Is It Labor Day Already??

This has been one heck of a year so far.  In late January we moved to our new forever home here in north Phoenix.  It was quite an effort having the place gutted and renovated followed by the move.  When we moved in we had one working utility sink in the dog room and the guest bath had a working shower and toilet.  No counter tops were in at all and renovations were still on going.  Paint, tile, drywall.  It all still needed work in some way shape or form.  The master suite was far from complete.  The pups and I stuffed the king size bed into a guest room and crashed there for about a month until the master bath was complete.  It was worth it.  Then the guest bath was completed.  During that time the granite in the kitchen along with the bath Corrian arrived and it started becoming a real home.

Early March brought hip replacement surgery and while the hip cooperated, my chemical make-up didn't.  My incision was not healing properly and I had a low grade infection brewing.  I've had two follow up surgeries to facilitate healing.  After five months I am finally going back to the office five days a week starting after the holiday.  I've lost a lot of strength and stamina but I am determined.  Once we are sure the infection that started is gone, we will begin with knee injections next.  I've got a great Orthopedic Surgeon and I am confident I will be back in the show ring in 2015.  While weaker than normal, I feel better than I've felt in a very long time.  Once the summer heat dissipates I will begin a walking routine to help me build up my strength again. 

I can't thank my friends that have helped me through this ordeal enough.  Even before the move, people were there helping me pack.  Then the move - I was worried I wouldn't get through it.  But I did with your help.  The renovation team was amazing and my house turned into a home before my eyes.  Then came the surgery - babysitting me, helping with the dogs, helping with the house, rides to and from the hospital - you guys know who you are.  Not to mention my surgeon.  What a gift you have and I am lucky to have found someone so talented, patient and kind to lead me through this journey.  I am BLESSED to have you ALL in my life.  I will never be able to repay each of you for the time you took to help me. I am humbled by your generosity and kindness.  Shih Tzu hugs and kisses to each and every one of you!

So now it's kind of cool being in my own place and being able to create my own style.  We are still unpacking.  A little at a time. . .  The dogs are now used to the new digs and their favorite thing is running from one end of the house to the other when I open the gates and let them have full access.  They chase each other like crazy, rounding through the kitchen and into the family room.  Then running all the way down to the other end of the house and back to start it all over again!  It makes me smile.

And we have puppies on the way!  That's the icing on the cake!  Life is good!

Happy New Year!

WoTeH'sin Shih Tzu hopes you had a wonderful 2013 holiday season!  We wish you all the best in 2014!

Sadly my breeding with Kiki and Magic did not take and so we do not have puppies available at this time.  The future holds potentially two breedings this year that should occur mid to late 2014.  I will update the upcoming litter page as events occur.

There are lots of other changes for us here personally coming up this year.  We will be relocating to a new residence in late January.  This comes with lots of excitement and stress of course, but this move is one that I have been planning for a long time.  The move won't be far, only 8 miles, but it means packaging up over eight years of stuff here, so purging and packing will be the focus over the next couple of weeks.

Once moved I hope to have a surgical procedure that will finally rid me of the nearly two years of chronic pain I have endured.  I am hopeful that I have sought the best medical professionals for my case and that soon I will be able to walk again freely without the use of a cane.  I trust then that I can rid myself of intense pain medications paving the road to normalcy once again. 

If you are so inclined, please keep us in your prayers and good thoughts for a safe move and for a successful outcome to my surgery.  Through this I am blessed to have my pups around me - they give me strength and purpose to keep plugging along.  They are my motivation every single day.

Puppy Cam!

1/4/14

ETA:  Puppy Cam is now OFFLINE.

 

By far the very best thing I've ever done as a breeder for my puppy buyers - I did completely by accident and it strictly started out as a means for me to watch over my litters while I was away from the house.  And so started Puppy Cam!

I've had dogs placed near and far.  It isn't always easy for people to come by to visit the puppies as they grow up.  But now - it is!  Almost every day when I have a litter of puppies, I fire up the webcam in the morning before leaving work, focus it on the "nest" and wham bam in less than a few minutes I can pull an app up on my iPhone and see my puppies via wifi.  Thanks to a little website called "Join Me" my puppy people can watch each litter all day long!  It's so nice for them to be able to see a litter develop!  It's one thing to send pictures, but quite another to watch them move around and play with their litter mates.  Or sleep in a pile o'puppies.  Or have lunch with their momma.

Puppy Cam is up almost every day right now thanks to my beautiful Samantha and dad Future who created a lovely foursome of puppies.  The babies are three weeks old and starting to toddle around; checking into mom's food or coming up to me to visit.  Tail wags will start soon.  They are already pawing at their brothers & sisters making the first moves of play time.  Check them out - just click on the Join Me link above and the code to watch is wotehsinst - Enjoy!  :)

Babies Are Here!

What a whirlwind delivery!  It took less than 2 hours!

Multi CH WoTeH'sin Do U Believe In Magic? and Multi BIS CH Xeralane's Face The Future welcomed 2 boys and 2 girls this morning.  The royal couple is doing fine!  :)  So are the princes and princesses.

Future  x  Samantha

 

 

More to follow!

More Than Just A Pretty Face!

Not even four months old and Lola is such a smart girl!

 

 

Pretty Girl

CH Magic  x  CH Kiki

"Lola"

13 weeks old

Loved and spoiled by the Panosian family of Scottsdale, AZ

Champion Velvet

Last fall when I started to slipped into chronic pain, I had a little girl in coat who had three points.  As my ability to sit for long periods of time diminished, I was only able to brush this girl for shorter and shorter periods of time.  Couple that with the fact that she wasn't exactly a "coat factory", well I was ready to cut her down.  I called Greg and asked if he wanted to take Velvet, and I warned him that her coat was in terrible shape. 

I always tell Greg when I send him a dog to be honest with me when he gets the dog and he does his evaluation.  If the dog isn't worthy, I'd rather the dog come home than be an embarrassment to both of us.  I stressed that this time.  If he found her to be structurally sound, I told him to sit her out for a long period of time to grow coat.  I expected the worst.

Greg entered Velvet for shows immediately. 

And so Velvet's show career began . . . with winning.

I had second hand reports from people who knew others that saw her.  Velvet's coat was in bad shape they would say.  I always stressed to anyone with whom I discussed Velvet, that her coat condition was thanks to ME and MY inability to care for it.  Greg did a fabulous job with what he had. 

It didn't hurt that Velvet loved to go into the ring and wag her tail at everyone that would look at her.  Someone told me Velvet was a big flirt with the judges.  That made me laugh because I remembered her first weekend I took her into the ring.  She WAS a flirt.

Once she singled out, again I asked Greg if he wanted to sit her out to grow some more coat before attempting majors.  He said no.  The next weekend that he showed her, I almost wrecked my car when he sent me a text telling me Velvet got a 4 point major.

 The following weekend Velvet finished with her second 4 point major.

During one of our last phone conversations, Greg said to me "Imagine how well she would have done with hair!"  I can't imagine because she won almost every weekend she was on a lead with Greg.  I think the only weekend Velvet didn't get a point was during their two days in Chicago.  How on earth could I be disappointed with that??

Velvet is my 10th overall champion, my 8th home bred champion, her mother Violet's 4th champion kid and her father Magic's 2nd champion kid.

I am blessed.

Thank you Greg for your hard work, the magic you work with a brush and comb as well the kindness you show my dogs in your care.  You continue to do the impossible.  You have no idea how grateful I am for all you have done with my dogs over the past few years.