QT's Critters

This is the Love of my Life... Torpeno's Tuxedo Rose, AKA "Tux," AKA "Tuxedo the WonderDog!" Tux had been with me for over 14 years and had seen me through job changes, relocations, and at least 3 break-ups. No matter how bad it got, she was always there for me... To lick my tears and bring me comfort... I tried not to cry too much toward her later years, as she had really really bad breath!

In her youth, Tuxedo was a very neurotic dog... When she was but a tiny blob of eyes-barely-open puppyness, I brought her home for Dale's (the man I was living with at the time) inspection. Dale had spent a number of years in the dog show world, took one look at Tuxedo and said "That dog's gonna demand a LOT of attention." To this day, I have NO clue how he was able to determine that from a little 6 oz. blob of fur, lying motionless on the floor... In any event, I had brought two puppies home that day... He voted for the little red one - so naturally I chose the black : )

Frighteningly enough, Dale's prediction turned out to be true. To her final days, Tuxedo could not sit quietly in a roomful of people without making her presence known. She was a chronic worrier and insisted on being held and petted at all times. She had a knack for identifying the one person in the room who was LEAST comfortable around dogs and stationed herself on THAT lap...

Tux also knew some way kewl tricks... Including "Stick em up" and "BANG" which really doesn't translate well to online. But trust me when I say that it was a sure crowd-pleaser! Tuxedo The WonderDog Video Unfortunately, Tuxedo had slowed down a bit in her Golden Years, and had gotten a bit, shall-we-say crotchety? But it didn't diminish my love for her one bit... I remained committed to keeping her as healthy and comfortable as I could since she had been such a love to me...

On February 15, 2000, I'm *very* sorry to say that I lost the Love of my Life... She had spent her last day in the Dog Hospital, battling congestive heart failure. My vet, bless his heart, felt that we could treat her and bring her some relief (although I was prepared for the worst - since I couldn't bear to let her suffer). He'd treated her with Lasix and vasodilators and when I brought her home - she *was* much more comfortable. However, on the way home in the car, she looked at me as if to say "Mom, I'm tired and I don't want to do this anymore." She died peacefully in my arms shortly after we got home. And, while it broke my heart, I know it was as beautiful as it could be...

And I will always remember the love she gave me.

In Loving Memory of Baby 05/10/88 - 09/02/02

This is Tuxedo's Ritzy Babe, AKA "Baby"... She was born May 10, 1988. The product of a union between Tuxedo and CH Sandars Charles of the Ritz, a rather Hoity Toity show dog from Paradise, CA. Baby was a beautiful girl with a glossy coat who spent her younger days as a show dog wannabee, although she never managed to win any points.

Baby had the terrible misfortune of being born without a brain. If Tuxedo was the Einstein of the canine world, Baby was most definitely the Village Idiot. ;-) Actually, I sort of liken Baby to Delta Burke's character on the TV show "Designing Women" - A veteran of the Beauty Contest Circuit, but not much in the Brains Department! Of course, I still loved her!

Together, the Wonder-Weenie-Dogs from Hell ruled the docks at Oyster Cove Marina. What they lacked in size, they more than compensated for in obnoxiousness. Some might say that they are the laughingstocks of the docks (shhhhhh! Just PLEASE don't tell THEM that!!). The big dogs really don't know how to react to 10 lbs of snarling, barking nastiness and - consequently - give them wide berth. This just reaffirms their belief that they are the toughest dogs around!

In Loving Memory of Tazz, 01/07/2000 - 10/22/2015

After losing Tux, both Baby and I were heartbroken. Baby had never been alone in her life and was not handling it well at all. And neither was I. I hadn't realized, until Tux was gone, just how much time I'd spent taking care of her special needs (like waking up every two hours, like clockwork, to let her out). The boat was a very sad place indeed...

So Tazz joined our "family." Tazz - aka "IMQTPIs RazzMaTazz," aka "The Tasmanian DevilPuppy" was born on January 7, 2000 and, as it turns out, she is Baby's Great Niece!

While no one could ever *replace* Tuxedo, Tazz has made the transition much easier for us. Baby, even though she was getting up there in years, had "adopted" little Tazz and taught her ALL KINDS of bad habits! Although Tazz has invented many of her own (like digging the foam out of my bench cushions whenever I had the nerve to leave her alone on the boat!!!)

Tazz truly is a Holy Terror with boundless energy and is a source of endless joy. I love her - actually love BOTH my dogs - to death!!!

Edit 10/23/15: Tazz was definitely slowing down in her Golden Years, but she could still manage a smile whenever Papa shared his dinner with her. And she could even manage to chase her beloved tennis-ball - once or twice. She was always a Full-Throttle-Dog - and we will miss her terribly.

DYNAH LOWRIDER

Time passes and my web-mistressing skills are sorely lacking, I know! Tazz grew up (and never lost her high-energy Schizo ways - hence her nickname, "Tazz the Spazz!"). With Baby gone, Tazz wasn't too keen on being a Solo-Dog - so we bred her (several times, over a 3-year period actually). Her third and final breeding - to a champion mini-wirehaired stud - finally "took" and now we have IMQTPIs Dynah Lowrider - the toughest Biker B*tch around!!!

Actually Dynah (born Oct 2, 03 - the only survivor from a litter of three) is a TOTAL love. Very laid-back, very loving, smart as a whip (and opinionated / vocal as hell)! We love her more than you can imagine! And yes, my husband, Roger - a former "Cat Person" (shudder) has now been converted to a Weenie Dog Fan!!!

Updated 02/05/07! Hubbie felt I needed to update the page, so here are some "Adult" shots of Dynah:

ANNIE

And this year's addition will be "Annie" (Registered Name is still TBD). Annie was whelped on 12/26/06. She's a mini long-haired girl from Ceedox.com. She'll be joining us in March '07. We are very anxious to welcome her into our home and can't wait for her to join us!!!

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