Winter Wonderpup!

My poor puppy! Welcome to winter in Illinois, Maizy!

A New Dog in Town!

My employer just got a new puppy. A black lab named Maggie. She's 10 weeks old, a typical puppy size, yet dwarfs my lil' Maizy who is all of 4 pounds now and around 18 weeks. In this picture, Maggie has just come to work and met all of us, then went right over and helped herself to Maizy's food bowl. Don't worry, Maizy gave her a good snarl and held her own. Look at Maggie's paws! They are bigger than Maizy's face!

My lil' fur nugget has doubled in size. She was about 6" long and two pounds when I got her. Now, at 4 pounds, she is 12" long from nose to tail. She's the perfect size right now and I keep joking that I'm going to feed her nothing but cigarettes and coffee to stunt her growth. She's now big enough to climb the stairs by herself, but still tiny enough to tuck under my arm while I go on a quick errand or two.

Maizy has lost most of her puppy coat and her adult coat is just now starting to fill in. It will take several months, I'm told, to fill in completely. She needs some hair so she can start looking like a proper pomeranian. People keep thinking she's a long haired Chihuahua! The nerve! She's just the cutest little fur nugget, with or without all her hair!

Meet Maizy!

After losing my precious Zuzu unexpectedly last May, this house has been way too quite. The emptiness left without Zuzu was almost unbearable. Actually, I still have my moments. But those moments are fewer now that Maizy is here.



Maizy is a pure breed pomeranian. She was adopted at 11 weeks old, just a 2 pound lil' fur nugget, and cute as can be!


Unfortunately, Maizy was diagnosed, just 4 days after adopting her, with a deadly canine virus, Parvo. She began vomiting a lot, had a fever, a dazed depressed look on her face, and had terrible diarrhea. I rushed Maizy to a 24 hour animal care facility where she was diagnosed and spent 5 days with round the clock care. She received numerous plasma transfusions, IV liquids, and hand feedings through a syringe. The vet bill grew at an alarming rate to almost $2000! Many prayers were said and I received countless well wishes from friends, family and from across the internet.

It was determined that Maizy's illness had been contracted before she was adopted. Parvo is a very serious virus that can claim the life of a dog in less than 24 hours without treatment. It takes about 7 to 14 days after contracting the virus for symptoms to appear. As I researched it, I discovered that a non-vaccinated dog can pick up this virus as easily as a child getting a cold. The virus can live for months on grass, clothing, anywhere, and can be tracked into your own home on your shoes without you ever being near an infected dog. Since Maizy was just a puppy, her vaccinations had not yet been completed. She had unknowingly been exposed to the virus prior to coming to live with me and only showed symptoms a few short days later. Were it not for the prompt treatment that she received, especially at her young age and low weight, she would not have survived.

Maizy is now better, her body organs having been supported while she built up the necessary anti-bodies to fight the virus. She is fifteen weeks old now and weighs a plump 3 pounds! She's active and playing just like a normal puppy and hopefully she will not develop future health problems stemming from the stress on her organs.

I wish to thank everyone at Animal Emergency of McHenry County, Dr. Dan at Animal Medical Center of Algonquin, friends and family for their support, and all my internet friends for their prayers. And Maizy sends her sweet wet puppy kisses!

If your dog has not been vaccinated for Parvo or other just as dangerous canine illnesses, please do so today! There may not be time to second guess yourself. Remember that some vaccinations, such as your puppy's first vaccinations, are not completely effective until all rounds of vaccines are completed. Protect your puppy by not allowing them in areas that are frequented by other dogs until their vaccinations are complete. If your puppy is in training, ask the facility how often the room is sanitized with bleach, as this is the only thing that can kill some viruses like Parvo. (I spent 4 days bleaching my entire house, yard, car, clothes, dishes, EVERYTHING!!!)


Maizy has passed her follow-up exams with flying colors and is not contagious. She can sit and lay down on command but is having trouble staying and coming when called. We're working on that. She comes to work with me every day and is doing quite well now.

Pretty Girl

I would give anything for the sweet scent of PEZ candy,
And the rich, salty aroma of Fritos corn chips.

A handful in size at day one,
A handful of mischief every day thereafter.

My heart, my soul,
Full of love, so empty now.



Love at first sight,
I closed your eyes.

We ran in the park on Thursday afternoon,
Friday night, I held your lifeless body in my arms.

My friend, my protector, my comfort,
Velvet fur, cold, wet nose.

I heard your jingle on the stairs this morning,
But knew it wasn't you, for I'd clutched your tags in my hand all night.

You had a spot on your forehead,
That forever smelled of sweet, sweet PEZ candy.

I joked about your paws,
That had the rich, salty smell of Fritos corn chips.

Oh, what I would give,
To hear your jingle,
To pet your velvet fur,
To touch your cold, wet nose to mine.

Oh, what I would give,
For the scent of PEZ and Fritos.

Zuzu (April 1, 1995 - May 8, 2009)

Goodnight, pretty girl.