Good-bye My Pet (A good-by to our Lhasa Apso)

He was the most adorable thing and yet he looked so disproportioned. He had a long body, long hair, short legs, but huge ears for his little size. He was tiny, but stocky. His gigantic brown eyes peaked from beneath his shaggy mop of eyebrows. His breeder set him on the ground to inspect his surroundings, and he shot across the grass to my husband. My husband squatted down to his level and was bombarded by doggy kisses. He couldn’t help but chuckle.

He looked over at me and asked, “What do you think?”

“I love him.” I responded.

My husband strolled over to the breeder, making the necessary arrangements for us to take our new Lhasa Apso puppy home. We named him Sir Harley. My daughter was ecstatic and my son fell in love. They spoiled the poor boy with attention the first day, arguing where he was going to sleep, who he was going to sleep with, and how much food and water he needed. I don’t think Harley’s feet hit the ground for three days. I was glad we had taken the time to do our research and wait for the perfect puppy.

What made this puppy so special and separate in my eyes from other breeds?

Three out of four people in my family have allergies. My husband is so severely allergic to animals, that within three days of being cooped up, he would die. My son and daughter had just recently developed allergies to grasses, pollens, and animals. I personally hated the shedding hair factor. I have lost count over the years how many homes I have visited and left feeling like a lint trap for animal hair. Then of course, was the cute factor. We had all agreed that our dog had to be small and cute. Sir Harley fell into all the categories for us.

I had never heard of a Lhasa until I had found Harley on the internet. In my research, I read that Lhasa’s derived from Tibet, which explained why Harley loved the snow. The breed was considered a sacred watchdog by the holy men and nobles. They were first introduced into the US in the 1930’s by the Dalai Lama visiting foreign countries. They were thought to bring good luck to their owners. In our case, Harley brought us many things. A pet my husband could finally play with without getting sick. My son had a pet that would sit in his lap (till Harley grew too big) while he played the computer. My daughter had a new best friend. Someone who she could talk to when she was mad at her parents, cry on when she lost her first crush to a car accident, a pal to go on walks with her, and as odd as it sounded, someone to wrestle with. For me, he brought contentment. I would sit and think or read, while rubbing his belly till he got tired of my rubbing a hole in his skin.

I read that Lhasa’s are a stubborn breed. Harley held true to that. My husband spent three hours trying to train him to fetch his bowl. I took ten minutes when Hubby wasn’t looking. Barney was a little easier to train to fetch. There was something about a purple dinosaur that neither dog nor man liked. My husband was so proud. He had always wanted a dog to rip the annoying dino a new one. (Sorry to those that still love Barney. It was the singing that did it for my hubby.)

Harley loved a challenge from fetching toys, bowls, and hard playing, to racing around the yard full bore. A ball of fur and ears flapping. He felt that if anyone was up in the house, so should I. He would come jump in the middle of the bed, or scratch on the side till I would get up. He loved attention. He would even go as far as demanding it. I quietly watched one time as he gathered all his toys up from around the house and dropped them at my husband’s feet. My hubby, while sitting at the computer, pretended that he didn’t notice. Harley nudged his leg with his nose. My hubby still didn’t pay attention. Harley then sneezed on his feet. In a last ditch attempt, the poor dog pawed the side of my hubby’s chair, while whining. My husband started laughing and played with him for awhile. Harley loved it, and soon it became a game to them.

My husband read somewhere that Lhasa’s were used by the police force to find criminals in crowds. Like any breed of dog, Lhasa’s are terrific watchdogs. They have a great memory. Harley loved our mailman and would watch for him/her everyday. Unfortunately, to this day, I believe that Harley was maced by someone in a uniform, out of fear of the unknown dog. I only believe this because when I was at work a police officer asked me if that little white dog on my porch was my little attack dog. I told him that I was never aware that Harley attacked anyone. He didn’t say much, but after that, I noticed that Harley went after anyone in a uniform. He no longer liked the mailman either. His guarding the house went into overdrive. It took us a long time to break it.

I read that Lhasa’s love to travel and how true this is. Harley loved to sit on the dash of our motor home and watch out the window. At the lake, he would bound thru the tall grass like a jackrabbit, and sit by the shoreline, or while other dogs would run and jump off the dock into the water, he would be racing behind them. He would slide to a halt as their bodies flew thru the air and splashed into the water, then sit on his haunches and watch them paddle back to shore, certain that they were crazy. Fishing was a favorite of his. He would wait for the fish to be brought to shore than to swim out for it, then tackle it. I couldn’t help but laugh at him every time. He did eventually learn to swim, but would prefer to wade and splash.

Once the time came to have him fixed, I couldn’t bare the thought of not having at least one litter to carry on his genes. For Christmas, I bought him a girlfriend, Missy. She was a beautiful Bischon Frise. They had a liter of pups last April. I had them registered as a designer, hybrid breed…La-Chon. Missy later on became adopted by a family that fell in love with her while visiting us. Two of the puppies found loving homes and I have three left. For that I am grateful, because our beloved Harley had to be put down a couple of weeks ago. It was devastating to our family. He was our first love, best friend and companion in more ways than words can describe. I will always miss him. I see his personality and looks reflect each day thru his offspring. I am proud of my Sir Harley.