Looking for advice on how to care for "Orphan Annie"

[TLC]

I hope that you get him - I do believe you and he may be a perfect match

I love the tag line too! (one at a time )

[yorkiesmiles]

glad you are feeling a little better. I sure thought that boy TLC referred to looks a little like Annie. I hop you soon have a new baby to love. It's wonderful to hear how tender your daughter is. I'm a single mom too, to one girl - she is everything to me - those are relationships are priceless

[saphire]

I'm pleased you're feeling a little better. I know your baby is looking down at you and would want you to be happy.
When it gets tough and you're sad, come and tell us, we'll be here for you.

Hugs,

[jamiesaari]

Something truly unbelievable has happened and I'm still feeling like I need to give my head a shake as my wishes and dreams rarely come true in such an instant for me. Maybe it's Christmas magic ...

I received an email from the operations manager of the Humane Society in Thief River Falls, Minnesota saying that she thought I would have the perfect home for a female Yorkie she had recently rescued. The four-year-old little girl was seized from a neglectful home in the area and was suffering a horrible infestation of fleas. The humane society treated her and she no longer has fleas, but has dry skin and a bit of dandruff from the aggressive treatment they needed to give her.

She is four years old, very tiny (less than 4 pounds) and looked very cute in the photograph she sent me. My daughter and I decided to take the drive (three hours there and three hours back) today and we instantly fell in love with her. She has the most beautiful little face and a cute little overbite. We have decided to name her "Tika" (as we loved the name of Omega's Yorky named "Tinka").

Tika's personality is very much like Annie , except Tika has more confidence and curiosity like a puppy. She is very afraid of new people, but warms up much quicker than Annie did. She does not like my mother's Pug, "T-Bone", but I'm sure she will warm up to him down the road.

It is the most amazing thing, but this little girl is definitely the right one for our family. She instantly took a liking to Annie's cushion bed and is laying in her bed next to me in the same way Annie did. Both she and Annie tremble when they are in new situations.

I hope this doesn't sound strange, but I believe Annie is smiling down on us. I am so thankful Annie came into my life because she awakened my love for dogs again. Rescuing a "wounded soul" is truly my calling. I'd like to devote a month or two to fully training Tika to use her "pee pad" and I may take in another one down the road.

I plan to follow the story of the 8 1/2-year-old little boy and if he is available after Tika has settled in, I may welcome him into my home as well (if his owner agrees to rehome him with me).

Here are some pictures of my new little girl. Although she looks like a puppy, she is really four years old.

[saphire]

Jamie, I am thrilled for you! For some reason, I have been so touched by your story. Many of the stories of sick and injured yorkies break my heart, but yours really upset me. I think it was because I could see the bad shape your baby was in and could hear just how much you wanted to make her better. Your love for her was truly remarkable and you did a brave thing when you put her to sleep.

I really felt your pain when you lost her, and I cried with you.
I am sure you will be a wonderful mommy to Tika. (Tika is Coffee's Mommies name )

Good wishes for a wonderful Christmas with your new girl. Hugs to you and Hannah.

Sheilagh.

[Anna Lou]

She is beautiful!

[jamiesaari]

Tika is very beautiful, but I would have loved her even if she wasn't ... LOL.

I know she's a Yorkshire Terrier mix, but am not sure what else she could be. Does anyone have any guesses based on her appearance?

She's quite blonde, so maybe a Maltese mix? My mother thinks she looks a bit like a Chihuahua.

She is a very sweet girl and sleeps near the foot end of the bed. (Not right beside my head like Annie did.) I put plastic under the sheets just in case there was an accident but she woke me up to go to the washroom twice during the night.

Tika seems confused by the pee pad, so it's going to take some work on the training. I'm going to do some research tonight on different methods to train dogs to use a pee pads.

Thanks for your well wishes as I am feeling as happy as can be to have another little angel in my life.

Warm Regards,

Jamie

[kalina82]

Jamie, this is truely a christmas miracle. I'm so happy for you and your daughter. anyone reading your story could see how much you loved annie in such a short amount of time and how much it hurt to put her to sleep. Little Tika has found a wonderful home with you guys and will be very loved. You are a wonderful person. good luck with Tika!!!

[kalina82]

Originally Posted by jamiesaari

Tika is very beautiful, but I would have loved her even if she wasn't ... LOL.

I know she's a Yorkshire Terrier mix, but am not sure what else she could be. Does anyone have any guesses based on her appearance?

She's quite blonde, so maybe a Maltese mix? My mother thinks she looks a bit like a Chihuahua.

She is a very sweet girl and sleeps near the foot end of the bed. (Not right beside my head like Annie did.) I put plastic under the sheets just in case there was an accident but she woke me up to go to the washroom twice during the night.

Tika seems confused by the pee pad, so it's going to take some work on the training. I'm going to do some research tonight on different methods to train dogs to use a pee pads.

Thanks for your well wishes as I am feeling as happy as can be to have another little angel in my life.

Warm Regards,

Jamie

I have to agree with your mother. She looks like a yorkie/chihuahua cross to me too. She's very very cute!

Maybe Tika is used to going to the bathroom outside. is this an option for you?

