I lost my mom five months ago, and dealing with that loss has been devastating. But on September 9th 2015 at approximately 5:15pm my heart was shattered into a billion pieces and I don't know if it will ever recover. My fur-son Gizmo had to be put to sleep. It was the most miserable decision I will EVER have to make. You see... I loved that dog more than I loved any human on this planet. Some people treat their fur babies as just family pets. But Gizmo was my entire world.
Gizmo's Story
He was born on August 12, 2004. His first 2 months of life he was the property of a puppy store. I didn't realize at the time that buying a dog from a pet store meant that they were what you call "Puppy Mill Puppies". Those types of dogs are prone to health and behavioral conditions from very bad breeding practices. I hadn't done the research. But I didn't care. My dog was the best dog in the world, even if he had many behavior issues, was relatively untrainable (not for a lack of trying) and had some health issues. I loved him more than anything!
On October 18th 2004 me and my fiancé walked into this store because I told him I wanted a dog. I had done my research, knew that since we lived in an apartment we wanted a small dog, and I needed one that wouldn't affect my allergies. After all the research I had done I knew the Shih Tzu was the way to go. So we walked into this store and I remember the moment I saw him. We had walked around and looked at all the puppies and then we saw him. I saw that white tuft of fur on his head and the brown and white coloring and my heart was his immediately. But there was an obstacle. He was on hold. I about died. I played with him anyway and his little legs could just not sustain the bigness of his adorable head it seemed. He was adorable. But that hold on him was unbearable. I asked the owner of the store about it and he said that he was on hold until 4pm. It was about 3 or so then. So me and my fiancé left and did some more shopping and at 3:59 we were back in that store waiting. When the clock hit 4 I got the owners attention and showed him the time. Begrudgingly he said ok. So we played with him for about a half an hour in a pen. He was so adorable trying to run being a little top heavy. Puppies are just adorable, aren't they? We got him and took him home. It was fate, or a God-send, or whatever you want to call it, but my life would never be the same.
Training was not easy. In fact, it was pretty damn hard. We tried crate-training. That did not work. He would get so angry and pee and then basically bathe in it. We tried leaving him out while we left and I remember one night after going to get some dinner we came home and I had left a CD on the floor and this little pup chewed it up and when we got home I noticed he was jerking like he was in pain. OMG! I thought I was going to die. So a late night rush to an animal hospital and a few hundred dollars later, he was fine and back home and happy as can be. So we tried crate training again. For the next several months I think I bought and returned 3 different crates and cages trying to get the right one for him. Nothing worked. I tried taking him to training classes at the local PetSmart. Ha! He learned sit. Stay was never going to work because later we would find out from the vet and some research that he had a SEVERE case of separation anxiety, which is why crate-training was just not going to happen. But he learned how to shake and give me five. I wasn't going to push anything after that. His temperament was just too strong-willed. And I'm kind of a pushover anyway. But he was also a very strong dog. I had eventually even tried one of those small metal fences thinking that maybe he just didn't like the enclosed cages. I remember coming home one time to find that he had pushed that fence all the way to the door and when I opened the door I couldn't even hardly get in. For a 10-15 pound dog, he was incredibly strong. The next time we left and came home he had somehow knocked the fence down and gotten loose in the house. He was old enough at that point that he wasn't chewing anymore, so we just decided to let him roam free in the house from that point on.
Chewing was an issue his first year. And in some instances I was bad and encouraged it, because look at how cute he was when he got my socks:
One of our favorite things to do was play with my socks. I would put them on my hand and attack him with the sock puppet lol. He would get SOOOO excited and aggravated when I wouldn't let him grab on. He'd get so frustrated he'd start growling. His growl only served to make me giggle, which made him all the more mad. It was the most adorable time. But I noticed that he never really barked. He was about 6 months before I really noticed that he just never barked. So I literally had to teach him how to bark. And for all his life the only time he would bark was when I had gotten him so frustrated with the socks or playing with him. He NEVER barked when company came around, or if he heard a noise outside. There were a few times when he started whimpering when he saw other dogs as he looked off our 2nd floor apartment's balcony. I would then encourage him to bark and he would. But he still only ever barked when I played with him. I was blessed in that way, because I'd heard Shihs could be little yappers.
Whimpering though... that was an art form to him. And I've got so many videos of him doing it because it was just the absolute most adorable sound ever. God I'm going to miss that whimper. He would do this little whimper and shake. I think I'll miss that the most.
Karate Bear was Giz's best friend and security blanket. It was his first toy and he loved it so much that when he destroyed his first one, I had to go back and buy the rest the store had because he was so distraught when I took away his toy.
He loved them more than anything! He knew them by name. Karate Bear got dubbed his name because when me and my now-ex were together and first got him it was the first toy we got him. My ex is Japanese and when he was playing with Giz he would take the bear and do karate kicks and flips and saying "Wyyyy yah!" And it was the cutest thing ever. So Karate Bear became a part of the family. The various incarnations of Karate Bear had to be sewn up MULTIPLE times by my mom. Because when we would put him away Giz would get so crazy and would look all over the house for his security blanket/bear. When he couldn't find him he was so depressed. So I had to go and buy 2 more. And each time he destroyed them I was off to my moms to get them sewn back up. I've kept the last one (the darker one which was the last one he played with and still has his scent) and will put it near my baby's urn when I get it so they will always be together. One is going in his memory box, and the other is staying with me in my bedroom. I'll never forget those memories! Even with his hips and legs as bad as they were on his final day, he still played with KB like he was a puppy.
He was always with his best friend!
I will miss you Gizmo. You were my heart, and your little soul is up with my Mom up in heaven and I can't wait to see you again! I love you my little boy! I love you so much, the puppy love of my life!
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