Flat-nosed mood elevators

I watched them pass from room to room. They eyed curious onlookers with curious glances of their own. They spread cheer everywhere they went. It’s hard to be in a bad mood around a Shih-Tzu. One of them reminded you of an Oreo Cookie with his black and white markings. The other had uncharacteristically curly hair for a Shih-Tzu. He had a tan coat.
Shih-Tzus are a comical breed. Long bodied, long haired, flat muzzled dogs, they hardly inspire fear. Yet, these dogs were bred to protect the palace. They can be fierce, in their cutesy, ankle-biter sort of way. My Shih-Tzu, Sassy, gets aggressive whenever she has puppies. Reach for one of the ankle-biter’s cute little flat-nosed pups, and you just might draw back a bloody stub. Or at least a sore finger.
If you have one of these dogs, you begin to wonder if the new “politically correct”designation of pet owners as “pet custodians” is closer to the truth. Demanding animals, these brats leave claw marks on the back porch door whenever I come home, or get up in the morning, or merely look as if I might be thinking of stepping outside. They live for their walks. I need the walk in order to maintain my health, so a partnership is formed. It’s a mutually beneficient partnership. They pace me and insure I take a good 30-minute walk, and in payment for that I put up with the smirks and comments about how “cute” my dogs are. Trying to keep my 6’5” frame from looking too much like the letter “b” means I must subject myself to ridicule at the hands, or paws of these high-maintenance pooches.
Therefore, I walk my Shih-Tzu and Pekenese. Yeah, I look silly, but a more “manly” dog like a German Shepherd would see the entire world, including me, as his chew toy. And you can’t walk a cat. Especially not into an eleven-year-old kid’s hospital room. Shih-Tzus are better at that job, give them that. Demanding brats they may be, they serve as good mood elevators.