Giving away a pet that has lived in a home for any length of time can be just as heartbreaking as it is to put the family pet to sleep.

When a person has a heart of gold and a love for Yorkshire terriers, it is easy to see how difficult it would be NOT to buy a Yorkie who HAD TO BE SOLD because of a “SPECIAL” circumstance.

One day Marley’s original Mom realized that she had 11 Yorkies and they were becoming a bit more than she could handle. She was ankle deep in tiny Yorkies. Each one was purchased because of a SPECIAL circumstance. The Yorkies weighed between 2 and 8 pounds and a 15 pounder that was the one exception to the rule. Even when all of the dogs were together they did NOT take up much space; however, the responsibility was becoming a bit overwhelming.

Marley’s Mom knew that Yorkies are NEEDY dogs; they love attention – CONSTANT attention. Since her office was in her home, Marley’s Mom was able to give each Yorkie her unconditional love, as did her husband and son.

There came a time, however, when the ability to keep up with the sweet little furry dogs, was overwhelming. It was time to downsize. Marley’s Mom placed an ad in the local paper and INTERVIEWED all interested callers. Her heart broke as each Yorkie left her home. The new owners sent her pictures of the newly adopted dog in their new surrounds. She agonized as each dog left her home even while knowing that she had done the right thing.

Often people find themselves in circumstances where they can no longer care for a pet. When a pet is very young, it is impossible to think about putting that dog to sleep. Thank God there are people who are looking for a “used” dog. There are people who do NOT have the time to train a puppy and want to start at square two and NOT at square one!

That’s where we came into the picture. We had to put our dashunds to sleep: Rocky at age 14 and Rambo three weeks before his 16th birthday. I NEVER wanted another dog as long as I lived. I NEVER wanted to experience the emotional pain of putting a dog to sleep ever again.

For two years my husband pleaded with me to get a Yorkie; we would get a “used” Yorkie, he promised, so we would NOT have to train him.

My husband looked at the classified ads every week looking for the right situation. One Sunday, he found an ad that was well written. It offered the possibility of choosing from a couple of 2 year old Yorkies that were available. When he made the call to get the details about the dogs and find out WHY they were available, he was the one who received the grilling. That was a GOOD sign! The person placing the dogs obviously LOVED the dogs. She wanted to be certain that the dogs would have a good home.

Needless to say, the trip to “just look at the dogs” ended with the selection of one of the little Yorkies. His name was Marley. That was a nice name. But we wanted to give him a name. Since he was so tiny, 5 pounds, we had to have a name that suited him to a “T.” We named him Moose.

On December 1, 2007, Moose will be 4 years old. He has been with us for two years. His “other Mom” still writes to us often and we send pictures of Moose to her. As a Mother who gives up a baby for adoption, it is none the less painful to give up a 4 legged family member to another loving family who wants to adopt a NON-puppy!

Marley the Moose, as we refer to Moose when we email his original Mom, has been a blessing in our life. My husband’s top blood pressure number went from 165 to 120. He melts like butter each day when he walks through the front door and sees Moose spinning around in circles with his stubby tail going a mile a minute because Moose knows that “Daddy is home!”

My husband is the happiest man in the world now that he has a little Yorkshire terrier that he has dreamed of owning. I, who said that we would NEVER own another dog, OWN ANOTHER DOG!

One day the sadness his Original Mom felt when she had to part with Marley the Moose will visit me. Once again, as when I had to put Rocky and Rambo to sleep, I will have to make that final trip to the vet with Moose. But this time around it will be different. I promised myself – AHEAD OF TIME – that I would remind myself to be thankful for the years that Marley the Moose has spent with us. Moose is a Mamma’s Boy so I will have my work cut out for myself trying to live up to my personal expectations when the time comes to bid farewell to him.

Good grief, Moose is alive and currently licking my toe while I am prematurely writing his obituary and I am crying. Guess I really love that little Yorkie, too.

Rosemary from FL