Shih Tzu dog, a photo by cheriejoyful on Flickr.

What Happens When Dogs Die . . .

Yesterday, one of my friends lost her dog. Her dog was very sick but was able to get to the wonderful blessing of the animals at a church in our area.

When a friend's dog dies, I often send a copy of a poem by Rudyard Kipling which in essence says that when we give our heart to a dog, it will be broken. 

There is a belief among dog lovers that our dogs go to Heaven and wait for us at The Rainbow Bridge. Then, when we arrive, they will scamper with us over to Heaven.

No matter what you think, our dogs are very very special to us. They ask very little - some food, a pat, a hug. Some of us probably indulge our dogs too much and some perhaps not enough. 

Your dog thinks you are the Best Person in the World. He/she thinks more highly of you than probably most humans. (Well, perhaps your spouse should be excluded there.) 

Your dog waits for you at the door till you come back. Give him a new toy and you would think it were diamond-studded. 

Dogs and people bond together exceptionally well. But, yes, as Kipling said, one day your heart will be broken. 

When I was active in the Purebred Dog Fancy, we had more than one dog and so the blow was a little less. 

Now, we just have one dog. And before Buddy, the Lhasa Apso, there was Harry who had survived when Sadie (both Shih Tzu) died.

When Harry died, I know I said, "That's it . . . no more dogs".

I lasted five weeks and was so very fortunate to find Buddy. Buddy was not a puppy; he was 10 months old. I think perhaps his Breeder had waited to see if he would like to show him but Buddy is a little larger than I usually like to see a Lhasa. Not a problem (as they say) because I had no intention of showing him. 

He was placed on the table for me to go over and he had a wonderful body, good spring of rib, strong legs and . . . most of all, Buddy looked up and me and said,

"Take me to your home and I will LOVE you so much! Please pick ME."

Well, that was over 8 years ago and Buddy has been a perfect fit for Hubby and me. 

Yes, I think lovingly of Red the Boxer, and Bobo the Lhasa and all the Shih Tzu . . . Fanny, Sadie and Harry who were housedogs. 

There is another dog out there for my friend. Not today. Not tomorrow, but there is a dog out there for her. And that dog will look into her eyes and say . . . 

"Take me home with you and we will take care of each other and I will love you, love you, love you!"

We Love Our Dogs . . . Too Much?

Boxer dog outdoor portrait, a photo by robertgrubba.com on Flickr.

The first dog I "owned" was a Boxer named Red. He was similar looking to this dog but his ears stood up because they had been cropped. Red went 60 - 66 lbs. and I trained him with the help of a book called Training You To Train Your Dog by Blanche Saunders. I suspect that book has been out of print for many years, but the concepts were excellent.

We lived in an apartment and once it was spring weather, we started working on his "manners".

He was a gentle dog - good with babies and children and well-behaved with company. We taught him lots of commands and he loved his life which only extended to age 6.

I remember telling a youngster of about 10 that not all dogs were as gentle as Red and one needed to assess a dog before approaching him with the back of one's hand. I guess she forgot, because one day on her way home from school, she was bitten by a German Shepherd.

When my daughter - who only lived to 6-1/2 months - would be in a baby seat in the living room, Red would stand right beside her, never licking or touching her and come for me in the kitchen if she was fussing. He was a loving dog indeed. So, he got an "A" in just about every subject they have to measure dogs.

My second marriage was to an all-breed dog show judge who assured me we would never have a Boxer because it was too big. We chose a breed for me to have as my own - Shih Tzu - but I quickly had to learn about all breeds. We would be at a dinner of Dog Show people and many of them only knew about their own breed. So, I had to know at least a little bit about all breeds just to converse!

I will generalize for you here. Some giant dogs are gentle and some tiny dogs are terrorists. I mean that! I believe the philosophy behind that may have to do with size. Some small dogs feel the need to defend themselves and some large dogs are confident within themselves. THAT IS A GENERALIZATION!

Here in Texas, many people have an "outdoor" dog or a hunting dog. I know house dogs . . . family pets.

We bring dogs into our family and especially if there are no children in the household, these pets become our children and we subliminally forget they are animals, not humans. Dogs and other animals are not motivated the same way as humans are.

Purebred dogs are divided into seven groups according to their purpose or their talent, if you will.

I recall a very fine dog judge yanking me out of the way of a Bull Terrier at a Terrier specialty. I don't think that dog intended to harm me and he was on a handler's lead. But perhaps that man had had a bad experience with Bull Terriers.

