Some Days are just Hard Days

I spent most of last night sitting up with my little Japanese Chin. The truth is i made an appointment with the vet for yesterday to have her put to sleep but she started pepping up yesterday morning so I gave her and me a reprieve. I should not have. Last night she was in major pain. I gave her asprin but it didnt seem to help and when she started crying last night I could only wrap her in a blanket and hold her. This comforted her and she went back to sleep until this morning. I needless to say did not get much rest and when I had to give her to the vet to have her put to sleep... well I was pretty much a total melt down. Still I see her playing with other dogs in doggy heaven and even playing with kitties which she dearly loved and it makes me smile.

Dan has talked about Dixie in this blog and even given a few pictures of her. She weighed 6 1/2 lbs and was small enough to fit in a pocket. The first time I met her she bit me.. That is when I knew I wanted her.. She had half her teeth gone, and when we got her she had one eye that was totally blinded. She loved playing with other animals and she loved dancing. When she was happy she danced circles really fast and I called her my whirling dirvish. She hated children and teens. And I DO MEAN HATED!!! She would here a child or teen and immediately go after them. She also loved to sucker people into petting her so she could bite them. She truly is the only dog I have ever had to consistently apologize for. As Dan put it she lived life on her own terms. She was never very loveable and truly most of the time she wasnt even really likable but we loved her and I think to a small degree it was reciprocated although I will never be totally sure of that:) She did dances when we came home and that was her love. She also liked sitting with Dad in his lounger. Is that love or comfort? Hard to tell with her.

Anyway, when we found her the shelter she was in had had a vet look at her and he said he thought she was only about 3 years old. When I took her into my vet he looked at her and said "Yeah Give or take ten years." He figured she was at least 13 years old and we had her an additional 6 years. She was completely blind in the last two years, and eating was problematic due to lack of teeth. still she was very happy and frequently danced. We had to keep her from doing it on our front yard because of the cliff that we feared she might end up going over but we had a big side yard without a lot of obstacles so when she danced we just changed her location to a safer area.

So now that I have explained about my dog perhaps you will understand why yesterdays post seemed so scattered and why i am just not up to my usual self. I will perk up tomorrow but for today, I am afraid it is a write off. Take care of yourselves and be sure and come back tomorrow.

Having a dog is great fun on Whidbey Island.