My Little Chloe

Chloe is my 2nd female Havanese who turned a year old on December 12th of this year. Since she came into heat in November, it was time to get her spayed this month. I took her in yesterday to Intermountain Vet and dropped her off first thing in the morning. Chloe is a very cuddly, loving dog, but kind of shy. She was excited to see the people in the vet's office, but didn't like them to get too close. When I passed her off to the Nurse, she gave me her patented "stink eye". Unlike Pepper, who loves everyone and would go home with anyone who gave her the time of day Chloe is a mommies girl. She has a particular disklike of men, but seemed to be ok with the vet who she had met before when she came in for shots.

I waited anxiously for the Vet to call yesterday and they did when she got out of surgery. She did great and her blood work came back good, so that will be handy for the future if she has any problems that require a comparison. It started snowing late in the afternoon, so I left work early and it took over an hour to get to Meridian, which is normally a 20 minute drive. When I picked her up, she was still drowsy but gave me some nose kisses and a low tail wag so I knew all was well. In the car ride home, she sat quietly in the back seat, looking around for her sister who is always with us during car rides but Pepper was waiting at home.

Dave came over to visit Chloe and held her in his lap while we watched a movie. She slept peacefully and went out to go potty, but didn't eat her dinner. She left ok, but whimpered periodically. Last night it snowed about 2 more inches and her and Pepper went and played outside and since then, Chloe has been whimpering despite the fact that I finally got her pain pill down her after several attempts and her promptly spitting it out. My cold also came back with a vengance yesterday afternoon so when I woke up to snow and my cold and a wimpering dog, I decided not to go to work. Well, my friends all have my gifts here and there is the annual Mad Dogs awards today so I didn't want to miss that, so I emailed Bobbi who lives only 2 miles from me. I drove to her house after the roads were somewhat clear and she gave me a ride to work.

Michelle, Deanna, Jamie and I all exchanged gifts which was a lot of fun. I'll post the pictures this weekend up on my Webshots. I'm feeling better now and glad I came in to join the festivities. Aaron has called several times saying Chloe is whimpering so he's been wrapping her in her favorite blanky and holding her to help comfort her. He just called and said he's going outside to play in the snow with his friend, so I told him to put her on my bed where I've left the heating blanket on for her. Mad Dogs doesn't last long and I should be home in a few short hours to comfort her and keep her warm.

Chloe has been a wonderful addition to the family and I also made a new friend because of her. Last year, I responded to a post of someone needing a Home Visit in Idaho for them to be able to adopt a rescue. I responded and went to visit a family. In doing that, I volunteered to become an Idaho contact person for the Havanese Rescue. Little did I know, another woman in town had volunteered to do the home visit on the family I did, so when I signed up, the contact in WA sent Heather to visit my home. We immediately bonded and found out our dogs were sisters from different litters. Her Kaera and my Pepper are a year apart and one looks like Mom and one like Dad. Heather and I are nearly the same age, are both neat and tidy (ok, anal) and love to talk. We've been great friends ever since and I see her whenever I can. So, thru Heather, I got Chloe. Heather, who is friends with Tonisha of Hystyle Havanese in Oregon, was going to pick up her Tootsie Pop the following weekend from when we met. She mentioned there was another girl available in the same litter and Dave and I talked about it and immediately requested pictures. We fell in love with her sweet face and Heather brought her home to us on her own birthday, Feb 28. Pepper immediately fell in love with Chloe just as we did and took wonderful care of her and shared everything and played gently with her. She even taught her to ring the bell to go out and how to properly shred and destroy anything left around the house suitable for dogs.

Before I got Chloe, I had been listening and reading about raw feeding and when I found out Chloe was coming from a breeder who raw fed and after talking with Heather about it, immediately switched Pepper over and have been feeding them raw ever since. I am continuially amazed at the difference in thier coats and their excitement over mealtime. When Pepper ate kibble, she would frequently go 3-4 days without eating and only out of desperation eat her kibble. Now, every meal is exciting and they love to eat. And I know the food I am giving them is best suited for them and healthy and not a bunch of corn and grain filer which brings the dog no nutritious value. So, Heather has Tootsie Pop and I have Chloe who are sisters as well as our Pepper and her Kaera. Heather also has Tico, a a male Havanese and Taeya a beautiful german shephard. We get the dogs together for play dates and grooming sessions (Heather has been teaching me to groom them myself since I got the 2nd dog so I can save costs) and she even babysat them and Aaron during the HTEH company Christmas party this year. It's nice to have a great friend to share our doggies with :)