LMC Lady: King of the Roost

In November of 2003 we decided to get a dog. It had to be dander-free since both Abby and I have allergies. That narrowed the breed possibilities down quite a bit to a Bichon Frise, Shih Tzu, Poodle, one of those hairless, rat-looking jobs and a few more. As luck would have it, Abby's flute teacher, our neighbor, was moving and she wanted a new home for her family's Shih Tzu. Well, who could say no? He was 5, already trained, had shots, necessary puppy-preventing snipping had been done, and he had this face:

He came with 2 chewed up toys and his favorite blanket. Not enough for our new baby. I immediately went out and bought a new ball, treats, squeeze toy and a comfy bed. The bed was a hit; the toys and treats were ignored. He stuck with what was familiar and has never wavered. The 45 seconds a day he spends playing is always with this green and white toy, one that came with him, or a similar multi-striped near replica.

Now let me explain this shot. He had the typical red eye going on, so I practiced editing photos and this was the result. He's not really able to rotate his eyes in 2 different directions at once like a cartoon character. He may be challenged, but not to the extent depicted here:

We've enjoyed him to no end and although he's not the brightest bulb on the tree, he has the biggest heart. He's going deaf now, and when elevated voices don't work, hand clapping does. When he's doing his business in the snow, however, no clapping is necessary to get him to come in:

Speaking of winter, bring it on:

So now he's almost 12 and has settled in. Sometimes he forgets that he doesn't have to cry at the bottom of the steps as if an invisible leash is holding him there and that he has full permission to go pretty much where he wants to go in the house, but a simple clap and gesture signaling "come on up" brings him right back to reality. After all, don't we all have memory lapses now and then? Most of my exercise these days seems to come from retracing my steps trying to remember why I wanted to go to a particular spot and what I wanted to accomplish once there. But once Kieko hits the couch, he knows his job is to steadfastly protect us from all the dangerous joggers and dog walkers that pass by our front window, all of which he can still see from his favorite post, because thank goodness, he's not going blind yet.

And after a hard day's work which included probably only 18 hours of sleep, what can be better than a little R & R?

He's aging gracefully. His groomer likes to give him a little Fu Manchu mustache when he gets trimmed, but I think it adds years so I always cut it off. Guess I forgot part of it this time: