Pogi was born on May 1, 1994 to a Silky Terrier mom named Sunshine and Yorkie Terrier dad named Toby. Sunshine had a total of three liters. We didn't get to meet Pogi until he was 1 month old. My aunt owned Sunshine and she wanted to give away one of her pups to us. Pogi was all black and his eyes were so black they almost looked blue under the light. He had really short legs and whenever he peed, pee got all over his tummy. My mom was a little worried at first, thinking that Pogi is going to have this problem in adulthood. Of course his legs grew longer, they were still short and stumpy, but as he grew older, he lifted his leg to pee. Initially, I wanted to adopt Pogi's brother because he was so much bigger, and I liked his tubby shape. My mom, however, wanted Pogi. She said Pogi bonded with her right away and would not settle for any other pups other than Pogi. So of course we ended up taking Pogi home.
Initially, Pogi was a quiet and shy puppy. When we got home that day, we introduced him to our two cats, Meow and April. Meow was our older cat and the moment she laid eyes on Pogi, she gave him a good punch/scratch to his face. Pogi yelped and cried. I don't know if dogs hold grudges, I thought they don't, but man, Pogi never did forget that attack on his well being. He hated Meow soon after and never really warmed up to her.
My mom decided to include baby formula into Pogi's diet, along with his puppy food. I don't know if the baby formula was the culprit, but within a week, Pogi grew to become a tub, even bigger than his brother. Not only that, he became feisty and mean. We took him back to his mommy the following weekend and he pretty much attacked his siblings by growling, and he would not let any of them get near him. I don't know what happened, but in a course of 7 days, Pogi became sort of a vicious and anti-social puppy. It was rather unusual in that he was only 5 weeks old. We actually have pictures of him as a pup growling with a menacing look on his face to the camera. It's as cute as it gets, but also a little scary.
Trying to sleep at night was also another thing. You see, Pogi is usually up all night since he prefers to take his naps around 6 or 7 in the evening. He'll nap for 3 - 4 hours, and by 10 at night, he was up for another 2-3 hours. Playing with his toys, running all over the house, pretty much causing chaos and keeping me up most of the night. We decided to try to keep him awake around the time he naps at 6 in the evening. He hated that we would constantly wake him up when he tried to sleep, but it did work. By 10 at night, he was asleep with us.
About a month with us, Pogi became attracted to paper towels and would shred them to pieces. We left him in the house once all by himself while we traveled to Columbia, SC. When we got back, the floor was full of shredded paper towels. We were also greeted by a very grumpy Pogi. He seemed really upset that we left him all by himself. He wouldn't come near us for awhile and growled when I attempted to pick him up.
Within 3 months, Pogi's black and coarse hair fell out, and in grew beautiful gold and silver silky hair. His head was full of long, straight locks, and his body was glistening silver. He was such a beautiful dog. He also grew up to be almost twice as big as his dad and a little bigger than his mom. His heaviest was at about 18 pounds. He was a very confident, independent, intelligent, and spunky dog. He made a great watch dog (guard dog, too, if you tested him). He will not hesitate to give anyone - even his owners - a good bite to the face if you irritated him.
My mom was a little worried that it was taking a long time to housebreak Pogi. Our mistake was, we never did attempt to housetrain him. He was never left inside a crate, he was never disciplined for doing his business in the house. I remember one morning my mom said she may have to give him away since she couldn't stand cleaning after him. Pogi was right there playing with one of his toys and didn't seem to be aware at all with what's going on. I'm telling you, the following day, Pogi stopped doing his business in the house. He used his doggy door to go out and do what he had to do in the backyard. I don't know if he understood what was said or could just sense the vibe, but that's one smart dog.
I also want to add that Pogi became fond of music and would sing - or rather howl- along to his favorite singers like Shirley Bassey, Frank Sinatra, and even Journey. It so comical to see him stand next to a stereo and just howl away as Shirley Bassey sings "For all we know."
Pogi became a constant fixture in my life. From the time I started my senior year in high school, to graduating college, starting my first real job, moving to Charlotte, NC with my sister, then back to Charleston,SC, moving to Michigan, then to Raleigh, NC, Pogi was always there.
He became my ultimate companion. I didn't think I could love a non-human the way I loved Pogi. I always wished that he was my biological child, even if he was a dog and looked the way he did, I would welcome him as a child, because I saw him pretty much as someone that's a part of me.
A few months before Pogi turned 12 and after I purchased a townhome in Raleigh, he became very ill. I took him to the emergency vet and he was hospitalized for about a week. He was diagnosed with pancreatitis and diabetes. For the rest of his life, he had to go on insulin twice a day and eat from a prescription diet. He didn't seem to have a problem with it. He did lose his eyesight soon after, but he adjusted well and seemed happy and content.
I don't know if it's the diabetes, but he became a ravenous eater. I would include bake liver and chicken into his diet and he just absolutely loved it.