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Saturday, March 14, 2009

I've been Shih Apso-ed!

A few days ago, George, a young lad of about 11, who lives on my street, came up to me and informed me that Jake used to be his friends' dog. I thought nothing more of it, thinking maybe the kid had seen a similar dog somewhere. Today, a group of young boys rang my doorbell, and I initially told them to clear off, as I thought they were tommy-knocking and getting up to mischief. But one of them piped up with 'have you got a little Shih Tzu dog called Jake? I think he used to be our dog'. I quickly apologised for telling them to clear off, and as I was about to walk Jake, I took him out to meet them.

They boys were delighted to see him, and Jake was also pretty pleased to see them. He normally growls at anyone who comes into my garden, but he clearly knew the kids. A quick chat with the boys confirmed that Jake is not a Shih Tzu, as I was initially told. They were his original owners, who rehomed him with the people I got him from., and the interim owners told me he's a Shih Tzu. It turns out he's one of these new-fangled designer dog critters, a Shih Apso. He's a Shih Tzu - Lhasa Apso hybrid, which explains why he's at least 50% bigger than any Shih Tzu I've ever met. In other words, he's not a pure-breed. But do I care? Do I heck! The irony is, I've always poked fun at the owner of designer dogs such as Labradoodles, saying they're nuts to spend a small fortune on what are, essentially, mongrels. I paid nothing for Jake, but now consider him priceless!

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4 comments:

Siani said...

Tough sh*t if they did, LOL. He's legally mine now! I suspect Jake may have been surplus to requirements twice, simply because he lived with busy people who didn't have the necessary time to spend with him. His coat is very high maintenance, which I don't mind, and both sets of people he lived with have now told me they had problems with him going to the loo indoors. Apart from two minor accidents during the first couple of days he was here, he's been spotless for me. I guess I've had the time to devote to him.

Anonymous said...

How odd the previous owners live that close. I too thought they were going to complain he had been dognapped or some such. And you know more of his history - which can't be bad.

Siani said...

It's definitely nice to know his history. Next time I see the boys, I'll get them to ask their mum about his vaccination history. The original owners live in Landore, but they're friendly with a family who live on my street, and the mum had spotted me walking Jake, and recognised him. The kids were very nice, polite lads, and were happy to see that Jake is being well cared for. I now have to find out all I can about Lhasa Apsos, having already researched Shih Tzus.

Dragonstar said...

How very strange! But it's good to know about Jake's past history, and nice to find unexpectedly well-mannered boys calling on you.

 
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