Hokie

I don't take much time on this space to talk about our very first baby, Hokie. Christopher and I rescued Hokie, a lhasa apso/cocker spaniel mix in January 2003. He was 2 when we got him, potty trained, but a hot mess. He had been abused (which was apparent by how he growled anytime you came close to him and/or touched him for the first year we had him) and he was a long-haired matted mess. But I knew he belonged in our family. I'm glad I convinced Christopher that he was meant for us because he's been the most perfect dog. We love him to pieces.

He has always stood guard by my babies when they slept. When Landon was 2/3, he couldn't fall asleep without Hokie in the bed with him. So poor Hokie would stay in Landon's bed, for hours some nights, until he fell asleep. Then as soon as that heavy breathing would set in, Hokie would jump down and come find us. He likes to hang with us until it's bedtime, then comes up to bed with us. For 11 years, he's slept in between my legs at the foot of the bed.

Every time he gets groomed, he has an identity crisis and runs around the house like a maniac. He acts more like a cat than a dog. Actually, scratch that. He acts more like a human than anything.

He's a lazy bum. He doesn't like to play or get much exercise. His pastimes pretty much involve sleeping, snuggling, and begging for food any time he hears a bag rattle or when I am in the kitchen.

We've had to rush him to the emergency vet for HGE where he came close to dying. He's had 10 teeth removed and has more rotten ones now, which leads to terrible breath (I'm scared to put him through surgery again at his old age). He's always been deathly afraid of thunderstorms but is even more so now that he's older. He's actually scared of everything in his old age, like the blow dryer at the groomer's. He can't jump up on things like he used to, like the couch and bed, and often face plants into the side and just falls down. He stays under my feet constantly now (not sure if that's his old age or related to my pregnancy).

My heart breaks every day as I watch him age. He's close to 14 years old...I know his time here with us is coming close to an end. We love this dog so much and know that no other dog will come close to replacing him.

He's a part of our Bagley Circus.