Tai Zhang: Paw of the Day
After Hartley, my husband, passed away, I felt I needed something at home to love and greet me each night when I come home from work. So I started looking in the classifieds for a small puppy. I made up my mind I wasn’t going to pay over $250 for one. I called about one listing and the lady I spoke with told me she had raised her puppies from birth and spoiled them. She wasn’t going to sell to anyone that worked, as she wanted them to continue being spoiled. I told her that wouldn’t be me, and I hung up. I called about another listing and the man that answered said his wife was gone at the moment and he didn’t know anything about the puppies.
My boss then asked me if I had looked at the pound. I thought, who would take a puppy to the pound, but told her no. She then promptly pulled up the City Animal Welfare website. The Shih Tzu mix puppy’s picture came up. He had arrived that day, his information on the screen was 1 hour old. (Sounds like God had a plan.) I called to ask about him. The adoption fee would be $75 (better than any price in the Classifieds). He was 8 weeks old and weighed 4.5 pounds. She told me if I really thought I would want him she could take my information over the phone. As we talked, I told her I worked at the county. She then informed me that county workers get a discount. (This is sounding better and better all the time.) I was thinking I might get him for $50. Then she told me it would be $10. I couldn’t believe it. I thought I was dreaming all this up. The $10 fee included having him neutered. I could pick him up the next day. The ladies at work gave me a surprise puppy shower. He received everything a little puppy would need. Toys, blankets, feeding dishes, puppy pads, the works.
His name at the pound was “Percy”. Now I just couldn’t see calling that sweet little face “Percy”. So I went to a website that would change a name to a Chinese name. I put in “Percy Davis”. One of the three names that came back was “Tai”. I liked that, but thought he needed another name. So I put in “Hartley”. One of the three names that came back was Zhang. So, my little Shih Tzu mix is named “Tai Zhang”. I call him “Tai”. He now weighs over fourteen pounds and I’m worse than a new mother about showing off his picture.
-submitted by Tai Zhang's mom
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