The Mijo-man

It must have been fate intervening- as I just made this layout of Mijo a couple days before his accident.

Mijo went to doggy heaven at 8pm on Wednesday February 22nd.  Today, March 4th, was his birthday; he would've been 7 years old.  I knew it would be hard to lose him, as he was such a part of our family, but I thought I had many more years until that day came.

Wednesday morning I found him laying outside covered with blood. I let him out to go potty, put the baby down for a nap & then came back to the door ~15 mins later to see him laying on the grass. I thought he was just sun bathing while waiting for me to let him back in, but when I called for him, he wouldn't get up.  I ran inside & grabbed a towel. I brought him inside, called the vet & my husband (who rushed home to take him to the Dr). The poor lil guy was screaming every time he moved. I thought he was going to die in my arms, he was barely breathing, becoming hoarse from yelping so loudly & shaking.  At the vet, he stabilized fairly quickly, was in shock & needed fluids. He had 3 puncture wounds; the pattern showed it was an attack from above- owl or hawk probably! Xrays looked fine, but all his puncture wounds were connected (you could go inside one puncture & come up/out of another)- as in his skin was basically ripped off through most of his body. I guess dogs have an extra subcutaneous layer that allows that to happen. The puncture by his neck was actually loose all the way to his skull (Dr was surprised his carotid artery didn't tear). The next step would have been surgery to attach skin & insert drains but he never was stable enough to go under anesthesia The Dr wanted us to come in to talk that evening. At 7:30 we met with the veterinarian (Super nice, called me multiple times throughout the day to give me updates). At that point, she said most animals give her a gut feeling & he just kept changing on her. One minute she thought he'd be great, then the next she thought he wouldn't make it. She wanted us to see him & see what his response was to us. It was so sad. He wouldn't look at us. He wouldn't lick my hand *ALWAYS was licking- used to tease how licky he was. He had a dose of pain meds before we got there & still was screaming every time he moved. The Dr was also concerned because he wouldn't stand or walk or put any weight on his legs. She said he probably was dropped after the hawk grabbed him. We decided to not let him suffer anymore. That was by far the hardest decision I've ever made. I'm just thankful that he was able to make it home (most likely happened in the field a few houses down) instead of just being gone with no closure or clue to what happened to him.  I think that he just wanted to get home so we could take care of him; took all he had to get home. :( We're so sad.

Anyone who knows us personally, knows that he was just part of our family.  He was our first baby.  Jeremy & I joked that he was practice for our real babies! :) We got him Memorial Day weekend 2005 and took his maiden voyage to Lake Coeur D'Alene.  He loved playing outside at the lake & his rottweiler auntie Raven.  Even though he didn't weigh yet 2 lbs, he thought it was so fun to run circles & bark at Raven (the huge rottie!)  I have pictures of it, but they are in storage right now.  Here's a few pictures when he was just a lil pup!! ;)

 Crashed with Daddy!

Doing laundry with me! ;)  Lil trouble maker always loved my panties!

This pic (tiny I know..) was taken out at Riffe Lake at Dick's Property. He loved it out there & would eat so much crap *pine needles, dirt, grass* that we hated taking him out there!

As our family grew, Mijo was always there documented in the pictures!  The only ones I have on my computer from when Hayden was born are these tiny ones.

He was always so good with the kids. Even when they were rotten to him, he would just nibble their fingers. He had NEVER bitten anyone, was not the typical ankle-bitter rep that chihuahuas have.

When Declan came along, he was also in all the family pictures!  In fact, our photographer (the LOVELY Jessica Rae Photography) also had chihuahuas & took some beautiful photos of him.

He always loved his belly rubbed, so he'd flip over like this the minute he saw you!

Guardian of the babies!

 Meeting Decs for the 1st time!

 I think this is my ALL TIME favorite family photo.  I think it's just too perfect that all of us INCLUDING the Mijo man are looking at the newest member of our family!

 He was a little dog, but had a HUGE personality.  He took up so much SPACE in our hearts, lives & home.  The house feels SO empty without him.  I hear his little pitter patter of his nails on the floor & his tapping on the slider to go outside. I still sweep/vacuum & find his hair all over everything!

There are countless times during the day when I think of him.  It's funny the things that are just habitual...like calling him the minute I drop something on the floor (he was our broom- I never had to clean up after the babies since he pretty much did all of it with his tongue!!)  Or when someone's at the door or comes home, I rush to find him so he wont bark & wake the sleeping baby.  Or when I get home & instantly open the door for him to go out & potty.  Or at night, when he would come to bed & snuggle the crook of my legs all night long, no matter how much I tossed/turned/got up with the baby.   Or when sitting on the couch, he instantly was in my lap.  I miss him so much.

RIP Mijo

03/04/2005 - 02/22/2012