Myself, I have seen lots of problems with little dogs who have been in families where they bit some or all of the family members at some time. I think they feel insecure and this is why this happens. But I am not a dog psychiatrist.

I think we need to be cautious of all dogs. Some are guarding their own property. Therefore, if you step onto that property without the owner, you could be at risk.

When I meet a dog I do not know, I generally present the back of my hand to him for him to sniff. I speak quietly to him. If you watch any televised Dog Shows, you will see many judges doing this also, even though there is a human on the end of the dog's lead. The judge is going to touch the dog - go over him, as it were - and he wants the dog to be friendly and ready.

One of my friends had a horrible experience with her dog losing its leg which she put through the garden fence. Fortunately, she is recovering but will have to adjust to having only three legs.The dog on the other side is to blame. I am not going into details because I trust that only smart people read my blog. The owner of the other dog, a senior, is helping with the vet bill and patching the fence. I can only imagine how bad she feels.

Now, I am not talking about people who have dogs that they train to fight. Oh, no! I am telling you that each dog is an individual and if you step into his domain, well . . .

I feel so bad for what my friends have been through. Their little dog will adapt. I can see her - just from her pictures - getting better and healing every day.

And what shall I tell you about our Buddy, the Lhasa? Well, he is more spoiled than my Shih Tzu ever were! He does a few things I would rather he not do. But Buddy is 9 now and he is probably the best companion dog my Hubby or I have ever had! He is loving and wants to be with us all the time.

Has he ever bolted out the front door? Yes. Does he always come when called? No. Do we spoil him with all manner of treats and toys? You bet.

Just remember I cautioned you that not every dog is gentle and loving, no matter his size. Be careful to watch your dog - that he is carefully fenced in when outside. When you see a dog you do not know - no matter his size, please remember to be cautious and not assume he is kind until you have been formally introduced, preferably by his owner.

Life Can Change In A Heartbeat

Do read my friend, Lauren's blog about what happened to her sweet dog, Leia yesterday. Simply go to her website at:

 http://www.laurenfromtexas.com

We have been praying for Leia and her humans since we found out.

True animal lovers have stories of how their hearts were broken, but I think this is going to be a story about a young couple who have just moved to a new home with few ties who are about to grow in every way.

Lauren is the Social Media expert who wrote about Hubby & me and how we met online in a support group for widowed people 16 years ago. (That is how I became the Yonge-Street-Texan.) 

Old Dogs and Children and Watermelon Wine - Yes: Our Hearts Will Be Broken

old dogs and children and watermelon wine, a photo by monkeyc.net on Flickr.

(Song was by Tom T. Hall)

The other day, my writer friend posted on Facebook that her dog will not make it. What is there to say? Nothing.

I have written about dogs for so many years - a little over thirty years of published writing and editing and publicity and promotion - and still the toughest part about being a dog fancier is that their lives are so short.

There are two pieces of old written wisdom I often give to people. One is by Rudyard Kipling, "When You Give Your Heart To A Dog" (it will be broken) and the other is a piece about "The Rainbow Bridge" where it is believed your dog will be waiting for you when you reach Heaven.

When you read my Yonge Street Texan blog, you can see my stepson died a few weeks ago. So, Hubby and I have been dealing very much with this. We also attended a visitation and a funeral for two friends' fathers.

I think all of them had dogs waiting for them. . . . And I think they had loved ones there waiting for them. But that is another blog.

This one is about how we cope when we lose our dogs. It hurts us so very much that some thing so precious who asks nothing of us but a pat, a meal, a kind word, a toy would leave us.

I did not have a dog as a child. My first dog was a Boxer named Red who only made it to six. He was my benchmark for how obedient a dog can be. Red was a wonderful learner. He was handsome reddish brown with beautiful white markings. He was with me when I weathered the second death of a baby. Red would sit beside Carrie Jane and he knew not to lick her because her skin was so fragile. He also knew to come and get me if she was crying or he thought anything was wrong. At age six, Red was diagnosed with cancer and the vet put him down. I stayed with him though my heart was breaking. It was very peaceful - for him. Horrible, horrible cancer.

I went a long time without a dog and then married an international dog show judge. So, I pretty much had to have a dog! We wanted a "new" breed for me and we looked at Soft Coated Wheaten Terriers and Shih Tzu.

