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I have always believed that affection for an animal transforms a person to care more about fellow human beings as well. It certainly happened to me.
He was a Shih Tzu, only the size of my fist when he was introduced to my household many years ago. I cannot remember the exact year but I was all of 15 or 17 years old, maybe (I am 22 now)... Such a darling and so cute that it broke my heart when I accidentally moved a door above its tiny paw and heard its painful yelp. T_T
All was forgiven soon after, and we became playful friends. We called him "Buddy". He was afraid of thunder every time it rained outside. I took him out for small walks whenever I could. I fed him supper some nights whenever he was hungry. And he grew up.
From the size of a fist to barely below half my knee's length. Still as cute as ever. I would sometimes hold his fluffy head between my gentle hands and blow into his face. He liked it but pretended not to, shaking his head out of my grasp and pawing over his eyes (that was so cute!). And then he would playfully snip back at my nose or even bite my finger (not really a bite but he knew when it was a finger or not).
He loved to be scratched on his stomach and chest. And what a manly chest that was! After bathing him, he knew to raise his front legs so that I could use the hairdryer to dry his armpits. Buddy was that smart.
The best thing about him was his eyes. Oh, those were human eyes! Looking up at me and into my soul, like he knew what I was thinking. Every night, whenever I tucked into bed, he would poke into my room and scratch the side of my bed while wagging his tail playfully. I go to carry him up but he pretends to sit back down, "telling" me to pick him up from the ground. And then he stands up and scratches again. We repeat the process until he has had his fun and I set him down on the leg end of my cosy blanket, wrapping my legs around him to cuddle him to sleep.
Those were good years. And then he had kidney failure by the time I turned 21. He must have been older than 5 years, that is for sure. He was as bubbly as ever but he did not have that lively stride in his walk. Buddy sometimes limped and had trouble controlling his urinary routine. After several visits to the vet, he had suffered a lot and I persuaded my father to put him down to save him the pain.
I ended up not going to the vet on that fateful day, leaving my brother and father to oversee the process. I just could not watch. In the end, he was gone and I miss him so bad. Here are some pictures I took of him below:
+ Show Spoiler +
I often think to myself nowadays: Buddy changed me so much as a person ever since I first met him. I made great friends and was nice to everyone I knew, and Buddy made me appreciate the simpler things of life. Sometimes, I ask, would the world have been a nicer place without all those wars, strife and racial tensions if every person had such a sweet experience with a dog or cat like me?
It certainly would have, I am sure. Not that it would be a must to own a pet to be a better person, but animals are like human beings too, especially dogs. Taking care of them is akin to taking care of another person, whether old or dying or a baby, and that would have been a positive experience regardless.
I <3 you, Buddy, and I will always remember you! =3
EDIT: Anyway, thanks for the responses. I was just describing my experience with my shih tzu but I never intended to impose on anyone... I did not mean that I wanted everyone to have a pet of their own; the world is not that idealistic but yes, everyone is not perfect. Some of the responses were quite hostile in my opinion, and it was not what I expected. Though, it's ok...
EDIT 2: I was hoping to have a discussion with other dog lovers but I guess my blog title was all wrong. If a mod is reading this, could you change the blog title to "My Shih Tzu"? Thanks.
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Best, response, ever.
But also sad 
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Giving pets to people who don't take care of them is just awful.
I rent a room from a family that mostly lives together, with the grandmother owning the house. She has about a dozen birds and 4 dogs. The 4 dogs are left outside, basically to rot, for their entire lives. One of them is kept separate from the other 3 because it causes problems when with them (God forbid). So it lives alone, by itself, in a small, closed off portion of the backyard, never gets walks, and has to withstand the blistering heat of Las Vegas summers, which can get up to 122 degrees F (50 C), and as I'm typing this, outside freezing in 29 F (-2 C). And that is its entire existence.
Sorry to rain on your parade some more, but a huge portion of the human population just doesn't give a shit about the animals they take in. Having a dog is a huge responsibility, and people just don't understand that.
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On December 01 2010 22:08 cocoa_sg wrote:
...every person had taken care of a small and cute dog/puppy or cat/kitten at one time in their lives?
Blondi (1941 — 30 April 1945) was Adolf Hitler's German Shepherd dog
Unfortunately, German shephards aren't very small :/ or cute to most people. They are not helpless like the kind OP suggests.
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awww cocoa I feel you T_T I lost my dog because my mom was pressured to give away I was bawling from the SPCA till the way home . Next time when i have my own house no dogs will be ever turn away from me T_T who cares about bitches neighbour(Sue ME damn it ) .
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On December 01 2010 23:21 Kezzer wrote:Show nested quote +On December 01 2010 22:08 cocoa_sg wrote:
...every person had taken care of a small and cute dog/puppy or cat/kitten at one time in their lives? Unfortunately, German shephards aren't very small :/ or cute to most people. They are not helpless like the kind OP suggests.
He raised her from a puppy, and puppies are definitely cute + helpless, regardless of breed. Not to mention she had puppies of her own and Hitler owned dogs before her that he raised from puppies to adults.
My point was that all the puppies in the world can't make someone a good person.
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Wow your second picture looks really similar to my Shi Tzu expect for the color and the pattern of the hair.
This is my 10th year with mah Shi Tzu, and dogs really are amazing companions. Sorry to hear that your dog had to go so early.
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Definitely agree with what has been posted already, some people really can't take care/give a shit about animals. Although for the ones who can, taking care of a pet is definitely an extremely good experience, for both parts.
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Maybe you take care of a dog because you're a nice and caring person in the first place. You're thinking of a cause -> effect relation while it's a correlational relation which you describe.
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On December 01 2010 23:31 Sawamura wrote:
awww cocoa I feel you T_T I lost my dog because my mom was pressured to give away I was bawling from the SPCA till the way home . Next time when i have my own house no dogs will be ever turn away from me T_T who cares about bitches neighbour(Sue ME damn it ) .
I think I was like 10 when I visited one of my distant cousin in Hong Kong. He literally has like 5 dogs, 2-3 cats, fishes and hamsters in his house. And most of the cats/dogs are strays too He'd literally find/run into abandoned dogs in the street and take them home because he'd feel bad for them and he'd rather save an abandoned dog rather than spend $X on some fancy new dog.from the petstore or whatever.
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i got my dog, half chihuahua and half dachshund, about a year ago. i think it has taught me to be more responsible and forgive more easily. It has chewed through my couch, ethernet cable, 2 headphones, a headset, and bedsheets. but its eyes make it seem so innocent ...
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Anyway, thanks for the responses. I was just describing my experience with my shih tzu but I never intended to impose on anyone... I did not mean that I wanted everyone to have a pet of their own; the world is not that idealistic but yes, everyone is not perfect. Some of the responses were quite hostile in my opinion, and it was not what I expected. Though, it's ok...
EDIT 2: I was hoping to have a discussion with other dog lovers but I guess my blog title was all wrong. If a mod is reading this, could you change the blog title to "My Shih Tzu"? Thanks.
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Osaka27173 Posts
Pretty obviously he was talking about his own dog, other than the one sentence intro. Don't derail a thread with a smartass comment please.
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On December 01 2010 23:55 don_kyuhote wrote:
Wow your second picture looks really similar to my Shi Tzu expect for the color and the pattern of the hair.
This is my 10th year with mah Shi Tzu, and dogs really are amazing companions. Sorry to hear that your dog had to go so early.
Thanks, it is ok! =3 Shih Tzu's are adorable, aren't they? Take care of yours well! What is the color of your dog since it is different from mine?
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EPT![[image loading]](http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/9893/0022f0.jpg)
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