In the summer of 2018 I got an email from a family member asking if I thought my daughter would be interested in adopting a 16 yr old Min pin ( Miniature Pinscher)named Piston. Due to unforeseen circumstances the her friend’s family had to re-home all their pets and no matter what they had tried no one wanted the old guy. My daughter had just lost her 16 yr old Yorkie. Of course knowing my daughter she said yes. We asked that his shots be made up to date and found out he got along with all other dogs and was over weight. The family had him since he was a pup. When we stopped to pick him up I discovered upon reading the shot record he weighed 42#. WOW I had never heard of a Min Pin weighing that much. (DNA confirmed the breed and blood work confirmed he had no health reasons to be over weight). We put him in the car and off we went for a 3 hr ride home. He was frantic, scared and stressed. I wasn’t sure he was going to make it. Seems car rides aren’t his favorite. Upon getting to my daughter’s and introducing him to the rest of the pack, along with her friend’s two little yappers (no disrespect here!) we found he didn’t get bothered with other dogs, no matter the size. He wasn’t food aggressive. He loves his beds, and to top it all off he is the funniest dog ever. He loved to toss all the blankets off the dog beds. Always greets you at the door and definitely knows that the pantry door leads to treats. I stopped over one day when the house keeper was there and opened the door expecting to be greeted. No dogs. hmm what’s going on I thought. I heard music from the master bedroom and went that way. All three dogs were in their crates or beds watching the housekeeper clean the bathroom. I’m not sure if they just liked the music or were making sure she did a good job!!
About a 6 months ago Piston started losing sight in one eye and gradually both. He still could see shadows and hear the pantry door open. He also became more increasingly incontinent and started wearing protection. He got a little confused if he wanted a certain dog bed and the Princess Chihuahua was there and growled at him. Everyone knows Princess Chihuahua’s rule the kingdom. He would just move to another one. He was so easy going. The other night my daughter brought home a new little guy she is in the process of adopting. His story is something for another day. Piston liked the little guy and welcomed him. I took over some new treats yesterday for the little guy and shared with everyone. A few hours later I got a call that Piston had a major seizure. I rushed over and we took him into our vet, which is the emergency vet here and we were able to say good bye. I know your thinking this is a sad ending but it’s really not. Whenever I think of this dog I smile and laugh that’s just the way he affected everyone he met. He was so silly and funny with all his antics. What I really want to say is that there are a lot of senior/special needs pets in our shelters and rescues that need good loving homes. If you can adopt please check them out and the happiness you will get knowing how happy they are even if it’s for a short while is worth it. Not easy and not necessarily easy on the pocketbook. But so worth it. No one, human or animal should die alone.