Shih Tzu it was and I acquired my first and was hoping to show him. I was so fortunate to have a wonderful person, the late Garrett Lambert, to take him under his wing and show him for me. It was not long before we realized Taury's back leg had a double-jointed hock. So, now he was a pet. Odd to tell you that Taury also died at age six. When I called him to come in with his old Lhasa pal, BoBo, I found him lifeless on the back step to the garden.

Because I had wanted to show and breed Shih Tzu, I approached Wenrick Kennels in Azilda, near Sudbury, Ontario. They leased me a wonderful girl named Miss Bobbin. Lease a dog? Yes, that seems funny to someone not actively breeding or showing purebreds, but yes, I leased Miss Bobbin - a Black and White little gal who had a lot of character and was used to having litters. She had that first litter before we got home from work and was just having the last when we walked in. You don't find many dogs like that!

Beginners Luck on that litter: 2 gold and whites and 2 black and whites! Wenrick Kennel let me lease her for a second litter. I can keep in touch with them on Facebook today . . . thanks to Mark Zuckerberg!!

Since this blog is really about dogs dying, I should tell you that my beloved Fanny (from that first litter) died under the Christmas tree before I got home from work. (She was looking at the gifts including a toy for her that made a noise even wrapped.) She was a truly wonderful companion dog and produced very nice puppies..

When I came to Texas, I brought my last two homebred Shih Tzu - Sadie and Harry. They were half brother and sister and their mother was Fanny.

Hubby let them out one morning first thing and clicked the kitchen gates when they came back in. He went back to shave and all the stuff men do first thing. When he came back, Sadie was lying on the kitchen floor, lifeless and Harry was standing right by her.

Our minister at the time, David Chancellor, came over and dug Sadie a grave at the back of our yard on a rainy and muddy morning. I always thought that was a very special thing for that man to do.

Harry - Ayr of Importance - was the last. He began to have seizures, something I had not seen in dogs before in dogs. The Vet was not sure how he would do and warned us the medicine might not help.

On a Saturday morning, Harry began seizing and he was literally rolling across the carpet. I had never seen this before. It was frightening and I could not even imagine how this beloved and very intelligent dog was feeling as this was happening.

We tightly bundled Harry in a blanket and he lay on my lap in the back seat as Hubby tried to navigate us out of our subdivision during a major garage sale morning.

So, that was it! That was the end of being hurt my these precious beings. Their lives were short (compared to a human's) and I said that was enough.

As they say on the infomercials - BUT WAIT!

Yes, after five weeks, we found a wonderful Lhasa Apso breeder in the next town and that was when Buddy entered our lives. He was 10 months old and he will be nine this month. He is a wonderful companion. I think that is why we come back for another round because dogs ask so little and give so much. Their love for us is immeasurable. . . .

I wondered if my friend could write about her Jasmine. She did. Yes, she wrote one of her best columns ever.

When you give your heart to a dog, it will be broken.

Photographing Your Dog Is Just A Part Of Enjoying Your Dog

This is Buddy, our Lhasa Apso who is almost 9 years old. Buddy is not my first Lhasa. Had two Lhasa named Garbo. They were both golden shades. Garbo I was never shown and spent her time at home before I even knew her. She was gentle and quiet. Garbo II was a real "caution" as Grandma would have said. I took her to training school at Humber College in Toronto. The day I acquired my first bifocals, she had me down on the floor several times as we navigated the highway-style orange pylons. Garbo II won "Most Improved" in that class! ("Most Improved" is of course totally relevant to how bad the dog behaved at the beginning, isn't it?) Garbo lived to eat, as did most of my Lhasa. She made excellent money for her part in a dog food commercial. When we moved to Port Hope, the man who delivered heating oil to our home was happy to take Garbo II. . The most memorable Lhasa we had in Toronto was Bobo - black with silver markings - and you have read about him before. He is the one who sent a thunderous message back down to us the night he died to let us know he had arrived at the Rainbow Bridge.

My main breed was Shih Tzu and I owned, bred and showed Shih Tzu for 25 years. I brought my last two homebred Shih Tzu, Sadie and Harry, with me to Texas.

They lived the good life here . . . no shows, just love and fun. Sadie went first (very quietly one morning) and our minister came over on a rainy day to bury her at the back of our yard. We had to rinse his loafers under the tap - it was that muddy. I have always thought that was a very nice thing for that man to do. Special.

