[londontami]

hi everyone,

just joined today. i recently brought home Romeo, a bichon-shih tzu mix and i feel like i am starting all over again... well, i guess its cause i am.

my beloved pablo (a full blooded bichon) died at the exact age of 11 - and i say 'exact' because he was born on Oct. 7, 2000 and died on Oct. 10, 2011. he was with me for every day of his life and i am very happy that during the last 4 years of his life, i was home with him every day. i loved him more than anything and miss him terribly.

i felt at first i would never want another one because the hurt was so incredible i didnt think i would ever heal, but immediately after christmas i knew i was ready.

i combed the shelters here in england (in my area) for small dogs that would tolerate cats and as soon as one would come in (which was very rare) it would be scooped up and all they had were bull terriers that could not be homed with cats - i am quite surprised at the number of bull terriers here but i think its almost safe to say that the shelters are pretty much 90% of that breed!

anyways, i couldnt wait any longer and decided to find a breeder of bichons because i know how much i love that breed but when i found a good reputable one not too far away from me, she wouldnt have a litter for at least 6 months, but did happen to have a litter of bichon/shih tzu's that would be ready the following week.

i decided to give it a go and picked Romeo - he was the smallest and the most quiet and i guess it was love at first site.

so i am back to puppy time and puppy proofing the house and all that jazz - i love the fact that i work from home now so am able to be here all the time with him!

i look forward to meeting everyone and ready posts!

thanks

tami

[CorkyMax]

Enjoyed reading your post. I too lost Corky, a cocker/golden retriever at age 11, although he would of been 12--3 days later. but I had to put him to sleep because of complications of Dilated Cardiomyopathy. This was back on June 10, 2010. It took me about 6 months before I rescued another cocker/golden mix--but this one is a female named Sami and being as she was a stray--no background but vets guessed her around 10ish. She turned out to be a very good dog! I actually believe my Corky made our meeting possible! And also like you I spent all my time at home (retired) with him the last 3 and a half years of his life. I still tear up over thinking about him. Hopefully we will see our dogs again when the time is right.

My sister has a purebred bichon that is up there in age now and has some health problems ---She adores him but I am afraid of how she is going to be when she loses him--He is her whole world.

Hope you enjoy this forum. Be sure and post about all your new adventures with Romeo!