 New to all of this
Hi. I'm Mary and I'm new to all of this. A little background. I'm a single mom of 4 and I'm getting ready to retire due to very bad arthritis in my hands.
Back in 2006 my kids were bugging me for a dog and I kept saying no, because I know who always does the work ... MOM. A friend at work owned a 6-year old teacup poodle. Her daughter was going to college and she felt it wasn't fair to have the dog home alone all day. She offered me the dog with the condition that if it didn't work out, she'd take her back. I figured it was a great opportunity to get my kids to stop asking for a dog. My plan was we'd take the dog and my kids would never do what they were supposed to and I'd give Cinni back to my friend.
But I think God had a plan. My kids surprised me and did do what they were supposed to. At that time my mom, who was chronically ill, took a turn for the worse. She lasted six weeks and we were all devastated. Cinni comforted everyone in our house. She was meant to be with us.
Cinni was only 4 pounds but she was a great dog. I had never been fond of poodles, or small dogs at all for that matter. She was well-trained and everyone really loved her. She could be moody, though, and at times would snap at people but she'd never bite to really hurt.
Sadly, Cinni died suddenly last August. Looked like she had a stroke. I held her for hours as she died in my arms. I never knew how much I loved her. Everyone was heartbroken and I swore I'd never go through it again.
After a while, the kids started asking for a dog and I said no. A few weeks ago my cousin's wife had a status on Facebook saying they knew of a Yorkie puppy that was looking for a good home. I don't know why but I had a "feeling" about this puppy.
I think I had a little misinformation. Originally I was told the breeder couldn't find a home for the pup due to the economy so they were giving him away for free. (My cousins took one of the puppies from the litter. They are big animal lovers and already owned a cat and two bigger dogs.) It was arranged that my cousin would bring us the puppy.
Come to find out, the "breeder" was someone who owned a purebred Yorkie and so did their sister. They decided it would be a good way to make some money and had a litter. Then they had trouble selling the dogs.
By this point I had done a little research on Yorkies, and I was worried about what kind of dog we'd get. He hadn't had any of his shots or seen a vet. I took him to my vet and thank God he was fine. The vet thinks Charlie will grow to about 15 pounds. At 13 weeks he was 7.5 pounds. I hope he doesn't grow too heavy as it's really hard for me to lift him with my hands.
All-in-all, though, I think Charlie was really meant to be with us. He's a wonderful little puppy with a fantastic disposition. He loves to play, like all puppies, but he is also more than happy to cuddle up beside you or on your lap.
Charlie is getting loads of attention from my kids, especially Maura, my 12-year old. Charlie was sort of a present for her birthday.
He has settled in beautifully. He sleeps all night, sometimes with my oldest daughter in her bed and sometimes with Maura. If they're not home, he sleeps with me. We're having the usual issues with teething; he nips a bit, but we're working on it. Potty training is going slow, but we're hopeful he'll do great eventually.
This forum is a great resource for me as we've never had a puppy before. I'm learning so much. I want to make sure we have a dog that everyone loves. I don't want a problem dog. He is being loved to death and gets so much attention.
So, I find myself so happy and grateful to have this little guy. And I've gone from someone who really disliked small dogs to a woman who would only have small dogs. I'm thinking of adding a friend for Charlie, maybe next year. I want to make sure we give him all the attention he needs for the first year. But he does love playing with other dogs, and I think he'd really enjoy having a playmate here all the time
Mary |