As told by Penny Smith Laing
The Shih Tzu dynasty started one summer. Karen called me at home from her cottage in Michigan. “Oh my gosh, I was at the mall in Michigan City with the kids, we went into a pet shop. I knew it was a mistake to go in there, but I totally fell in love with this Shih Tzu puppy” she gushed. Karen listed the virtues of the breed as she saw them; they were a great size, not too big, not too small, of sturdy build, no shedding, low on allergy potential, totally sweet nature – what more could you ask?
“Oh, Bill (her husband) would kill me; he would never allow it,” she lamented.
We went on to discuss the pro’s and con’s of approaching Bill about the potential adoption of a new ‘baby’. Fast forward about a week, I got another call from Karen in Michigan. She was heart broken. She had gone back to the pet shop to check on ‘her’ puppy and the sweet little thing had been sold to some other lucky person. She was crushed. Down -- but not out.
The next week-end my daughter and I joined Karen and her family at the cottage. We were in the habit of taking little side trips to Michigan City to go to the movies, or to have a greater choice in restaurants for dinner, or to go to the mall. Amazingly, we all found ourselves at the mall. Why not visit the mall pet shop, that’s a fun place to go! What a surprise! As luck would have it, they had another cute little Shih Tzu puppy. This little fellow was a handsome black and white fur ball, and he was even ON SALE!! Karen never bought anything that was not on sale! It was a sign from God, she was meant to have him.
But what would Bill say? Karen looked at Bill and said, “what do you think Bill, can we get him?” Silence ... you can hear a pin drop ... then Bill responds, muttering under his breath, “Do what you want.” Hmmmm, we did not hear the word ‘no’ in that sentence ... and in that moment, Leo the Shih Tzu became a Van Plew. (By the way, Bill adored him).
Leo settled into his new home, and all was well. He seemed quite taken with my little female Maltese named Honey Bunny, and chased her around and thru the house whenever they were together. Alas, men can be ‘dogs’.
Karen and I were on our bi-annual sojourn to the Chicago Gem Show. We had our fanny paks strapped on and visions of cheap jewelry dancing in our heads when we noticed that downstairs in the same building as the Gem Show was a dog show! It was time for a short detour. We made our way thru the jungle of animals, dog cages and dog owners and met a woman who was breeding Shih Tzu’s in a town not too far from where we lived. She had some female breeder dogs that she needed to ‘retire’. For some time Karen had been thinking that Leo needed a wife -- a companion. He needed to settle down and stop chasing Honey Bunny. Here was a perfect opportunity to get Leo a partner.
Road trip -- We went to the dog breeders house, with Karen’s son Jon and his friend Phil in the back seat. There, we found a nice little lady for Leo, a golden blonde named Shelley who was terrified of the car ride and threw up on the boys all the way home. Leo promptly got her pregnant.
The pregnancy progressed. Shelley’s sweet little body knew its job. Being a nurse and the mother of four children, Karen threw herself into researching all about canine pregnancies, labor and delivery. She put together a whelping box and had a plan for how to care for the puppies. Early one morning I got a frantic call from Karen’s youngest daughter Kristen - “Something is going on with Shelley; I think she is going to have her puppies! she exclaimed. “She is on my bed, panting and restless, what should I do?!” Karen was not home, she was working the night shift at the hospital. I told Kristen to put Shelley in the whelping box and that I would be there shortly. I jumped out of bed and headed over to their house.
When Karen arrived home, she put Mozart on the stereo. We held our collective breath as we watched the arrival of the first pup. Leo was stationed respectfully at the side of the whelping box to welcome the arrival of his offspring. Shelly very expertly pushed the first pup out, and then turned to break the sack and lick the tiny face and body. Soon the second pup made its appearance, but Shelley seemed to be unaware of this one. We waited tensely. She ignored it. Quickly Karen reached out, plucked open the sack and shoved the pup under Shelley’s face. Shelley seemed somewhat surprised to see it, but then dutifully licked this pup into life. One more puppy made its appearance and this one did not escape Shelley’s notice and she promptly attended to it. Three beautiful, precious puppies settled in close to their mother’s tummy for nourishment. We were ecstatic!!! And watchful!!! And gingerly celebratory!!! It was a beautiful birth! We tried to video tape the event, but the battery was dead on the camera, very big bummer!!!
Prior to the births, Karen's plan was to sell the puppies, but now that we had all witnessed the blessed event, that was out of the question! We had bonded. These puppies were a part of the family, they were ours, we loved them deeply and immediately. Karen had three daughters, so she thought perhaps one puppy could go to each daughter, as each puppy was female. Kristen was right on board with that concept and quickly claimed the first born, whom she christened ‘Daisy’. Daisy was a lovely orange golden tone that reminded Kristen of her favorite flower. Karen chose the second born puppy for her second born child Julie. Julie was a big animal lover and we knew she would be thrilled with the pup who became ‘Lucy’. That left the third puppy. However Karen’s remaining daughter, Lisa, lived in California. She really could not figure out a plan that would be workable to get the puppy to Lisa in a timely fashion, so it was back to the ‘puppy for sale’ plan. I could not stand the thought. I already had Leo’s first girlfriend, Honey Bunny, at home. But in an instant, I was the new mommy of ‘Molly’.
The precious little dogs gave all our extended families great joy for many years. Daisy got to stay home at Karen’s house with her mommy and daddy, Shelley and Leo. Lucy joined a pack of much bigger dogs at Julie’s house and held her own just fine. In fact, Lucy had a litter that produced her son Kramer, who still resides with Julie (2012). Molly came home with me. My daughter Sarah and I were thrilled with her. Molly was total sweetness, while Honey Bunny was sassy. Karen would spend idle moments on the floor with her dogs in front of the TV, brushing them, combing them, and petting them.
I had so many wonderful adventures with Karen. The dogs were one such magical journey. Karen embraced life, embraced people, embraced adventure. She enriched my life beyond measure. Thank you for loving us Karen. I will always love you.