In the early summer of 1998, two Chihuahua puppies came to our neighborhood. They were still puppies, but they had already graduated to a big, yellow dog house. Being little was an advantage to them, because they soon caught on that the fence around their dog house was an effortless breakout. And with stones around the inside of the fence, they soon became experienced escape artists.

It wasn’t new to have dogs in neighborhood, because our landlord always had dogs. However, these puppies were different. They were small, unlike all the others, and I was attracted to them. Soon my curiosity grew into a very strong desire to take them for a walk. One day I went with my Mom & asked if we could take the dogs for a walk. Our neighbor lady said that it was fine if we came over anytime to walk or play with Bo & Daisey, her two Chihuahua puppies.

I soon grew accustomed to my after-school playtime with Bo & Daisey. I would run down to my “Ladybug” house that my brother had built for me, and grab my Fisher Price shopping cart. After retrieving Bo & Daisey and taking them on a bumpy ride back to my playhouse, I dolled them up in baby & doll clothes.

My favorite outfit for Daisey was a pink sweater with a matching bonnet. Bo, on the contrary, usually wore a yellow or white tee shirt and only occasionally a bonnet. However, he looked the best in his “tuxedo”, especially when next to Daisey in her “wedding dress”. After being dressed up and having their family portraits, Bo & Daisey would take turns being fed either meat scraps or play food in the doll high chair. After their hearty meal, they were dressed into their napping clothes, and lovingly placed in their doll, rocking crib. As Bo & Daisey nodded off to sleep, my Mom & I would take turns reading them bedtime stories, often including a children’s book about dogs.

Around April 1999, the snow was starting to melt & you could tell that spring was on its way. I brought Bo & Daisey over to the trailer's deck and "fenced" them in with Joel's old bicycle plow. Next, I lugged a wooden "box" over to an area where I could take pictures of the dogs. I had just gotten them two sweaters with "no cats" sign on them at a local dollar store. After dressing them up & putting my old pairs of glasses on them, we were ready for "Picture Time"! At first Bo & Daisey didn't like wearing glasses, so I held their heads up until they got more used to them. Like Bo often did, he relieved the stress of wearing glasses by taking closing his eyes, smiling sweetly, and eventually falling asleep. By the way they looked through the glasses, they looked like "Old Granny & Gramppy" wearing bifocals!

As I grew more attached to these dogs, I learned more about them. I learned that they had come from a pet store and that the pet store had told them that "they were from two different litters and therefore not brother & sister". Then when Daisey had her first heat (at about nine months old), Bo did that natural thing that male dogs do. About nine weeks later, a litter of puppies arrived on the scene. Daisey was a good-natured mother for being so young. The puppies were given away once they were old enough to be separated from their mother. When Daisey went into heat again, she had six puppies. Because it was winter, they were kept inside our neighbor's trailer. The puppies were given away again. I didn't understand or know much of what was going on at that time, but the details were permanently engrained in my mind. I tell this story, because spaying or neutering your dog is not a thing to be overlooked or neglected. Remember, often it's the shelters that get stuck with unwanted litters. SPAY & NEUTER your dog to prevent UNWANTED litters!

That same year, Bo & Daisey joined the five other dogs, who spent their day outside and their nights on the veranda. With seven dogs and MANY cats, there was alot of care involved. So one day as we (my mother, brother, & myself) were coming come from school, we were informed that they had to either find a home for Bo & Daisey or they would take them to the pound! I was totally heart-broken. It didn't stop me for long though, because I was determined to spend as much time with these beloved little dogs. As often as I could, I would spend time with them. Then the news came that they had found a home for one of the dogs. It seemed like weeks went by and still they were still around. I was very puzzled about all.

The Surprise!

On November 5, 1999 (two days from my birthday), there was a knock on the door when we were eating our supper. In walked two of the ladies from next door with a wiggling gift-wrapped box! They set it on the floor & out popped Bo's head! I was still very puzzled. I was amazed that they would bring Bo over to wish me a Happy Birthday. I looked at Mom & Dad with a look as if to say, "What is this all about?" Mom told me that they had talked it over and had decided to give me Bo! He was now MINE! That home for one of the dogs was OURS!

He has been such a blessing and addition to our family over these four years that we have owned him! For a couple of years he slept under our table in my dad's old guinea pig cage. He loved to snuggle in our laps, lick our ears & nose, and simply have all the love and care he could ever hope for! One thing he didn't like, however, was having a bath. He would drink water , but that was the extent of his being near to water. He detested water, especially if it came in contact with his body.

In the winter time when we went cross-country skiing, Bo would ride in a backpack on my back. He loved not having to walk in the cold, wet snow, and enjoyed the view from up there, as well as, the naps he could take on the boring parts of the trail. Now, sometimes he rides in the backpack while his daughter, Boquet, trots alongside me. Othertimes, they'll both be walking behind me, but when we go down hills, they scurry to keep up. It helps to have a leash that can go around my waist, for when I ski, hike, bike ride, or walk!

Bo’s 8th Birthday-January 5th, 2006

Bo got his birthday wish. It was cold, windy, and the snow we got last night was drifting everywhere. Actually, he detests snow, because it’s cold. In the afternoon, we headed for Countryside. Bo & Boquet were dressed up in their new outfits that match Dad’s clown outfit. We went through the halls, bringing smiles to the residents’ faces. We visited Gramma and some of the other ladies in her hall. Then we went into ECU. It was so fun, because everybody loved the dogs and Korny the Clown. The next thing we did was to tour all of the halls, as we headed back home.

