mya-and-me

[mya-and-me]

Where Mya likes to hang out while camping

#shibainu #puppers #camping #outdoors #camplife #dogs #shibaarmy #shibalove #shiba inu #doggolove

[mya-and-me]

Testing the new camping gear for this weekend's trip!

#camping #outdoors #camplife #coffee #coffee lover #camping gear

[mya-and-me]

KIMMIE?

its me! :)

[mya-and-me]

Hi! My name is Kimie. I am a 30-something-year-old woman from Montreal, Québec and this is the story of Mya and me.

To give you a little more context on me, I never had a dog growing up but for as long as I can remember, I always wanted one.

I am a proud first generation Canadian. My parents immigrated here in the 70s – my mom from El Salvador and my dad from Colombia.

Whenever I asked for a dog, my parents always said, “No, dogs are not meant to be kept in houses”. This is how it was for them back home – dogs would just roam around their neighbourhoods or be left in people’s front yard as guard dogs back then.

Fast forward to my early twenties…

I was working my first full-time job. The mall that I worked at had a pet store and I would walk in regularly to see all the animals they had – my main attraction were always the dogs. I walked in one day and walked out with my first dog, a Shih Tzu named Chewy.

I am not going to lie; I was scared to bring him home that day. I knew my parents’ stance on dogs, but he was the cutest fluff I had ever seen and figured they would love him anyways and that’s exactly what happened.

Chewy lived to be 14 years old – he passed away in March of this year (RIP little one). He was the best first dog anyone can ask for. When I moved out, my mom and I shared custody of Chewy. She would have him on days that she didn’t work, and I would have him on the days that she worked.

When the 1st wave of Covid-19 broke out here in March 2020, everything went on lock down. My mom was laid off from her job of over 30 years with just a couple of years left before retiring. At this time, Chewy became her full-time companion (up until very recently).

Chewy suffered all his life with stomach sensitivities and food intolerances. We were always very careful with what food we were giving him; he rarely ate any table food and we always listened to vet recommendations. Still, this was not enough.

We noticed a significant weight loss from December to February this year. He went from his standard 13 lbs to just 9lbs in 2 months! He had been 13-14 lbs for as long as we can remember. Things started deteriorating very rapidly in February: his bowels started becoming very irregular, he was not holding in any of the food we were giving him. After several visits to the vets, the vets put him on antibiotics and ordered some blood work – the blood work was inconclusive therefore, we had to get an ultrasound done. The results from the ultrasound were not favourable – he had cancer in his intestines.

Time was ticking after that news – Chewy was on borrowed time and we had to get our ducks in a row. We needed to give him the best quality of life possible with the time he had left but it was too little, too late.

- we gave up the vet diet (as that was not doing him any good anymore).

- we started incorporating pre and probiotics with his food.

- we got together and researched what food we could cook for him that wouldn’t deteriorate his state further.

We cooked him a batch of turkey with quinoa, carrots, sweet potatoes and spinach. He loved this food, we could tell!

Maybe we should have been feeding him that type of diet since we found out about his food sensitivities? Maybe we should have done more research? Maybe we should have incorporated more vitamins and supplements to his diet from the onset? We had so many questions after we found out he was sick and we were devasted knowing that one day soon, he would no longer be with us but Chewy was still his happy, go-lucky self until his last day. His energy, his sweetness, his affection never faltered. This blog is dedicated to Chewy – the best first dog.

Let’s get back on track…

Although this blog is dedicated to Chewy, this blog is about Mya and me. This is our story, and it is only the beginning.

#dog blog #doggo #dogs #shibainu #shibalove #Shiba #shibaarmy #shih tzu #healthy dogs #personal blog #intro post #introduction #Instagram