There are so many things I want to write about - - if i am not careful I'll wind up writing an incomprehensible run-on sentence about 10 yards long, and then have nothing left to say. So tonight I will talk about a dog. In my experience I have yet to read a magazine article, book, or online post about the Lhasa Apso breed that doesn't include a statement that "Lhasa Apso's can be trained, provided you can find something the dog wants to do. To call them stubborn is an understatement."
A few years ago, newly single, I decided I wanted a dog. As a kid I had had a Cocker Spaniel, and then my family, as my kids grew up, had mostly dachshunds. I had no idea what kind of dog I wanted, at first. Then I met a Shih Tzu. A Lady Friend had one and told me lots of stuff about Shih's - the one that impressed me the most is that they are the only breed of dog originally bred to have no job. They don't herd cattle or sheep; they dont catch moles or pull cart. They don't do much of anything really except LOVE. They were specifically bred to be lap dogs - to be sweet and loving.
Well I wanted one. I was very impressed with my friend's little dog and I was checking out the possibility of buying one when a friend called me and said, "I have co-worker who is a real s.o.b. and he says he is going to take his Shih Tzu out in the country and turn him loose if he can't find someone to take the dog off his hands." The next day I became owned by a ball of fluff whom I named "Pau Ling" - in honor of his Oriental origin. He was "about a year and a half old" - and seemed a little large for a Shih Tzu so I assumed he was a mix with strong Shih Tzu heritage.
Pau, pronounced "Pow," instantly transferred his affection and allegiance to me. It was uncanny. I picked him up at noon on the day before Thanksgiving. I had driven my most disreputable car (see "The Motor Pool" in some future blog) to get him. Took him home. Drove into the back yard. Left him in the car and closed the gate. Then let him out of the car. He immediately jumped out and sat up and begged. Poor cute little guy - he was a mess. Long matted hair - the same hair that on a "show Shih Tzu" would be brushed and glowing and hang down straight so that the dog looks like a living dust mop - well Pau looked like a dust mop that was about 40 years old and had never been cleaned.
Over the next few weeks he got all his shots - and his surgery - and trimmed and trimmed again and groomed - once he grew out from being bald. And for the record he was well groomed always after. :-)
I began to learn about Shih Tzu's, about how they are basically the result of breeding Pekingese with Lhasa Apso. I'd never heard of Lhasa's. At that point in my life I'd never met a Peke I'd liked and Pau didn't appear to have much Peke in him. So I studied up on Lhasa's. I began to suspect that Pau was maybe half Shihz and half Lhasa. The shape of his head, his temperament - - (more about that later) he really came across more like a Lhasa than a Shih Tzu
A year later I rescued a Shih Tzu show dog whose fortune had resulted in in him being trained - he knew how to strike a pose - but his teeth were very crooked and he was thrown away. A rescue service saved him and I drove to Elvis' birthplace (Tupelo, Mississippi) to get him. His name was Gizmo and he was pure Shih Tzu and as different from Pau as night and day.
Later on a vet who had much experience with Lhasa's told me that Pau was almost certainly a pure bred Lhasa.
Most dog stories are sad, and this one is sad so I'm not going to tell it to the end. Pau was the best Friend I'd ever had in my life. He was totally focused on me. He was very protective. Lhasa's were originally bred to be small guard dogs to serve in temples - - . Little dogs with a huge bark. And Pau was so protective of me - - well - - I'm lucky I didn't get sued by a few people who were unfortunate enough to cause Pau to think they were going to harm me.
I will probably write another blog about Pau - because if I triew to tell the whole store of his "Pausonality" - it would read more like a novel. He was not a very good dog . . . . in the way that some dogs are "good." But OMG he was scarily intelligent. Not Border Collie intelligent but LASSIE Intelligent. Uncannily intelligent.
To be continued. :-)
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