Oreo

As I said earlier, I found Oreo(black and white shih tzu) at a pet store. He was up for adoption and though I was not looking for a dog, I was saddened by how he looked and the environment that he was in. He was in a cage with another dog who barked the entire time and Oreo was curled up in the corner of the cage shaking the entire time. I couldn’t resist removing him from there. I found out soon the reasons for his behavior.

He spent four years in a puppy mill with countless other dogs barking continually. He hated loud noises and would run into the bedroom if I was doing the dishes, opening a can of pop or if he heard a beeper on TV. He also had a series of medical problems such as keratitis(eye disease), collapsed trachea, seizures, deformed paw(which just made him more endearing because he had a unique walk) terrible overbite and I found out last year that he basically only had one functioning kidney. He had been used as a stud even though he had all of these problems.

He was a joy. It took him a bit to trust but once he realized that I just wanted to love him he began enjoying his time with me. I was blessed to have him for five years. He loved shaking the stuffed toys that I had, he loved chewing on a bone and when we walked he would oscillate. I think he loved the feel of grass as he lived in a cage for 4 years. He was very well known at the dog park because he was very slow and people heard his name continuously. Unfortunately this past year his kidneys began failing and then he got very ill at the same time as Trouble. They were both suffering so I thought it best to send them to their forever home together.

This has been a really rough time for me but I have decided to dedicate myself to another puppy. They would both want me to share my love with another dog.
Thank you for reading

Jeannine Mans