Mans Best Friend

I admit I am a dog person. I always thought I was a 'big' dog person. Little dogs were 'lap' dogs or as my husband always said, 'football' dogs; not real dogs at all. I've had a variety of dogs in my lifetime and loved them all. But they were all on the large size, 40 lbs. or larger.

One night a little over 5 years ago, a tiny bundle of happiness came into our lives. We were not looking for another dog, as we had a St. Bernard and a mutt already. Our daughters came home from a night of shopping with a puppy! I was shocked they had bought a puppy, as our family makes it a habit to adopt rescue dogs rather than purchase from pet shops. The long and short of it was they went into a pet shop to look at the fish and a tiny critter stole their hearts.

I decided to be firm. They made this decision on their own and they would live up to the responsibilities that came with it. This was a living creature and would be treated well. I will admit the puppy was adorable and I could secretly see how they lost their senses. The first night they took the puppy into the bedroom they shared and made a tiny bed with a soft warm blanket for the pup. But the pup cried most of the night.

My haggard looking daughters got up the next morning to get ready for school. I was left with puppy-sitting duties for the day. I examined the papers supplied by the pet shop and discovered the pup was barely 5 weeks old. The pet shop sold this puppy barely weaned to my daughters for several hundred dollars without papers! According to the paperwork the papers were available for the puppy but the pet shop declined to offer them. These are just a few of the many reasons to never purchase puppies from pet shops. They charge too much, give too little and rarely care about the animals themselves. I waited to have a long discussion with the girls when they came home.

We took the tiny creature to the vet for a complete check-up. He said we got very lucky in that she was healthy and didn't appear to have any problems he usually sees from pet shop pups. He did note she was a bit young to be weaned and suggested soft foods to get her used to eating on her own. He explained that some breeders literally snatch pups from their moms to sell to the pet shops, without letting the puppies wean away from the moms. We bought soft food on the way home and got ready for night two.

The second night went much as the first, with the pup whining on and off. The girls didn't get much sleep, so I decided to take some pity and let the pup sleep in my room the next night. During the night the pup woke and started crying. I scooped her up, placed her on my pillow and there she has been ever since. My daughters were happy to get some sleep and I was happy to know the small creature felt safe and secure enough to sleep. I became her new mom. She snuggled in my hair and cuddled with my husband and me each night. Slowly she stole everyone's heart, including my husband who used to subscribe to the 'football' dog bit. She has become another child to us and sibling to the rest of the kids. She vacations with us, rides to town with us and sleeps with us. She has brought much joy and happiness into our world and we are grateful she is a part of our lives.

But be aware of the dangers of purchasing a pet shop pup. Not every breeder is a real dog lover. Most good breeders wouldn't sell to a pet shop for any amount of money. Most pet shop owners don't really care about the pups either; they're just merchandise. Most pet shop pups have defects and can be sickly, we really got lucky with this pup. You can get puppies and dogs from rescues, and they're not all just mutts. If you want a pure bred dog do a search for rescues for that breed and always check with your local animal shelter. Rescue dogs need homes and love too. At this writing we have 6 dogs, 5 are rescue dogs.

The little pup who stole our hearts is all grown up now and still has control of us. Her name is Snoo and her breed is Pekingese. She weighs about 14 lbs. or so and is spoiled rotten. I've read a good bit about her breed since we got her and most information is spot on. She is stubborn and she thinks she is a Princess.

I guess it doesn't help that we treat her like one!