Missing my special guys
 

My two special guys passed away within a year of each other. They had the same parents, though were 2 years apart in litter years. The younger one, Spock (pictured sitting on his favorite chair), developed a serious illness that caused him to lose weight and not able to hold in most food. He spent his last night/early morning with us on Sept. 26, 2004. (He was 13.). His brother, Bumpy (picture of him resting), after leading a very long life (dealing with cataracts and loss of hearing) succumbed to "old age" (almost 16), and unable to eat, drink, walk, so we assisted his leaving on August 19, 2005. Strange that it should have happened within a year.

At first I thought that I might not get another dog. I said the same thing after my first Yorkie, Choo Choo, passed away about a year before Bumpy came into my life. For most of my life, a dog has lived in my home.

My husband suggested that we might want to occasionally "foster" a dog that needs a temporary home. That would be too difficult for me, getting attached and then having to say "good-bye" after a short time.

So...what to do? I've begun the process of looking at listings on websites, talking more and more about missing them, and knowing that I need to find another (or maybe two) special Yorkie to live in my home with my husband and me. I'm not rushing into this, thinking that I should wait until the winter weather ends so I can better work on housebreaking/adjusting to living in a new place.

One question I have concerns the Yorkie rescues. I've never brought an adult dog into my home, having always had puppies. (I have a hard time understanding how a sweet Yorkie could end up in need of a rescue.) Does anyone have experience with the rescue programs? I've looked at some sites and not found any nearby (I'm in NY state, in the Hudson Valley area).

Anyway, thanks for reading all this. I've needed to "voice" some of these feelings.

I understand what you are going through . I also miss very much my 14 years old little Zsa Zsa . Even if I have rescued Yorkies . It is always as if she were in the house . Loosing her was really a traumatic experience .

Thank you for the quick reply. What was your experience with yorkie rescues?

They were beautiful babies. I know you will find the perfect baby to love and care for. I worry about that myself. I have six right now but are all under three. I am only 46 and already worry about 15 years from now.

I know how you feel. I lost my Yorkie Toto a year ago this month. He was 10. He went into the yard to go and another big dog came in my yard and grab him and broke his back. They tried to fix him and I diapered and cared for him for another 6 months. We then had to put him to sleep. I think of him alot and will always miss him. He was my first Yorkie baby.

I dread the though tof any of my babies dying but i too have been a dog lover all of my life and have dealt with my share of pets dying. Your babies lived very loved lives and they were blessed to have you and you them. I guess death is just a part of life we all have to accept. Thanks for telling your story.

So sorry to hear the story about your Toto. You did so much to make his time with you so special. Do you have another Yorkie with you now?

Wow! SIX special Yorkies. I'm not sure how I would manage with so many. Two was a good number for me and especially for each other.

Sorry to hear of your passing of your two babies. I have been very involved with Yorkie rescue and maybe I can help answer some of your questions. I have also attached some of the Yorkie Rescue websites that also might help. Please feel free to ask your questions and I will try to answer them as best as I can. Please understand that each rescue has their own rules and requirements so my answers will only pertain to how we handled things. I think it is a wonderful thing that you would even consider a rescue but they are not for everyone and it certainly is not a way to get a cheaper dog. Unfortunately there are usually over 300 Yorkie Rescue's available everyday but rarely are there puppies. So please fire away with your questions :)

http://www.unitedyorkierescue.org

http://www.yorkierescue.com/

http://www.petfinder.org

http://www.yorkshireterrierrescue.net/

http://www.barkbytes.com/rescue/yorkie.htm

Thank you for the links. I wasn't thinking about the cost nor the age of the dog, simply a way to give a home to a Yorkie who needed one. As I read some of the descriptions, tears came to my eyes, feeling so sad for many of these special dogs. I commend the caregivers for all they are doing.

Forgot to ask...

How can someone adopt a "rescue dog" from another state?

It is sad when you read some of the horror stories on these little ones and you can understand some of my passion "anger" in trying to protect these little ones. In all cases someone once loved or had to have the latest trends but didn't have a clue how much work these little ones are. Many of these little ones are so special and sometimes I think they know when they have gone to a better home and are more loving. If you think rescue is the way you would like to go just have patience as there are new ones added everyday. Some are young and some are old. Some are sick some are not. Some came from very loving homes and their owners died. Each one comes with a little more baggage than a newborn puppy but each can be loving in their own way. One of the beauties of a Yorkie Rescue group is that the dogs have been in homes that are very familiary with Yorkie's and the foster mom will have a very good idea of the personality of the dog and what their faults/high points are.

Many rescue groups will not adopt to another state because they want to do home visits to make sure everything is true that was on the application. Most Yorkie rescue's first think of the dog and the people second and they try their hardess to make a perfect match. It is to cruel to the dog to keep placing them in different homes. These little ones have already been dealt a cruel blow from their 1st home.

Having said this you will need to work with each individual group if there is a dog that you are interested in. There are always exceptions to the rules and that will be up to the rescue group to determine.

In our rescue we would never adopt out of state because we always had a return policy. If it didn't work out we would take the dog back. We have invested to much love and money to have the little ones passed on to another home that might not be good for the dog. We also wanted to do home visits to make sure the people were on the up and up.

Thank you for the extra info on rescue adoptions. I'm not sure exactly when I will add a new special friend (or maybe 2) to my home. That will happen when the time is right for both of us.

BTW, interesting that your birthday and mine are only one day (same year) different.

You are right and you will know in your heart when that time should be :love:

I will think of you on my birthday...funny isn't it when these things happen...