[jamiesaari]

The humane society told me Tika has never been house trained. The problem with having her go outside is that it is very cold right now in Winnipeg. The temperature is -20 degree celsius. Even with her sweater and booties on, she just sits there and shivers in the cold. So using the pee pad option is what we have to do until the summer.

[mypreciouspups]

Not sure how I missed this.
I just read this whole thread. Very heartwarming, and you are such a great person for what you did and tried to do for Annie, My heart was sure with you every word you wrote. I could feel your pain so deeply.
I am sorry she is gone, yet I am also so glad you were able to find a new baby to love and give a great home too.
At first it made me think of the first rescue we took in, he had been left in a small kennel cage with no room to move and it took weeks to get the urine and feces burns healed. He was our first yorkie and he brought so much love to us. Looking back he sure was a trooper.
I am sure Annie is watching over you and thanks you so much for what you did for her and gave to the
pooh's mum

[011011]

I just read the whole thread and I am crying.I am so sorry about annie .
I am proud of you for doing what was best for her.Most pet owners will put off putting their dogs down because we cannot bear to part with them.
Like I told my mom (who cannot seem to put her cat down but finally did) We have to let them go because we love them,and not keep them in the state they are in because we cannot bear to live without them.We have to love them enough to let go and do the right thing.
It just breaks my heart to see animals who have been neglected etc... I would take them all in if I could.
I do a bit of fostering and helping pets find homes and I LOVE IT. We recently had a farmer out combining and found a box in the middle of a 200 acre corn field with 2 pups in it.You could see every bone in their body it was awful.I snatched those little babes right up they were about 8 weeks.They did find wonderful homes.
Hope your new little one will continue to thrive in your care,potty training will come,I like to potty train in the winter they do their buisness fast because it is cold.
God bless you for caring enough to take them in and careng enough to do what is best for them!!

[SophieRose]

Congratulations on adopting Tika. I also felt that I was lead me to Yorkie Rescue sites. It was also my wish to honor Sophie by rescuing a senior pup. They usually come with health issues, but you already have that covered.

She is just beautiful. Warmly, Deborah

[Dan & Corinne]

Jamie, how wonderful Tika has found a loving home! I think Annie sent her to you & Hannah. She is adorable and she is going to blossom into a fully well rounded happy girl with you, Hannah and Annie's love.

This will be one Christmas you and Hannah will cherish for the rest of all your years!

Merry Christmas!

[jamiesaari]

I apologize for sounding like I'm "gushing" or "gloating" but Tika is turning out to be an amazing little girl. God, Annie and fate must have sent her our way because she is such a little doll.

Firstly, she is four-years-old and I call her my little "olympic athlete." She is the tiniest little thing and quite thin from malnutrition, which is why I was shocked when she demonstrated how athletic she really is.

I have have a three-foot-high baby fence (from when my daughter was younger) that I put up trying to keep Tika confined to the living room (until she is fully using her pee pads). If I can't watch Tika 100%, I want her in the living room where her food, toys, bed and pee pads are located.

Last night I put the baby gate up and went to go wash some dishes in the kitchen. I suddenly heard the little pitter patter of her paws coming towards me down the hallway. I checked the gate and had no idea how she got out. So I put her back in the living room only to watch her step backwards, take a running leap and hop over the gate. I could have sworn she was a little cat by the way she gracefully leaped over the gate. I couldn't believe it and I showed Hannah and my mother - who couldn't stop laughing at how funny she is. We tried a variation of different boards in addition to the baby gate, but she seems to know precisely how to push the board out of the way or squeeze through a crack to escape. So I'm going shopping today for some tall, wire fencing that I can install inside my living room doorway to keep her confined to one room.

This actually made me wonder if Tika believes she is a cat. When I picked her up with the humane society in Thief River Falls she was kept in the cat area instead of with the dogs because she is tinier than most of the cats. She loved the cats and was playing with them and licking them when I first arrived.

Today I took her to a couple different pet shelters in our city to make a Christmas donation (in Annie's memory) and try to get her adjusted to other dogs so she doesn't growl and snarl at my mother's pug, T-Bone. At every shelter, she went straight for the cats and kittens to check them out, sniff them and lick them. As for the dogs, she wanted nothing to do with them and would growl and snarl, no matter how friendly the dog was. Tika also demonstrates the same snobby attitude that cats sometimes give dogs, as if they were lowlifes they want nothing to do with. So we have a lot of work to do in this regard, that's for sure.

Tika travels really well in the car and is so fascinated with the world around her. Tonight she went pee on her pee pad for the first time, which I am thrilled about.

It's funny, but I didn't realize how sick and how much pain Annie was in until seeing the energy and stamina of Tika. I can see how much of an effort Annie made to act like a puppy around us whenever she welcomed us home. Just lifting Annie up caused her to grunt in pain. I have so much appreciation for the effort Annie made to give us back so much love and appreciation. I think Annie would have loved Tika because she is such a funny, crazy little character. Tika looks and acts like a little "cartoon character" dog. We are so blessed to have her because she brings us so much laughter after having so much pain from losing Annie.