News 2010-05-04 A reader who initially suffered heartache ends up blessed with two other yorkies... HI Mijoy I would like to say thank you for the effort you take in your website etc. I was too late to be saved by your information unfortunately, but am glad to see it is available to other future yorkie owners. A few years back I ordered two very small pups – Yorkies. I was so excited, I had just given up nursing – which I had done for many years. My children had flown the nest, it was just my husband and myself. We sold up our home and moved into a considerably smaller townhouse. Our plan to travel as much as possible to places pets were allowed, and the reason for wanting two really small dogs. They could keep each other company, My husband Ian and myself would each have our own lapdog. Life would be great. The dogs being small would not pose a problem in being carted all around. A friend of mine Rosemary had a stunning little yorkie she purchased from a breeder in Gauteng, and I approached the same breeder hoping to buy two precious babies from her. She did not have, and referred me to another breeder. We visited the other breeder and in due course purchased two small pups. The one was unbelievably small, weighing 250gms at just over 6 weeks of age. The other one was two days older, and weighed 350gms just under 7 weeks of age. We were so happy to have our two new babies. The Breeder did enlighten us to all the ins and outs of owning these very small dogs. She kept harping on and on about the really small one, and Ian commented to me, that it was reason for concern, how she went on and on about this pup. Our trusted vet was away on his annual leave and on his return we took our babies for a check up and their next injection. He listened to the tiniest one’s heart and listened again, and again, and again. As he looked at me, I just knew something was terribly wrong, the tiniest of the two had a problem heart. Well my thoughts immediately, we can handle that, with meds etc we can cope. The second baby appeared to be doing well, he gave both their injections and we went home. We were not happy as you can imagine, having heard such bad news about our baby. I was going to phone the breeder and then Ian said rather leave it. It was not her fault, this sort of thing happens. We started doing our traveling taking the utmost care with our two “children”. The baby became very quite but we treated her like gold, her sister – was far more playful and full of life. We were a complete family for a year or so, and one day, the bigger of the two collapsed on the floor. I grabbed her up, her eyes were rolling, she was in a total state of collapse. Off to the vet we went I having been a nursing sister did the CPR as best as I could on such a tiny dog. The vet took her from us, and within a minute or so, she breathed her last. Heart failure… Little sister went downhill after that, she obviously had lost her sister, this impacted on her and three weeks later she too passed on. Ian and I were devastated. Our plans shattered for an early retirement, traveling here and there with our two babies. We had planned to go away again, and felt getting away would ease the pain. We went to the coast, and we both were relaxing and Ian had a local paper he was reading. He went off to the bathroom, I could hear him on the phone. He came back and said we had to be somewhere in an hours time. I asked what he was on about – he said you will see, get ready. We went to a tea garden sat down at an outside table and ordered crumpets and tea. I kept looking at Ian asking now what? All he said was just relax. We then started discussing our youngest son, who had been made a very good job offer, and we were really involved with this discussion, when I happened to notice a lady walking in our direction with a yorkie on a lead and another in her hand. I stopped what I was saying to Ian and told him to take a look at the Yorkies…. The Lady came straight at us, I was thinking and now. “You must be Ian she said” Ian said and you must be Gillian and this is my wife. The Lady pulled up a chair, her eyes filled with tears and said and these are the two children. I did not have the faintest idea what this was all about. It turned out that this lady had put an ad in the local paper, asking for YORKIE lovers to contact her as she had to place her two Yorkies in a good home. The reason, she would explain on meeting the interested party. She looked at me, and started explaining, how she had lost her husband of thirty years in a cycling accident, he was a health fanatic, and cycled every single day so many kms. The approaching vehicle had just not seen him, and he died on the spot. This poor lady had no family in SA only a sister overseas, and that was where she was headed. It did not take us too long, to decide those were our two new babies. The lady and myself sitting side by side, the tears flooding down our cheeks. Ian not knowing what to say or do next. He took the two Yorkies and went for a walk, while us ladies discussed what needed discussing. We have never looked back, that was two years ago. We still feel the pain of the loss of our two babies, but the love and joy, and pleasure we have received from our two adopted babies, is unbelievable. We thank God that we took that holiday, that Ian picked up that paper and that we met with the Yorkies ex mother Gillilan. Needless to say these two children, visit our trusted vet for the usual jabs, and deworming. Their hearts are perfect. Yours sincerely Yorkie lover deluxe……… D.D. |