COSMO IS ADOPTED BY PEGGY MCALOON, A SHIH TZU STORY

                                           From Linda Lee Greene, Author & Artist

 

A decade or more has passed since I have shared my heart and home with a dog companion. Back then it was Sampson (Sam), a shepherd/husky mix who really belonged to my son Frank. However, Sam lodged with me for most of his long lifetime. Sam was immaculately trained by Frank. Never did Sam lounge on people-furniture, nor did he kiss people-faces. I dream about Sam now and then, and in each dream, as he did in life, Sam awaits me at the top of the short flight of stairs to our split-level home upon my arrivals, his half-moon-curled and bushy tail wagging wildly and a kiss on my hand as the reward for returning to him. Other than problematic, copious, seasonal shedding, Sam was the perfect dog for me. He seemed to understand and respect my need for quiet solitude as an artist and writer, and he barked only when someone unknown to him entered our property, which was seldom. In all the time since Sam, I haven’t yearned for another pet. But I do now, a desire brought on by my long and lonely isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic.

While Sam maxed-out at about 35 pounds at maturity (he was the runt of his litter), I need a much smaller dog now. I am considering a pure- or mixed-breed Shih Tzu most strongly, or something similar. Over the years since Sam, I have developed an allergy to dog hair and dander; therefore, I must have a dog that falls in the hypoallergenic category. I’ve placed my order with the Universe, as well as on social media sites. My author and artist friend Peggy M. McAloon responded to my Facebook post in which I solicit help from my friends in finding a dog. And in my correspondence with Peggy, I learned that she has written a gem of a book for children ages 6 to 9 about her own Shih Tzu, named Cosmo. The title of her book is COSMO IS ADOPTED.

                                                                                       

Peggy tells us: “Here's the story of how the Cosmo book came to be. Cosmo was an extraordinary dog and we loved him with a passion. He died of pancreatic cancer a year ago. 

 

“Let’s Start at the Beginning:

We adopted Cosmo from Shih Tzu Rescue of Central Wisconsin in 2012. I have to admit; I fell in love with his picture on their web site immediately. After calling the rescue, we discovered his availability still open. Rhonda suggested she could bring him by to see us. She planned a camping trip to Chippewa Falls that weekend, and she could work it out. Then she dropped the bomb. Cosmo was blind. Okay, I’m disabled too. Where is it written that I didn’t have the heart to take on such an enormous responsibility? When they arrived that weekend, Cosmo quickly began to pace around the living room to familiarize himself with his new surroundings. My heart nearly exploded when he hustled up the stairs and put his head through the railing spindles at the top. Was he smart enough to know it could be deadly if he wiggled through? We did adopt Cosmo and immediately fixed Plexiglas inside the stair railing so I wouldn’t have to worry about an accident.

“The Challenges:

Without thinking, I began to say the word “careful” when he rammed into a stationary object. It wasn’t long before I discovered that I could yell ‘careful’ as he approached something and he’d immediately change direction. (Nope, I purchased a ‘halo,’ and he hated it! He was a ‘do it without help’ kind of guy.) Cosmo was one smart little dog! A few months after we adopted him, we took him to the University of Minnesota to see if we could do anything to restore his eyesight. (The vets surgically removed his right eye before we adopted him, and he was blind in his left eye.) That little dog was amazing in his ability to get around, manage the deck and steps to go outside by himself and maneuver around solid objects. I believed he could see light and dark, or shadows, at the very least. Wrong! His severed optic nerve showed up clearly in the examination, and there was no chance of us being able to do anything to restore his sight short of stem cell research.

“Then the first storm hit:

I’d never seen anything like it. For whatever reason, Cosmo determined he could go high and avoid the danger. He launched himself like a missile from the floor to the sofa and over to the end table, en route to the recliner and bookcase. Okay, this wasn’t even remotely funny. There was a huge possibility Cosmo could get seriously hurt in his state of panic. We tried everything. Then, we leashed Cosmo to the table leg and sat on the floor with him; we tried a collapsible playpen with a zippered roof and anything else we could think to do. That little dog was Houdini revisited. He managed to get out of everything we attempted. I was inflexible on the position not to put him in a cage. We’d already discovered he’d broken half his teeth when trying to chew his way out of the cage at the dog pound in Milwaukee when his owner died. All those teeth had to be cut out. We tried medicines, a thunder shirt, herb aromas, and more. Nothing worked! I tried holding him close. His back legs were like a kangaroo and left me bruised as he desperately tried to get away. The only solution was to monitor his movements. Mike and I began to take turns when it stormed at night. I usually took the midnight to four, and Mike took the four to eight shift. It’s crazy, I know. But, if you could have met Cosmo and fallen in love as we did, you’d make allowances too. Cosmo Is Adopted, and his problems were mine.

