You know the story… our two kids really wanted a dog. I wanted a small dog and one that didn’t shed. Then we found our Shih Tzu. We got Molly when she was a tiny puppy, 13 1/2 years ago. She’s aging like the rest of us. My kids were 10 and 7 at the time. So, Molly has been with us for most of their lives. She was a little black and white fluff ball. She soon became the love of all our lives. We named her Molly Mae but that quickly turned into Molly Moo for some reason.
I’m not sure if my dog is spoiled but I don’t really Mind.
I get the feeling sometimes that people think our dog is spoiled. I don’t really know if she is and I really don’t care. Sometimes, I think it’s bias from “big dog people” (BDP). When you knock on our front door, she barks. I can’t bend over and hold her collar like BDP do. That would be silly and quite awkward. So, I scoop her up and hold her. She’s little and she doesn’t shed so she can get up on the couch or any armchair she wants to. Although… now that she is getting older, she does request sometimes that we pick her up and place her on the couch.
Chicken
Her eyesight is getting a little worse and so is her hearing. She has always had a sensitive stomach and although she was on easy-to-digest food, her acid reflux got so bad I started fixing her boiled chicken with a little rice and she loves it. And no more reflux. Even though we tried to be good about her teeth care, as is the case with many small flat-faced dogs, it was kind of a lost cause. She’s had most of her teeth pulled now.
All she ever really wants (besides chicken) is to be with one of us. A nightmare for her is to be on the other side of a closed door where she can’t get to us. I don’t find that too much to ask, really. We wanted a companionable lapdog and that’s what we got. She’s always been very playful but has slowed down a bit. She’s never really cared for other dogs too much. Not aggressive, just apathetic. She just likes to be around her family.
Separation Anxiety
I am out of town this week caring for my 91 year-old mother. I have to bring Molly with me. One time I left her at home when I came here for two weeks and she basically had a nervous breakdown? My poor teenage son had to take her to the vet and they put her on some kind of doggie Xanax and it gave her such bad diarrhea it really wasn’t helpful at all.
Ever since she was house trained, she spends every night sleeping in our beds. I love it. I don’t think BDP understand that. But I don’t care. I love feeling her snuggled up against me. Every time I meet another small dog parent, we knowingly exchange stories about them with a grin on our faces. We readily admit they are probably a little spoiled. And when I ask, do they sleep with you, the answer is always, “Yes!”
Trained?
Molly’s never been particularly trainable. She doesn’t really respond to “Come”. She will “Sit” or “Paw” for a treat. Just a little too stubborn, maybe. It’s like she knows her ancestors were bred as lapdogs for Chinese emperors and anything else just seems too… pedestrian? Don’t get me wrong, she knows I’m the boss, she just doesn’t always care.
She’s not a big hiker either. One time my daughter took her on a hike and she did have to carry Molly for the last little uphill part. (I can hear the BDP laughing now).
Okay, maybe our dog is a little spoiled. But I don’t really care. Our pets aren’t with us forever. I treasure every day we have her and I plan to keep her as happy as possible. A couple of walks and a couple meals each day is all they need. But companionship is what we all want, including Molly and that has been a gift to all of us.
If you’re a small dog owner (lucky you) I hope you can relate a bit. They give us so much, we can’t help but give it all back.
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