Because of the emotional needs of Kara & Emma (and I've learned that I'm included in this need), Terry & I went on a hunt for a family dog. Many of you know how much of an animal fan I have always been & are more than surprised to find that we've succumbed to such a thing! I guarantee that no one is more surprised than I am. Over the last 3 months things have changed & it all came together. I found a Shih Tzu breeder in Bellingham with a couple of puppies left from the last litter. The girl was black & white and named "Tiffy" on the website. After talking with the breeder, I felt that this puppy was right for our girls. Last Wednesday, April 28th, I met the breeder in Edmonds & brought the puppy home. It was a surprise for the girls!
I had purchased the puppy necessities & placed the various items in 4 separate gift bags. I left the bags on the porch when I went to pick the girls up from school. The opened them upon their return home & were so excited! We then went into the house to meet "Ellie". Her website name didn't work for our family, so I chose Ellie & the girls were all fine with it. So Ellie it is!
Ellie is 4 and a half months old. She weighs 4 lbs. 12 oz. She's expected to be full grown at 9 months of age. She's a pure bred (papered) Shih Tzu and has a very laid back personality.
Emma & Ellie
Kara & Ellie
Livvy & Ellie
Brynn & Ellie
Ellie can be curious, as all puppies are. Don't let all that fur fool you, she can fit in tiny places! One time I couldn't find her. Then I saw her tail sticking out between the refridgerator and the counter. I leave just a wide enough space between them so that I can periodically sweep (dust) there. Ellie took care of that for me. She came out covered in all the dust!
Yesterday I took a nap in my hole on the bed. Ellie sleeps in this room, too. She usually sleeps in her crate that is kept under the sewing machine. When I woke up from my nap, I found her asleep on my folded clean shorts that were sitting on the laundry shelves. I couldn't believe she would jump up there to sleep when she has 2 beds, if you count her crate as one of them!
By the end of the night, I had all the laundry folded & put away, leaving the shelves empty. No problem, right? There's nothing to comfortably sit on the wire racks. Besides, I put her in her crate at night to sleep. However, last night she fought a good fight when I tried to put her in her crate. After 6 or 7 attempts & some painful failures, I chose to puppy proof the room & just put the gate across the door. I wasn't too worried. Nothing under the bed to chew on, quilt pulled up from off the floor, sewing drawers shoved far enough back that she couldn't reach the lamp cord or push out the drawers.......
Livvy beat me downstairs this morning by just a few seconds. She found Ellie ON TOP OF MY SEWING MACHINE!!!! All those papers were on the end of my machine. She had dumped them all over the floor! How did she get up there? She CLIMBED the laundry shelves!!!
Per Veterinarian's orders, Ellie is to be crated at all times that no one is at home and at night. She told me about some ways to help Ellie feel like the crate isn't such a bad place to sleep. Wish me luck!!!
Our family LOVES having Ellie in our home! It's been amazing to see the differences in just this week since she's come home. The twins are feeling better and coping better as well. I'm feeling quite happy about having Ellie around during the day. I'm having fun (most of the time) trying to train her. Ellie loves to be brushed & falls asleep during the grooming. She is patient with my ribbon obsession on her head:) She is better with traveling in the van inside her special bag. I'm also teaching her the "watch me" command as well as "paw". Who knows if it'll work, but I'm having a great time!
