 In
the summer of 1992 my husband & I had just been married a year,
we had a male shih-tzu named Rusty, 3 cats (Mr.Kitty, Kit, & Bear)
and we thought we'd like to have a companion for Rusty. We unfortunately/fortunately
went to a 'pet store'. There was this 2 1/2 month old female shih-tzu there,
she was so adorable, so tiny. They took her out of the cage and placed
her in a play area - SHE COULDN'T WALK - it was heart wrenching. When you'd
pick her up she would go stiff, no movement whatsoever.
We left the store - I cried and cried & cried.... I couldn't stop, it broke my heart to leave this little, sweet, desperately in need of love little furball. We turned around and went back for her - there was no way in the world I could have left her there. She was so tiny, about the size of your hands cupped, didn't weigh much at all. Rusty wasn't as enthused as I was, it took him a little longer to get used to her - he loves her NOW.
On July 24th, 1999 I was cleaning her ears (she sits in the bathroom sink for this) and I happened to feel the sides of her neck and there were these lumps. I assumed (never assume - it makes an ass out of u and me) it was because of her allergies, and like a human she possible had swollen glands. This was a Saturday night, by Monday (7/26/99) they seemed a bit larger so we took her to the vet on Tuesday , Wednesday they did a biopsy, Thursday we picked her up, and Saturday (7/31/99) we found out our darling precious 'babygirl' had lymphosarcoma. It was pure hell, I couldn't help but think how unfair this world & 'God' were to put us through this, and I was going to savor every moment that I had with her. We started chemo the very same day.
We have created a mini-monster, she is so spoiled and knows it, our king size bed is a dog bed that she allows us to sleep in. The money we have put out for treatments is nothing compared to the sympathy gifts she's been receiving, she must own one of every toy ever made, we have toy boxes exploding with them. Her treatments are going well, she's doing good. I'm hopeful that she will be with us for a while yet. She is loved, and if anything, she knows this and I'm glad she does. Nikki September 1999
Muffy and Rusty
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So
she's not the best bred dog (she has to be puppy mill - this particular
horrid store was known for that - not known by me though) She has inverted
tear ducts so her eyes don't tear and we have drops to help them. She has
terrible allergies - her ears are terrible. But on the whole she is one
of the sweetest most lovable mounds of fur you would ever want to meet.
