[Amazing Yorkies]

Originally Posted by TOY

To the OP,

I think I am probably much older than many of those responding to you in this thread and may have a much different perspective for you.

We haven't had our Yorkie all that long. She's 7 months old today so we've had her 4 months. Frankly, it seems like only yesterday that we got her and yet at the same time, I can't remember what our house was like without her. She has brought laughter and joy with her very presence and has brightened our very "retired" lives with her antics.

I don't even intend to give advice about puppies since I probably don't know more than about 4 months more than you (LOL) although like you, I read lots of books and lots of posts before we brought our girl home.

What has alarmed me in the thread (in addition to the comments that border on insensitive and rude) has been the advice concerning your parents. My parents would have been opposed to my bringing an "inside" dog to their home, too. Notice the past tense.

What would I have done? I don't have to pause or think this through even though I love our puppy immensely. I would honor my parents' wishes. Even though I was reared (raised, really) in that home and it was the location of my childhood, when I left as an adult, I did not assume that I was a voting member of that household any longer.

I know that I will not be able to express this with the intensity that my heart feels, but I would give anything to have the opportunity to make arrangements for Taffy so that I could go visit my parents. They are both deceased and I still miss them with a raw grief that no puppy can entirely heal. Part of our reason for getting our Yorkie was to help heal the grief of losing my very last family member.

I know it's a moot point right now since your puppy needs shots, etc. but I would encourage you to find a kennel you like or a pet-loving friend or relative that you trust to keep your puppy if your parents do not change their outlook over time. I cannot imagine anything sadder than to think that a child's bond with a parent was damaged because of a pet regardless of how beloved that pet is.

Our parents sacrificed so much for us. I think it is such a small repayment for us to honor and respect them. In the natural scheme of things, there will come a time when we no longer have those parents' presences in our lives. The depth of that loss is great enough without regret that we lost precious time with them because we couldn't bring an animal to stay within their home.

I love our puppy so much and hope that you will find as much joy in yours as we have found in ours. I only wish I had the opportunity to demonstrate to my parents once again how very much I love them.

I would encourage you to remember that there are many people in the world (relatives included) who view our Yorkies as the animals they are. This does not make them less human or hateful people, it only makes them people with different opinions. (I don't think it takes a Yorkie owner very long to forget the basic biological fact that a Yorkie is an animal. I think you'll understand after a couple of days with yours...LOL)

My parents were both smokers yet never smoked in my home because they respected my smoke-free house. Respect is a mutual thing but I learned it from my parents. I've never believed that respect and manners were dependent upon age nor just a Southern way of life. I just hope it's a value that continues into the next generations. With all the attention given to the natural resources we leave the generations to come, I hope we don't fail to consider the human resources they also need to treasure.

I want to believe that our love for our Yorkie, Taffy, enriches and expands our lives instead of shrinking and diminishing our relationships with people. There is no way I can become a "love me, love my Yorkie" person because it would make me such a hypocrite. You see, I have dear friends with cats and were I to have to love their cats to be their friend, I would fail miserably!

What a beautiful post! I am just weeks, or maybe days from losing my Mom to Liver Cancer. You made me want to run back and visit her again for another hug, although I just got home. Taffy is a very lucky little Yorkie!