From May 11 to 16th, 2006, Bo slept with me in the recliner, because I was recovering from four extracted wisdom teeth. He loved it, to say the least. He also seemed to become sweeter and more affectionate. It was probably because he loved being so snuggly and having the extra attention. He slept in a small baby blanket either to the left or right of me. I sometimes fell asleep with my hand on his body. I loved feeling his warmth and breathing. However, I wouldn’t want him to sleep with me in my own bed, because of all the dog hair he’d leave behind.

The Hunting Dog

Bo may not seem like he’s a hunting dog, but he still has some instincts that tell him to go after certain animals. I noticed a new woodchuck hole under a pile of wood, so I brought Bo out to check it out. He immediately was interested and started whining to get in the hole. He sniffed all around and stuck his head inside the hole, but refused to go any further. When I encouraged him, he got more excited and even started digging! He eventually summoned up enough courage to go inside the hole under the wood pile, but I called him out, so that he wouldn’t get hurt or stuck on any thing. I think he enjoyed the excitement and trying to get at that woodchuck.

January 15, 2008 was Bo's 10th Birthday!

Wow! I can't believe that he is 10 years old already! I can still remember the day that I got him when he was just under 2 years old. In the past years, we've celebrated his birthday with tacos or some Mexican food. He usually would join us for supper in a doll highchair and wear a party hat with a Mexican bandana around his neck. This year, though, he didn't have any special food, except for three homemade dog treats. We wrapped up his gift and those three dog treats, and he actually got up enough courage to stick his nose inside the gift wrap! After several attempts, he finally pulled out a dog biscuit. Then, we tried on his new dog outfit, which Mom had just finished making the night before. He looked so cute, and the cowboy design on the one side will match his cowboy hat that we bought for him several years ago.

Bo's Teeth

In the September or October of 2008, I began to notice that Bo’s teeth were covered with lots of yellow tarter. I kept checking on them so see if they changed at all. I began to notice a fine line of white “pus-like” stuff at the base of his teeth. Also, his premolars were so covered in tarter that their tips were hardly visible. I tried a few times to brush or scratch at his teeth, but the tarter wouldn’t budge with the cheap dental tools I had. He has horrible halitosis, which I thought was a “normal” thing that dogs have. That’s why I’ve always thought it strange that Boquet didn’t have “doggie breath”. As the weeks progressed, I realized that most likely he’d have to have his teeth cleaned and some extracted.

One night, I carried Bo in my arms upstairs, where I sat down and began searching on the internet for information about Bo’s teeth. To my great surprise, it appeared to me from what I had found that Bo had stage 3 or 4 periodontal disease. He has most of the signs: pus around the tooth, persistent bad breath, gums that are inflamed or receding, loose or missing teeth, difficultly chewing or eating. Plus, most of these signs were those of the Stage 4 or Established Periodontitis. If it truly was that advanced, it was irreversible and most likely he’d have to have all or most of his teeth extracted. I wouldn’t really know until his teeth were looked at by a vet. I recalled the past (almost) year that the dogs had been eating homemade soft dog food, and how that must have contributed to Bo’s worsening teeth condition. But, how was I to know? I couldn’t change what had already happened, but I knew that I needed to take action before it got any worse. I had already waited several weeks since the dogs had started their raw meat and bone diet to see if it improved Bo’s teeth. But, he has such a build-up of tarter that all that chewing he’d been doing didn’t seemed to help at all. In fact, he seemed to have some difficulty chewing, and I wondered if those loose teeth were part of the problem. On the other hand, I also realized that if he had most or all of his teeth extracted, how was he going to chew his meat, let alone, bones. So, I looked into meat grinders, and the best one I could find was a meat grinder attachment for a Kitchen Aid mixer. But, I wasn’t going to buy anything until I found out what needed to be done with his teeth.

First things first, I had to find a vet to clean/extract his teeth. I could go with the local vet, but I knew that would be pretty expensive. Then, I remembered that back around 2001, Bo had his teeth cleaned by the local college’s vet science program. I looked into that and found out they no longer do vet services for the public. But since I work part-time at the local shelter, Bo could have his teeth done at the college, after all, as a shelter employee’s dog. The best thing was that it was free of charge, since similar procedures done at a regular vet would have cost a $100 or more, even as much as $1,000, depending on what had to be done. Not only was this an answer to prayer, but was more than I expected or even hoped. November 25th, 2008 was the big day, and it started at 8:30 am when I took Bo over to the shelter. That evening Bo came home with sweet breath, sparkling clean teeth, and lacking only five teeth. He only has one incisor left, several of his premolars were pulled, but he still has enough to get the job done. In fact, I think now that the infection and/or tarter build-up in his mouth is gone, his health overall is much better. They said he’d be drowsy and lethargic after coming home, but he was actually pretty active and happy. He was a little wobbly a few times, but it’s almost as if those teeth were really giving him a problem and once they were pulled or cleaned, he could function much better. I fed him ground turkey for a few days, but then he returned to meat and small bones that he has to chew up. It might take longer for him to eat, but he seems to be doing just fine with the eating aspect. Chicken leg bones are little too hard to chew, but he has no problem with raw meaty chicken neck bones and turkey ribs. There is a slight film of plaque on some of his teeth, but compared to before, they are in great condition.

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Last Updated: December 1, 2008

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