“The Critical Moment:

It was during one of those storms that Cosmo proved his worth. Unfortunately, it was nearly three in the morning when I got up to get a cup of hot tea to keep me awake until four. As I started to walk away from the sofa, a huge clap of thunder and lightning hit. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cosmo launch from the floor toward the love seat. With one bounce, he headed for a table holding a huge glass vase. I twisted around quickly, grabbed him in mid-air, and went to the floor. You see, it wasn’t just the head injury I suffered from the car wreck. I also have massive damage to my back and neck. The twisting motion did some significant harm, and the instant agony took me to the floor with the dog held close on top of my stomach. He was unhurt!

I couldn’t move! Then, I began to panic as I let the little dog go. Except, he didn’t go! He brushed his nose against my cheek. Suddenly, I realized I was having an asthma attack. I couldn’t breathe, and I couldn’t get up to find my inhaler. Panic set in quickly as I gasped for breath.

“COSMO IS ADOPTED to the Rescue:

Our ‘cowardly lion’ little dog immediately brushed off his terror as the lightning and thunder intensified. He pushed his little stub of a nose under my neck to try to help me lift my head. Over the next few minutes, he made multiple trips to the closed bedroom door, throwing the entire weight of his body against it. The noises he made in the kitchen could wake the dead, but not my husband. I gasped for air. Still, I couldn’t get enough oxygen in my lungs to be able even to yell out. Cosmo kept running back to me, trying desperately to lift my head from the floor. His efforts were well-thought-out and methodical. At some point, I heard the metal can in the kitchen tip and hit the floor. I could hear the top pop off and the dry dog food as it scattered across the wood of the kitchen floor. That was the noise that awakened my husband, who came running. He immediately realized I was struggling to breathe and ran to get my inhaler.

                                                                                 

“My Little Hero:

Life remarkably changed after we adopted Cosmo. Most of it was for the better, but he was a challenge. He was terrified to be left alone, so at the young age of seventy, I hired teenagers to babysit again. So, I simply chuckled and realized this dog came into our lives for a reason. Ninety percent of the time, Cosmo was one of the greatest dogs I’ve ever had. But, he presented more than a few challenges. What I find remarkable is that his journey to becoming a family member involved all the things our children experience. Kids have to face the challenges of learning new information, adapting to new situations, depending on friends to help them, and needing love. I wrote the Elle Burton books to help older kids, but the little ones face challenges too. Two years ago, my son and his wife adopted two beautiful children. Their backstory is heartbreaking, but they know they’re loved. Actually, I wrote this little book just for them for Easter. They loved it, and their mother begged me to publish it for other kids.

“The Story COSMO IS ADOPTED Grows:

So, the original COSMO IS ADOPTED started out as Cosmo’s story only for my grandchildren. As I thought about how to present this as a published book, I immediately turned to Catherine Gruener, an award-winning Psychotherapist and Encouragement Parent Educator. Then, I sent her a copy of the original little book and asked her to prepare a list of discussion questions for this book. She’d done that for my middle-grade Elle Burton book. I was delighted with the two pages of discussion questions she provided, but the book still wasn’t long enough to make a marketable product. My editor suggested I add a segment at the end on the Shih Tzu breed and foster homes. It was a brilliant suggestion, and I ran with it. Then, I added pictures of Cosmo and his new little sister Hailey at the end of the book for the young children to color as their parents go through the discussion questions with them. The book is targeted to children ages 6-9.”

                                                                                   

  

Submitted by Peggy M. McAloon, Author, Watercolor Artist, Speaker

ViewBook.at/ElleBurton Finalist in the Readers' Favorite 2018 International Book Awards

ViewBook.at/ElleMissing

 

The purchase link to COSMO IS ADOPTED:  http://amzn.to/2pkD022.”

 

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