Terry and I had been married about 3 months when we got into a heated argument...no idea now what it was about but he got in his truck and left. Terry has ALWAYS been the one to settle things before we go to sleep or really move on at all so I thought it was weird but figured we could both use the time to cool off. He came home with a 3lb shih tzu-pug mix puppy in the tiniest sweater and I thought I might die from the cuteness. I had been begging for a puppy because I was so lonely in Maryland and he kept telling me no...so, that's how we got Gizmo...October 8th 2003. He stole my heart from the moment I saw him...
He became my baby...he went everywhere with me. I dressed him in clothes, bought him Halloween costumes, Christmas presents, and when we traveled, Gizmo came too. We got Polly about a year later because Gizmo had the worst separation anxiety and was always destroying something. He was so sweet though, strong as an ox, and never met a stranger. He loved anyone and everyone and he barked at every little noise. He had to sleep on a pillow and the first night we had him, I woke up to Gizmo on the pillow next to me and Terry on the floor. :) It was kind of the way the next almost 14 years would be...Gizmo was our "boy" and we lovingly referred to him as "that boy". He was THE funniest dog...
Terry made a movie of Gizmo talking to me...hahaha
He always had to know what you were doing...he was very nosey.
He loved the snow almost as much as he loved peeing on things.
Polly has always hated having her picture taken...
Here they are in our kitchen in Maryland...those years were so hard in some ways, but we made the sweetest memories early on in our marriage.
My Christmas boy
Dress up time
More snow time
I love this picture for so many reasons...Gizmo would freak out when Terry would make this noise and he would kiss him until he stopped.
He had the best bangs and best smile. :)
Every Christmas we got them something. Admittedly, the presents got fewer and farther between when we had kids but we still tried to get them something.
My favorite picture of my boy
He always had lots of clothes...this one said Local Celebrity in rhinestones.
Sporting his "I love my mom" shirt...that was my favorite shirt
When we moved on base, we started having them sleep in the laundry room and Terry built them a bed, painted it, and decorated with stickers and a poster...we were definitely those dog people. :)
Me and my boy the night before Terry deployed.
More Halloween :)
My mom got them formal wear one year for Christmas hahaha
Sleepy man
Gizmo got in trouble a lot and when he did he would go jump in the bathtub in timeout until we told him he could come out.
There's no doubt he hated me at times :)
My young boy
His eyes started having trouble not long after we moved to Texas, and he couldn't see much by the time we moved to Florida. His hearing started going out too and probably for about a year now, he was not able to see or hear.
He began to sleep a lot...pretty much all day every day.
About 6 months ago, I took him to the vet because he had started having some accidents in the house. His lab work turned out fine, but she diagnosed him with canine cognitive disorder which is basically doggy alzheimer's disease. He stayed confused and he cried a lot at night. It took months to come to the decision to put him to sleep, but we knew we had to. He was suffering and it was time to let him go.
He was a part of some of the sweetest years and definitely the hardest. He never left my side each time I miscarried. He was there when we lost grandparents and when Terry's parents died. It feels like a chapter of our lives closed when Gizmo died. He held such a huge place in our lives and hearts, and so many memories of him are intertwined with memories of loved ones we've lost. He was definitely one of a kind, and we will miss him.
You were the best boy...I will love you always.
