Tag Archives: Candy

Candy’s Award For Bravery

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Candy received her first “award” this week. Clear Creek Animal Hospital presented it to her for bravery during her dental procedure.

When Dr. Lindsey examed her a few weeks ago, she verified that Candy definitely needed her teeth cleaned and probably needed some extractions. Candy went in on Wednesday. I knew she’d be nervous if I put her in the car and took her right to the vet. (It didn’t go so well when I tried to take her to a groomer a while back.) Instead, I took her for her regular walk at the Nature Center, and then we went to the vet. She was calm when we got there but shaking by the time the technician took her from me.

They called me later and said that Candy needed at least eight teeth extracted. Some were mobile and one was cracked. I was surprised and asked how she would be able to eat. They told me that dogs have more than 40 teeth, so she’d be all right.

When I went to pick her up, she looked a little confused. She mainly lay in her bed the rest of the day. The next morning, I thought I probably shouldn’t take her for a walk, but when it came close to the time when we usually leave, she was looking around like she was expecting something. I decided to take her, and if she looked like the walk was a struggle, I’d end the walk.

She didn’t miss a beat. One of the things people say the most when they see Candy is that she “prances.” Someone said that yesterday morning, so the dental procedure didn’t slow her down.

I thought it would be difficult to give her the medicine she needed to take for her dental work, plus the Denamarin she is now taking, but we’ve succeeded.

She’ll be eating only soft foods for the next two weeks. After that, I’m hoping she’ll be less of a finicky eater. I know she’s always been picky about her food, but maybe some of that recently was because of her teeth issues.

Candy Stopping to Smell the Flowers

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Happened to catch Candy wandering down one of the paths in our backyard recently and thought I should probably post a picture since I haven’t done it for so long!

I guess we have adjusted slightly to having only Candy in the house, now that Flower, Dottie, and Nigel are gone.  I still dream regularly of Flower, Dottie, and Nigel. Usually, I don’t dream about all of them, but I recently dreamed that all four of them were with us in the living room, and we were on the floor playing with them. In my dreams, I always “know” that they really aren’t supposed to be there. This time, in the dream, I commented to John that they’d been there the entire afternoon. Obviously, if they had been there with us that long it had to be real and not a dream!

I miss them so much that I have thought about at least fostering another dog … or two … if not making the leap of adopting again. I regularly look at the dogs that come up on Adopt-A-Pet and Petfinder. I contacted National Mill Dog Rescue to see if they needed foster parents, but they weren’t looking for anyone in the Denver area. I filled out a long application at Evergreen Animal Protection League, because Deb at Clear Creek Animal Hospital used to work with them, but they didn’t contact me. Then, on Sunday afternoon, I saw a shih tzu named “Pete” on Adopt-A-Pet. I read that he was being cared for by Brighter Days Dog Rescue in Boulder. He was a cute grey shih tzu that someone had found wandering the streets of New Mexico. I showed John his picture and wistfully said he’d be adopted soon. John told me I could ask about him. I didn’t really know if I would although I wanted to. I waited until the next day and looked up the post about him again. The adoption fee was close to $700! I couldn’t believe it. I think we adopted Flower, Candy, and Nigel for $250 each. I will always fondly remember that Delores from BFF Rescue threw in Dottie for free because she was afraid no one would adopt her, since she was 5 years old.

How I wish Delores was still alive and still running her rescue! For now, we’ll just keep enjoying our time with the one dog we have left! And, I’ll probably try to contact Evergreen again and maybe even Brighter Days. I think Candy would like having another dog around too.

Shih Tzu Dog Fight

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Well, it’s a new year. 2017! We haven’t kept up with our blog, but we’re going to try again! This morning wasn’t a great morning for us. Candy was her typical self. She turned up her nose at her food, but Nigel and Dottie gobbled theirs down. We never know how Flower is going to react to her food, and this morning, she sat and guarded it for quite a while. I honestly don’t know what happened next. I thought Candy was still guarding her food in the dining room, but suddenly, fur was flying. The female shih tzus all seemed to be gathered around Flower’s half-eaten dog food. Candy and Dottie were clamped onto each other’s faces, and Flower barked, going back and forth between the two of them. I ran toward them, shouting to stop, but the harder I tried to pull them away from each other, the more they terrorized each other. I finally picked Candy up and dumped her a few feet away, but she was back in a flash, once again clamping her teeth on Dottie’s face, while Dottie bit back, and Flower continued her wild dance.

Candy after dog fight.

Candy after dog fight.

My biggest concern was that Dottie was just getting over an eye infection, with her final vet appointment coming up tomorrow, and that this would set her back. When I finally got Candy shut up in the bathroom, I checked Dottie’s face. I saw blood, but I couldn’t tell if it was her’s. As I dabbed around her eye, it didn’t seem like it was her blood, so I put her in a dog bed and went to get Candy. She, too, had blood on her face. A closer look revealed a not-so-pretty cut below her eye. I cleaned it with eyewash several times and blotted the blood. Then, I went to look for Flower. She didn’t seem to have been harmed. Who knows where Nigel was during the melee!

It’s hours later, and everything is calm. I still don’t know what happened. I do know that Candy seems to be a little aggressive lately, especially when she is next to me on the couch and one of the other dogs approaches. I have a few questions for anyway who has had this experience. How do you keep these dog fights from happening? Once they do, what’s the best way to separate three female shih tzus that are eating each other’s faces?

Shih Tzu Week 122: The Dog Who Says Meow

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Oct. 24 – Oct. 30

Thursday, Oct. 24

The incredible disappearing Spot Collins.

The incredible disappearing Spot Collins.

Spot Collins continues trying to get out to see the big world. This morning, when John went to go get the mail, Spot waited patiently by the door. John blocked him from going out, but then he figured out he could just push the screen door and it would open (the latch doesn’t work on it). Luckily, I saw him in stealth mode and warned John, so he quickly pulled him back and closed it. We also ended up taking the doggy door out because of Spot. Yesterday he tried to saunter out when the shih tzus went out, thinking he could blend in. My nickname for him is “the dog who says meow.”

My nickname for Panda is “Panda-monium.” That’s because he makes Flower crazy by just being here, so she likes to chase him in around and corner him.

Saturday, Oct. 26

Heather, Herman, and Jordan came over for dinner. They brought chicken for chicken and guacamole burritos. I made the guacamole. They really liked Panda and Spot Collins. Somebody got out a laser light and started shining it on things. Buddy and Spot thought that was a lot of fun. Candy warmed up to Heather and let her hold her for a while.

 Monday, Oct. 28

Mom hasn’t yet been able to get used to her new surroundings. She continues to want to go downstairs to bed. She also can’t remember if the cats are allowed to go downstairs, when that is where their litter boxes are. I hope it’s easier for her when she gets to Florida.

Tuesday, Oct. 29 

I had a basket set up in Mom’s room that I though Panda or Spot Collins might want to sleep in. However, they didn’t seem interested, so I put it up on top of a very tall desk hutch. When I went in the room this morning, Panda was sitting in the basket, with probably an inch between him and the roof.