Having owned, bred and shown Shih Tzu, when I came to Texas after marrying Keith, I brought my last two Shih Tzu, Sadie and Harry. When they went to the Rainbow Bridge, I thought, like so many, that that was it: no more dogs.
Well, that lasted five weeks and I began wondering . . .and looked in the local newspaper. I did not want another Shih Tzu, mostly because I was used to my own line, my own breeding. I had had a Boxer and I had had two Lhasa Apso.
In the paper there was a Boxer, but I called the Lhasa Apso number first. A lady answered and I got directions to a street called, yes . . . Martha . . . in the next town.
It was a cloudy day and I put a crate on the back seat - you know, just in case!
As we drove over, I tried to recall everything I had ever learned about selecting a dog.
Mr. Tom Lucas greeted us and there were some puppies scampering around.
I asked Mr. Lucas if he had a table to put a dog on for me to go over. He obliged and I went over a pup who was not too interested in me. I glanced down and saw an older dog watching me very closely. I asked Mr. Lucas if he was available and how old he was.
He was 10 months old and gladly got up on the table. I tried to remember everything to go over. He had bright brown eyes that were pretty much staring me down. I went over his body which was very solid. He had nice coloring and a pretty tail. He was a little . . . let us say, Texas-sized, but I had no desire to show him.
We went into a sitting room and met his mother and saw more dogs, who had access to a doggy door. They were in and out and happy! We saw an album and clearly, Mr. & Mrs. Lucas had been showing dogs for a long time.
Long story short, Mr. Lucas helped Hubby Keith out with the fellow to the back seat where he went into the crate. On the way back, we thought we would call him "Buddy" and stopped by Wal-Mart for a few things for the "new" fellow.
At the very top of the page is a picture that our friend Nina Stambaugh took when she and her husband, Will came by to be the first people to see Buddy.
Buddy was jumping up on them and he was pretty nervous. It is a beautiful picture and portrays him as he was . . . a little afraid, a lot nervous.
After finding him a special toy - a soft purple and red stuffed teddy bear brought from Canada - and calling it Canuck, Buddy started to realize that he had a specal "friend" and maybe two human friends as well. He started to settle in and one of his favorite things was - and is - to jump up to sit with Keith and me.
Buddy is now a senior just as we are. He patrols his large yard; barks to protect us (Lhasa Apso was originally a guarding dog) and hits his Dad up for ice cream and cheese sticks whenever he can.
Buddy now has Lucky Puppy come to the house for his very own grooming session that only lasts 75 minutes.
Do we spoil this dog? You betcha! He has been great for us and we hope he stays healthy for a long time!