The Chihuahua Chronicles: Chapter Three

The
Chihuahua Chronicles
(aka "Smucker's Stories")

A Turn of Events

Occasionally things simply don't go as planned, or even like we'd wish them to. My first month as a Dourte dog was like that. For one thing, Bambi's babies had grown up! The Son -- Bill, is a United States Marine, and he is in Japan. He will love me anyway, but makes fun of my name. I'll show him. He'll see it fits me perfectly when he meets me. My girl Annie is a Senior at Ben Eielson Jr./Sr. High School. My other girl, Emily, is a Freshman there. They're extremely busy and spend a lot of time at school. I got to visit them, and the students were all so nice! NONE of them tried to grab or anything, they all looked and said "What a cute dog!" Such nice manners! I like to go there.
The Daddy -- Bill, is a teacher at the school on Eielson, so he is gone all day too. That leaves Deb to take care of me. When she has to go to work or out for errands, she puts me in my kennel-crate so I'll be safe. She doesn't like to leave me for longer than three hours, and I appreciate that very much. However, the Dourte's did have a little problem, which Joelle solved for them, with excellent results.

Before they ever even dreamed of having me in their family, the Dourte's had planned to go to Anchorage over a weekend. They didn't know if I'd be allowed in hotels, and they were concerned that I wouldn't go potty in the proper places, since I am trained to go on paper, in my pen. Even though Deb arranged to get a certificate explaining that I am a therapeutic companion for Annie, we all finally decided that it was best I went back to Joelle's for the long weekend. And it turns out that was a good thing.

Deb gave me a bath, and the next morning she noticed I was itching an awful lot. She took Ginger to the kennel she usually boards at and took me to Joelle. They discussed my itching, and Deb was worried maybe she hadn't rinsed me very well after my bath. Joelle said she'd rinse me again and keep an eye on me. Off went Deb and the family to Anchorage. I was happy to see Joelle again, but I was itching so much I couldn't turn around twice without sitting down to scratch. It was very unladylike and distressing!

The turn of events went such that it wasn't Deb's fault after all, and it wasn't Joelle's fault -- it wasn't anybody's fault, because I reacted to my food! Not only did I react to the food, but my family at Joelle's did too! We were all itching and red, and Joelle took us to the vet. The vet checked us so carefully for all the possiblities, such as mites and so forth. She gave us steriod shots, which made us have to potty a lot for two whole weeks, and sent home anti-histimines for 30 days, which made us less energetic and sparky than usual.

Deb and the family were SO sad when they got home and found out I'd been itchy. Joelle suggested she keep me a bit longer til the steroids wore off so that they wouldn't have to worry about my very frequent potty breaks. This meant time away from my Dourte Family, but I was happy to be with Joelle who I love, too.

Finally Deb and Annie came to pick me up again on December 3. I'd only had a week at their house, but I was so glad to see them again and go home at last! Joelle gave them the rest of my antihistimines, some very special non-allergenic dog food and some nutri-cal paste to give me my pills with.

So you see, it wasn't a normal adoption by any means, there were complications, which thankfully turned out not to be terribly serious. Joelle is a very responsible breeder and offered to take me back should my condition be long-term. My family, though, knows the strong bonds of love, and said they'd never adopt a human baby and give it back if it had colic or something, that I belong in their family. (wagging my tail) They're right!

For now, my daily routine requires a little extra care -- before my meals, I have to take an antihistimine, which is in pill form. Deb puts the 1/2 the pill into a bit of NutriCal paste each morning, and each evening. I lick it right off her finger without fussing about the pill in it. Once in awhile I find it and spit it out, but she makes sure I end up taking it one way or another. I'm so glad Joelle explained to her that it's a very bad idea to give a little dog such as myself a dry pill and force it down. My esophogus is very tiny, and a sticky, jaggedy edged pill would feel awful going down it. Over a period of time it could wear away the lining of my esophogus and that would be awful. I also have a narrow and delicate trachea, so if I inhaled the pill instead of swallowing it down, it would be very serious.

A turn of events is to be expected with any pet, from time to time. My first turn simply came sooner than some. When your pet adopts you, be prepared for ups and downs. Your pet will be grateful!

I also hope you'll keep in mind that these kinds of things happen with mutts as well as purebreds. It's easy to say "Oh it's because that dog is purebred and isn't strong like a mutt." Some things are breed specific, and responsible breeders work to make certain those traits are not passed along. So please, be kind, not disparaging, no matter what the "lines" of the dogs in your family may be? (woof!) Thanks!