We had to let Tanner go early last week. It had become clear that he wasn't going to get better, he'd been going downhill for a couple of weeks, and had stopped eating. As Hilda and I looked at photos of Tanner over the years, we realized that he had been ill for at least a couple of years with Cushing's Disease. His weight gain, appearance, and loss of energy are all symptoms of the early part of the disease, which are easy to misinterpret, as we did, as aging signs. It wasn't until about April of this year that we knew something was really wrong, and the vet visits began. One of the first things we heard from the vet was that it could be Cushings, and that they don't usually recommend treatment because of the side effects. Not wanting to subject Tanner to that, we crossed our fingers and began a suggested treatment for another possible issue, an immune system disorder, which was treated with steroids. And for a while he really looked like he was improving, but it was not to be.

During the week or so we have been realizing that we have a deep well of love building up to unleash on some unsuspecting shih tzu puppy. So a couple of days ago we were off to a vet's office near Placerville to be introduced to Cinnamon, Mickey, Roger, Mugsey, Pepper, and Joey.

Well, the visit with the puppies was successful, to say the least. Tanner, Tyson, Ansel, and Pandy (AKA Pandemonium) will of course always reign over a place in our hearts. But those hearts are swelling greatly these last few days to make room for Joey and Mickey, the shih tzu pups we held Friday morning, while their tales wagged furiously, their eyes bored deep into ours, and they peed the hell out of our clean shirts. We are counting the days until they will become full-fledged Coolians - about a week and a half.

Mickey is right center. Joey is hidden in the back with the other four!

As if it were needed, these two sweet daughters of the owner provided the final convincing that Mickey and Joey were the pups for us. It was clear that they had provided a very warm and loving presence for the dogs since they were born. We met them and their mom in the parking lot in front of the vet's office near Placerville, where they were getting some shots and a checkup.