Jul 27, 2001 07:18 AM
2336 Views
I have always loved dogs. When I was living in an apartment with my husband, we were not allowed to have dogs. Shortly after we were married, we bought a two family home and went on a hunt for a dog for me.
I really wanted a maltese or a brichon frisse, but everyone that I could find, whether it be in the newspaper or online, cost at least$700. Even the yorkshire terriers were high and price. I wanted a puppy which also made the reason for the price being so high.
One day, while in the pet store, my husband and I noticed the lhasa apso. We thought what a great breed to have. He was very cute and playful. We never would buy from a pet store, however, and went in search for a lhasa apso.
While online, one day, I ran into an ad on excite's classifieds. It listed lhasa apso puppies for sale for$400. I emailed the person running the ad and they immediately responded back to me. I then called them on the telephone and my husband and I went to visit them.
When we got to the home, to our surprise, it was one of our brother-in-law's employees. What a small world! We immediately fell in love with the only female in the litter and put a deposit on her. It was too early for us to take her, she was only four weeks old, so we visited her until we were allowed to take her at eight weeks.
We picked our new puppy up at eight weeks. We decided to name her China, because lhasa apsos are from china and we thought the name was really cool.
Shortly after adopting our new puppy, I had to have a gallstone operation. When I got home, China slept close by my side and took care of me.
Some of the problems that I have had with China include her potty habits. She will go outside, but sometimes, it she goes in my laundry room. To try to prevent mess and disaster I have trained her on puppy pads. Most of the time, she goes on the puppy pad, but on occasion she will miss. I have also had to take China to the vet on numerous occasions, for different things. China has an allergy to certain dog treats which causes her to have very dried up skin. She also has certain allergies to certain shampoos, so when I bring her to the groomer, she needs to have special shampoo from the vets. China's most recent adventure to the vet, cost me$92.00. She had a hot spot, which might be created from a fall that she recently took off our bed, causing her leg to be sore, her licking it and chewing at it, or it could have been from a mosquito or bug bit. The vet gave me medicine and cream that I needed to apply on her that caused to be very mean to us because it stung her when we tried to apply it.
China is also very protective of us. If someone comes to the home that she does not know, she will sniff them out and try to intimidate them. Sometimes, she will warm up to them, but sometimes she will not. Most of the time, we feel uncomfortable when new people come to our house because we are unsure how China will react to them. Lhasa apsos are known as'little lions'.
Even with China's numerous trips to the vets for various reasons, we still love her. It doesn't matter how much she costs, she is part of our family and we love her very much.