Harry started having seizures which I had never seen in dogs before. It is a very ugly sight. Harry had been my best effort at actually showing dogs. He was smart as well as attractive. When he went to Humber College, he got it all right and the instructor wondered if he might even be just taking the instruction from her rather than waiting for mine. 

The saddest part of owning dogs (I know they own us, we do not own them) is when they die. 

There is a belief that our dogs will be waiting for us at The Rainbow Bridge and when we reach Heaven, they will scamper off with us. It is a nice thought. 

Of course, Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem about how when we give our heart to a dog, it will be broken. And it will indeed.

One Saturday morning, Harry took a massive seizure and was literally rolling across the floor. We bundled him tightly in a blanket and Hubby put him on my lap as I sat in the back seat of the car. That was the Saturday our neighborhood was having garage sales on every street at probably 40% of the houses. It was the longest drive ever, or it certainly seemed it. He had to be put down that day. 

So, it seemed like a good idea since we had also lost Hubby's two cats, that we should give up on having pets. And we did -- for five weeks. 

It was a little too quiet.

There were two ads in the paper that day, one for a Boxer and one for Lhasas. I had owned a Boxer way back and it too is a great breed. The Lhasa is smaller and I was used to what they might or might not do. So, I phoned the Lhasa ad first. Probably that the kennel was on Martha Street in the next town was the omen that sent me over there. 

He was older . . . 10 months and stood back just eyeing me. Mr. Lucas accommodated me by bringing out a table to set the dogs on. First he placed a puppy on the table and I went over it, trying to remember everything I had ever learned. I learned a long time ago that if a puppy does not catch your eye with that little something extra, that puppy is not for you. 

I asked Mr. Lucas if the older dog was available. He said yes and he was 10 months old. He placed him on the table and this dog with no name, a little outsize (Texas-size, right?) gave me a very special look. I went over him very carefully and he was very nicely put together. He might have been too large to show, but I had no intention of showing him. 

We met his mother and some of her offspring and the place was jumping like a great breeding kennel does. 

I looked through an album and saw what these folks had been doing with Lhasa. They knew Lhasa!

It took both Hubby and Mr. Lucas to get the little fellow to the crate that I had placed on the car's back seat. He was a little nervous and it was lightly raining. 

We drove back home, stopping at Wal-Mart for some toys and food and then brought him home. We also thought it would be good to give him a name and as simple as that, he became Buddy. (At that time, the Clintons had a dog named Buddy.)

It took Buddy two days and nights to settle in but he certainly did. 

Today, Buddy took that familiar ride - round the loop - to Lucky Puppy where he always loves to visit. He gets a tidy trim and a bandana and NOW he even has a ramp so Hubby doesn't have to navigate the steps. He's happy to go at 10 in the morning and happy to leave at 4 in the afternoon. Buddy loves routine. (Lucky for humans, most dogs like routine.)

So, when Buddy has been freshly groomed and is wearing that bandana - that is a great time to get the camera. Just keep snapping. As you can see, today's shots are pretty much alike because I just keep snapping and do any editing later. Hubby was holding him and he was happy when I was finished. 

I have a friend in Western Canada who is a professional dog photographer and she will read this and tell me what she thinks. Since Buddy doesn't go to shows, I don't have the privilege of people like her who can get just the right pose. I believe the secret to getting a great shot of your dog is to keep snapping. As you can see, today's shots are very similar but you can crop them and use them however you want. 

I enjoy posting photos of Buddy on Facebook and I have cropped (scrapbooked) many. Dogs are great subjects.

Enjoy your dog, love your dog and yes, photograph your dog. They are only here for a little while and they are for us to enjoy. Dogs are very easy to love because they are not judgmental and never tell you that you look fat in that outfit. And yes, Buddy plays - it is only fair to tell you that he has a toy box on wheels under the coffee table. He loves to eat ice cream and cheese sticks and yes, Buddy is spoiled. We know that! 

Time to Watch Westminster Dog Show on TV!

Westminster Dog Show, a photo by nagarik on Flickr.

Tonight (Monday), tune in USA Channel at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 7:00 p.m. Central to watch the Group Judging live from The Westminister Kennel Club Dog Show live. After one hour, you will have to switch to CNBC for the balance (two hours). Tonight, there will be Group judging of Hounds, Toys, Non-Sporting and Herding breeds.
Tomorrow, tune in to USA Network at the same time for the balance of the Groups ( Sporting, Working and Terrier) and Best In Show.