Shih Tzu Day 102: Day in the Life of an Animal Rescue

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shih tzu beforeanimal rescueSheltie Shack animal rescue

I shared “before” pictures of Dottie, Candy and Flower the other day, from when Linda at the Sheltie Shack animal rescue picked them up at the Kansas puppy mill. However, since then, Linda sent me pictures of how they looked after a groomer in Kansas cleaned them up shortly after their rescue.

Linda also shared pictures of the other three shih tzus that were rescued the day Dottie, Candy and Flower were rescued, two which came from the same kennel. I don’t know what happened to Little Daisey Flower and Danielle Marie, but I hope they went to good homes. I also hope the shelties — Tiny Minnie, Sassy Lucille, Christi Rose, Jennifer Leigh and Smokey Girl —found good homes.

Linda told me that her animal rescue actually took in six shih tzus that day. The story about Wendy shows that animal rescues serve different purposes. Wendy came from another breeder. This breeder, who had less than 20 breeder dogs, socialized and made pets out of all of her dogs. When she decided she was going to board pets and not breed them anymore, Linda helped her place her last shelties, and they became friends.

The woman was also a dog trainer. Wendy came to the Sheltie Shack house trained and ready for an adoptive family. Linda recalled that Wendy’s biggest vice was that she was a very good climber.

I thought I would share this stories and the pictures to portray an accurate picture of the day my girls started their journey to a new home. Although I have already posted the before pictures of Dottie, Candy and Flower, I’m posting them again to show the difference from before they were rescued and shortly after.

 

 

 

Shelties on the way to a new home.

Shih Tzu Day 101: Nigel in the Middle

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shih tzu in the middle of a family gathering

three shih tzus in sweatersshih tzu and little girllittle girl with shih tzuWe invited the children and grandchildren over to celebrate Jurrien’s birthday, which was a coupe of weeks ago. John’s idea was to make cinnamon rolls with the grandchildren, but it didn’t work out. Leticia overslept, so her and her five children didn’t arrive until after John had already completed the preparation process.

Candace and her three children didn’t arrive early either. Oh well, at least everyone could enjoy eating the cinnamon rolls even though they didn’t get the experience of making them with Grandpa.

shih tzu and little girlI was still emotional when everyone got here, so I explained that I was teary-eyed because of the pictures of our shih tzus I just looked at. I didn’t have much time to think of those pictures after that, though. Everyone thought the sweaters I got for Candy, Flower and Dottie were adorable.

However, the center of attention was Nigel, sporting his skull sweater. Everyone knows that my girls aren’t party animals. When company comes, they go to shih tzu Central and wait it out there, hoping that no one will want to talk to them. Well, except for Dottie, who is getting better about that.

shih tzuEach shih tzu did venture out when it was time to move outside for treats, however. And they all eventually accepted treats from a variety of children.

Our social shih tzu, Nigel, however, is different. He wandered around looking for a lap to sit in, pleasing all the grandchildren and the big people.

Shih Tzu Day 101: Puppy Mill Before and After Shots

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A glimpse at puppy mill life

A shih tzu the day she was rescuedshih tzu in a green sweaterWhen I checked my email this morning, I saw one from Linda at the Sheltie Shack. She had found the pictures I asked for of Dottie, Flower and Candy from the day she had rescued them from the puppy mill. I didn’t  know what to expect.

The first attachment I opened was Dottie. She was sitting in hay in some type of enclosure. She looked forlorn and disheveled. The next attachment was a picture of Candy. Another sad looking shih tzu, with long, dirty hair hanging over her face, covering one eye.

Those pictures made me very sad. I knew the last picture would have to be Flower, but when I opened the attachment, it was hard to recognize her. She looked more like an unkempt sheep than a dog. I couldn’t see her eyes at all.

A shih tzu the day she was rescuedshih tzu in pink sweaterMy heart broke for my little girls and the time they spent at a puppy mill. It also broke for all the other dogs forced to live in those conditions, for the sake of giving other people fluffy little puppies as pets.

