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A Day in the Life of Sophie Lou

Unbelievable sadness...she's gone.

This is the last time I will write in this diary. Even after 8 months I still can't do this without crying.

Let me explain ...

In December 2006, on the 27th, Sophie died a tragic death. She was hit by a car on the highway in front of our house. It was human error and no one is to blame, the people door in the garage was accidently left open and Sophie found it.

She was just over 2 years old and one of the happiest to be alive dogs I have ever had.

I thank God every day that the other two didn't follow her, usually they were always together.

Before I got Sophie, I wanted a dog so bad. I was always on the internet checking out breeds. I took a test on one of the sites to see what breed would be best for me.

The American Eskimo and the Havanese were the breeds that were selected to be best for me. I checked them out and picked the Havanese because I had never heard of them before and they looked cute.

I started looking for breeders and discovered that there weren't many. The first one we had on our list was in Ann Arbor Michigan, I called her and made the appointment to see her.

My husband went with me, we wanted to pick out our puppy together.

Almost as soon as I entered her house I knew this was a BAD BREEDER! My husband on the other hand was bonding with a puppy, the runt. Against my better judgement, we took the little runt home. We always concidered this a rescue because of the conditions this puppy lived in.

The whole ride home, this little puppy laid on my lap w/her head off to the side like she was trying to get as far away from me as possible.

What a mess, Sophie was 6 months old, didn't have any shots or vet care, she smelled bad, her hair was matted to the skin and had to be shaved off. She had no idea what outside was and was not even remotely house trained. And the saddest part of all, she had no idea how to play or interact with a person. We had our work cut out for us. I was so disappointed, I wanted a friendly outgoing puppy and Sophie was afraid of everyone and everything.

Well she slowly came around and showed signs of being very intelligent. I taught her many tricks and she caught on quick. She still had social issues, but we were working on them.

When Sophie was 15 months old we decided to get a playmate for her so she wouldn't have to be alone while we were at work. In November 2005 we brought Emma home. We got her from HALO Havanese rescue. They hit it off immediatly, they became best friends.

In March of 2006 we got another Havanese from HALO, a boy, Oscar and Sophie loved to harrass him because he was very tiny and timid. She made sure she cut him out of everything.

Sophie was alpha, full of life and fun. She tried to run everything we did and suceeded much of the time.

When Sophie died I was so sad I could bearly function, sadness was a heavy load for all of us. Emma and Oscar had no idea how to play without Sophie because she bossed them around always. And I couldn't help them because I was so sad. I even debated on whether or not to keep the other two, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep them safe. Every time I couldn't see one of them right away, I would panic.

Today I see signs of Emma and Oscar healing. Life goes on.

Sophie meant the world to me , I loved her so much. She was only 2 years and 4 months old. I still see her happy little face as she was trying my patience. Special dogs only come around once in awhile and Sophie was most special to us. We love you and miss you Angel Puppy!

So MUCH can happen in a year!

July 2nd 2006

Since the last entry, I have aquired a sister and a brother.

Last September Mom thought it was time to find another Havanese so I would have someone to play with and I wouldn't have to stay home alone all day.

They decided to look into Havanese rescue (HALO) and they came across a little girl that had been up for adoption for quite some time. We think it was because she was18 months old and is missing a rear paw.

We are a very active family so we didn't go get Emma right away, we thought she would slow us down.

Six weeks later we decided to check her out.

It was a very long ride to see Emma (from Lowell Michigan to Cleveland Ohio) but man it was worth it. We have sooo much fun together. My sister may be missing a foot but she can run circles around anyone.

Emma comes from an Amish puppy mill and was locked up in a cage for the first 16 months of her life. She never got to run and play. We had to fence in the backyard because Emma loves to run and at first she wouldn't listen to Mom and come back.

In March Mom called HALO again and along came my little brother...Geez, what were they thinking!

Oscar was 5 months old and weighed a whopping 3 and 1/2 pounds. He was just recovering from a life threatening illness and he was food agressive. I guess that's what happens when you are never fed good food. Oscar comes from a puppy mill too.

We have had many adventures already this year. Like just going for a walk is an adventure in it's self, to train us to not get tangled up with each other!

See what I can do?

Summer 2005

I am feeling like I belong here. I have a crate with a wonderful cushion and Mom made me a warm blanket of my own. I sleep in there all night and don't make a sound, until the alarm goes off, then I raise heck.

I learned to bark when the doorbell rings but Mom doesn't let me bark for long.

I know how to go potty outside and if I can't wait for Mom to come home I know to use the pee-pee pad.

Mom taught me to sit, shake hands, come here, dance, roll over and finally to say "PLEASE". She thought I would never catch on to that one!!!

I have learned so much, I never get in trouble anymore...well not as much as I used to. I don't have to go into my kennel when Mom and Dad leave for work.

I have finally learned that Dad doesn't like me to visit the neighbor, he really gets mad and puts me in the house for awhile.. I don't like that.

I have traveled with Mom to visit her sister. Aunt Debbie has a really big dog that plays rough and scares me. I learned the cat there isn't like my cat, she slapped me. I wasn't even doing anything!
Mom was really mad when I chased Aunt Debbie's favorite chicken, but it was worth it, I had so much fun!

I swam in our pool, but I don't like it. Mom said she wouldn't put me in there again cause I was not happy.

We had a family picnic in the backyard and I got to meet the whole family. They all liked me, they think I'm cute. That must be a good thing because they always smile and pat my head when they say it.

Dad lets me ride on the golf cart. We ride out back to the river so Dad can throw in a line. I like to find critters to chase.

Speaking of chasing, Mom loves it when I chase the rabbits out of her flowers. They scared me at first but not any more!

I love it here and I loveMom and Dad.