Goodbye to Elliot the Shih Tzu Dog

Elliot was the shih tzu dog, that lived here before me. I never got to know Elliot, but there are many pictures of him hanging on the wall. On the day that he died, a well intentioned family member presented me as a gift. Some might say that is a bad idea, but it worked out. I will admit, that because of this, I may have been raised differently than most dogs. Elliot suffered from renal dysplasia, which is not uncommon in Shih Tzu's. Some Shih Tzu's have died from this condition as puppies, some will live long term lives, depending on the severity. Elliot was not diagnosed until he was 13 years old and the last 4 months were a battle. One kidney was completely non-functional and had to be completely removed, while the other kidney had a stone in it. They opted for surgery with a 25% chance of survival, a hope that the kidney with the stone may be good enough. It wasn't. The last 3 months of his life, he had to get fluids every day. Keep hoping. Keep praying. Then he had a seizure, and become paralyzed in his hindquarters. It was time to say goodbye to sweet Elliot. That was 3 years ago, and that is the day I entered the scene. As I said, it did change the way in which I was raised as a puppy. For one thing, there was zero discipline. My mommy had faced death with Elliot the Shih Tzu, and a trivial thing like chewing on shoes was not an important matter. I could do no wrong, I still can't. I was also fiercely protected from the outside world. I am watched over, fussed over, and spoiled rotten. I am CoCo the Blogging Dog.