Smoke

Jan 11, 2011 All photos have been removed from this post. 

These are pictures of our second furry kid, Smoke. The one on the top left was taken almost 3 years ago on July 22, 2006, the one on the top right was taken on July 24, '06 and the one on the bottom is Smoke today. Smoke is a Yorkie too. We've had people question that but he is a Yorkie. On rare occasions we'll run into folks with Yorkies that are almost identical to Smoke. I think in the 3 years we've had him, we've seen 4 others just like him in coloring and size. And I've seen a couple of pictures on the internet of other similarly colored Yorkies.

This is Smoke's story.

In yesterday's post about how Elliott came to be "king dog" at our house I said that I hadn't wanted a dog until after I retired because it would break my heart for a furry kid to be lonely while we were at work. And that's exactly what happened.

I felt so bad that Elliott had to stay home all day by himself even though Husband would run home at lunch to check on him. At the time we lived about 10 minutes from Husband's work. I just knew Elliot was lonely during the day and I made that remark several times to Husband and Daughter. After awhile I put the idea on the table that we might THINK about a playmate for Elliott.

Side note: Husband, Son, Daughter and I are and have always been dog lovers. Son, Daughter and I all have especially soft hearts when it comes to dogs. Sad dog movies, even ones with happy endings, are almost more than we can bear to even think about watching although I did watch Marley and Me. And I did cry and blubber just like I knew I would. But watching the movie even Husband sat in his chair sniffing quite a bit but that's a story for another day.

So after I put the idea of getting a playmate for Elliott out there Daughter took the idea and ran with it.

July, 2006. Husband and I decided to take a couple of days and drive to Branson, see what was happening over there, maybe see a show and do a little shopping. At the time Daughter had one Yorkie, Earnhardt (or Little E for short - there's that NASCAR thing again). She said she would babysit Elliott and the "boys" could play and keep each other company.

On July 22, 2006 Husband and I set out for Branson leaving Elliott at Daughter's house. I almost couldn't leave him. Not that she wouldn't take very good care of Elliott and not that he wouldn't have fun with Little E - I just hated leaving him.

One of the things I love to do is scrapbook and on the way to Branson I wanted to stop at a couple of scrapbook stores in Springfield. Springfield is about 2 1/2 hours from Daughter's home. Just as we pulled into the 1st store my cell phone rang. It was Daughter.

Daughter: Mom, I found a friend for Elliott! (Wow! That was quick. We hadn't been gone that long.)

Me: Here, talk to your dad.

Knowing she wouldn't give up before we said ok I handed the phone to her dad. I figured they would go back and forth on it and I'd have plenty of time to shop without Husband getting too bored waiting for me. After awhile he came into the store with the details. Daughter found a puppy at a pet shop and "he really wants us to take him out of that cage and take him home with us. He looks SO sad! He'd be perfect for Elliott!"

Husband and I talked about it and I called her back telling her to go ahead and rescue the little guy. After all, he would be out of that cute puppy stage before too long and no one would want him. Then where would he end up? Daughter was very happy. She was also on her way home but didn't hesitate to turn right around and go back and get him.

Husband and I continued onto Branson and discussed names for our new furry kid. To keep the NASCAR name thing going we decided on Smoke (for Tony Stewart).

We had a good time in Branson and then on July 24, we returned home to our now two furry kids. Daughter hadn't really described the little guy in any detail other than how cute he was so we had no idea he was a different color than Elliott and Little E. And the name Smoke fit him perfectly. After he went to the groomer and his baby hair was cut away he was the color of smoke.

Little did we know that we had indeed rescued Smoke. When he was about 8 months old I noticed that he was walking funny. We had our vet check him out and he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia. Smoke is on medication and does well with it most of the time but when he has had a really active day or if it's rainy and/or cold we notice him limping more.

Smoke came with a one-year guarantee but who could "return" a dog who has become part of the family (and in our house that only takes about an hour or two)? If some heartless soul had bought him instead of us, then returned him, he would have probably been put down because he would no longer have been marketable. It makes me shudder and tear up to even think of such a thing happening to our sweet Smoke!

Elliott loves me, I know he does. And I love him. But Elliott ADORES Husband. I've called Husband "the Alpha Dog" for a long time because as soon as he walks in the door our furry kids all run to him, then follow him around until he finally sits down. In fact, I think going forward I'll start referring to Husband as AD, short for Alpha Dog.

But Smoke though - while Smoke does run to AD and follow him around just like Elliott, Smoke always lays by/on me, sleeps by me and is generally with me. He truly is my furry kid and I love him to death!

Elliott is the King Dog and Smoke is the Prince of our home.

Happy Birthday, America!

Today is my country's 233rd birthday. I'm very blessed to live in the USA.

I've been thinking about starting my own blog for sometime now. So today, starting this blog, is part of my July 4th celebration.