him Minipoo. We shortened that to Mini. The two dogs did not interact much at this introduction. We took both dogs for a walk together and Todd and I discussed what we should do. We both agreed to give Mini a chance. He definitely did spin, he would let me carry him and would tolerate sitting on my knee. He has been more work than Tucker, but we are glad to be able to give him a good home for his retirement years! He doesn't spin as much anymore, he goes to the bathroom outside (most of the time), he loves to be near people and be petted and loves to play. When I describe Mini I like to say, "His teeth are bad, he spins when he is excited, he pees on the floor every time we leave him at home, he has warts on his back and he gets really grumpy when he's tired and will growl if you bother him, but I love him."
The dogs never bother much with each other, so seeing them sleeping together felt like a breakthrough. Unfortunately, we believe that Mini has been having a few seizures recently and will be taking a trip to the vet soon. Hopefully, it doesn't signal that his health is declining, but if it does, I know that we have given him a great home where he is surrounded by people (and dogs) that love him. Woof!
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