As I looked at the pictures, I looked at Dottie, Flower and Candy in their safe zone in our living room. They were wearing sweaters I got them to celebrate their first fall with us. My guess was that no one at the puppy mill where they came from ever saw a need to groom these little puppy producers. I seriously doubt that anyone came by and held them, hugged them, kissed them and told them that they were loved.

a shih tzu the day of her rescueThose pictures were a symbol to me. Yes, where they came from might have been legally classified as a “commercial kennel,” but that kennel was a puppy mill all right. No dogs should have to experience what they experienced. I have no idea what that full experience was, but I know they weren’t the pampered little princesses that many shih tzus and other dogs are to their humans. I am so grateful that they can experience life from the other side now.

shih tzu in red sweaterIt’s true that they might never act like other shih tzus who never lived in those conditions. They might never crawl into my lap, but they might. They might always show signs of fear in some way or another. But at least I know that John and I are doing our best to give them a great life from this point forward. And I am thankful that other puppy mill moms, many who have had far worse lives, find loving, forever homes each day as well. I am very grateful for organizations like the Sheltie Shack and BFF Rescue that make it a point to help these dogs find good homes.

Shih Tzu Day 100: One Hundred Days at Our Forever Home!

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three shih tzus

Our forever home and looking back

The girls are celebrating their one-hundredth day at their forever home with us! I think we’ve come a long way. If I look back to the beginning and how they responded to me, after spending their life in a puppy mill, there has been vast improvement. They are also getting more used to John, especially Candy. The grooming has gotten easier. Potty training is going okay, but the lease walking still needs a lot of work. I can’t wait to see what the evaluation is after the shih tzus have been at their forever home for a year.

We left the dogs alone with various things to chew on for most of the morning, because John and I had errands to do. When I settled down to work this afternoon, Dottie came to the couch and waited until I picked her up, then sat beside me all afternoon, as usual. Nigel sat with us too.

Possible Play Date

two shih tzusLater, Nigel stayed outside with Candy for awhile. I was a little worried, since he is kind of rough and tumble, so I went to check on them. They were running around the yard together at a good speed. It looked like Candy might actually be having fun. I’m a little overprotective of her, but she wasn’t squeaking, yipping or yapping, so I went back inside.

Nigel continues to think that anything that the girls have belongs to him. When they aren’t at Shih Tzu Central, he goes and rounds up anything he can chew on that is lying around and takes it to his dog bed, or carries it to the door and if it is opens, runs outside and hides whatever he smuggled out. I haven’t yet come up with a way to prevent that from happening. I wish he’d start taking them things instead. Maybe then they would like him more.

Shih Tzu Day 99: Shih Tzu Togetherness

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Oh shih tzu! The Treat Man is home

three shih tzustwo shih tzusJohn is off today and tomorrow, so the girl shih tzus have to get used to having him home all day. Of course, Nigel is happy about it. He spent quite a bit of the morning chewing on a bone contentedly in his dog bed, with the toys he confiscated from the girls around him. He also spent some time with John outside.

Flower, Candy and Nigel spent some time chasing each other after breakfast. Actually, Nigel chased them and they ran. If he learns how to play right they might enjoy a little male shih tzu companionship. Dottie was in the middle of one of the rough play sessions earlier and later she was squinting one eye. My guess is that it might have gotten scratched. I have been cleaning it and it seems to be better.

shih tzu togetherness on the couch

<u srcset=shih tzu running” width=”300″ height=”225″ />Flower has been very friendly today. She jumped up on the couch a few times. She even got comfortable enough to lay down, instead of just sitting there while I pet her and then jumping down as soon as I was done. She was a little confused this afternoon because the Man has a slight headache and is lying down on her couch. That’s probably one reason she keeps visiting me.

three shih tzus on couchIt was actually pretty crowded on my couch this afternoon. At one point, Nigel came up to the couch with his bone thing in his tiny mouth and I helped him up. He lay down on the John side to chew on it. Flower and Dottie were already sitting on the other side, and he moved over later to join them. As usual, Candy was off being a loner, but I went and picked her up and sat her on the couch with us. She actually lay down with her sisters for a while before getting off.

shih tzu on lapFlower got off at one point, and when she jumped back up, she landed right on Nigel and just stayed there for a while. He didn’t seem concerned. He just started nuzzling her. I went to pet him and he started trying to bite me, which he loves to do. He can bite kind of hard and I don’t want to teach him that it’s okay to bite, so even though it’s cute, I stopped him.