Goodbye Shaykees
As much as my last two weeks have been very productive and fun (for a change), it was met by a rather sad event early this week. Shaykees was adopted and taken to his new home out in the country. It was a very difficult decision and one that would probably haunt us forever, but in view of the bigger picture, it really is for the best.
For the past year since Raine was born, Shaykees no longer had the run of the house like he used to. He sort of still did for the first six months but as soon as Raine became more active and started spending more time in the living room and dining room, Shaykees spent his days in the basement, where he still had a space to roam around, don't get me wrong he hardly did much to begin with, but he almost never left the basement anymore since then.
To make it worse, he no longer commanded everyone's attention, all of a sudden he wasn't the baby of the family anymore, and being the spoiled brat that he was, we were just all afraid that he wouldnt react well to Raine. Granted we never really gave the two of them the chance to bond and get used to each other's presence, primarily out of paranoid fear. But with two babies commanding everyone's attention by next month, it was just not fair to him. He deserved a better home, and better people to take care of him for that matter.
We got a lot of responses when we started posting ads for Shaykees' adoption. It was amazing how many people were interested, but screening for the perfect candidates was the bane of Eduardo's existence for a good amount of time. First of all, Shaykees isn't exactly a warm and fuzzy dog. He's a brat. Blame the owners. He's lazy and doesn't want to be bothered most of the time. He doesn't like to walk outside, he hates the sun, he hates other dogs, and has no patience for children. He keeps to himself and likes to be left alone unless he's the one who approaches you. He's picky with his food and treats, demands fresh water all the time, and would prefer if he not share his space with anyone. So if he's on the couch, don't anybody dare sit on the couch with him. Not exactly a family dog.
In the end we chose this lady who works as a trainer for police dogs and actually trains show dogs on the side. She understands the breed and knows exactly how to deal with dogs with severe attitude problems. And no, if you're thinking of what I think you're thinking, we did not send our poor Shih Tzu to doggie boot camp. He's not going to become a little police dog chasing after little criminals, and patroling around town in a Smart car.
We will miss him terribly. As crabby as he was in general, he was very sweet to us (when he wanted to). We had him since he was a puppy. I gave him to Eduardo for his birthday the first year we started dating, so of course it hurts to have to give him up and all the fun memories we have of him. But we mustn't be selfish and keeping him just so we could feel good about ourselves is just not the way to go. We are confident that we found a good home for him and although it will take a lot of work for everyone -- the new owner, Shaykees, and us -- to get over this hurdle, in the end, it really only does show a bright future.
For the past year since Raine was born, Shaykees no longer had the run of the house like he used to. He sort of still did for the first six months but as soon as Raine became more active and started spending more time in the living room and dining room, Shaykees spent his days in the basement, where he still had a space to roam around, don't get me wrong he hardly did much to begin with, but he almost never left the basement anymore since then.
To make it worse, he no longer commanded everyone's attention, all of a sudden he wasn't the baby of the family anymore, and being the spoiled brat that he was, we were just all afraid that he wouldnt react well to Raine. Granted we never really gave the two of them the chance to bond and get used to each other's presence, primarily out of paranoid fear. But with two babies commanding everyone's attention by next month, it was just not fair to him. He deserved a better home, and better people to take care of him for that matter.
We got a lot of responses when we started posting ads for Shaykees' adoption. It was amazing how many people were interested, but screening for the perfect candidates was the bane of Eduardo's existence for a good amount of time. First of all, Shaykees isn't exactly a warm and fuzzy dog. He's a brat. Blame the owners. He's lazy and doesn't want to be bothered most of the time. He doesn't like to walk outside, he hates the sun, he hates other dogs, and has no patience for children. He keeps to himself and likes to be left alone unless he's the one who approaches you. He's picky with his food and treats, demands fresh water all the time, and would prefer if he not share his space with anyone. So if he's on the couch, don't anybody dare sit on the couch with him. Not exactly a family dog.
In the end we chose this lady who works as a trainer for police dogs and actually trains show dogs on the side. She understands the breed and knows exactly how to deal with dogs with severe attitude problems. And no, if you're thinking of what I think you're thinking, we did not send our poor Shih Tzu to doggie boot camp. He's not going to become a little police dog chasing after little criminals, and patroling around town in a Smart car.
We will miss him terribly. As crabby as he was in general, he was very sweet to us (when he wanted to). We had him since he was a puppy. I gave him to Eduardo for his birthday the first year we started dating, so of course it hurts to have to give him up and all the fun memories we have of him. But we mustn't be selfish and keeping him just so we could feel good about ourselves is just not the way to go. We are confident that we found a good home for him and although it will take a lot of work for everyone -- the new owner, Shaykees, and us -- to get over this hurdle, in the end, it really only does show a bright future.
Comments