Last two months past so quickly being extremely busy with ups and downs. On May 15th, we had Mr. Big concert. Mr. Big is the reason why I met my husband. He was playing with the singer, Eric Martin, at that time and I was a big fan of the band. In the morning, he woke me up saying “Chihuahua is in the backyard”. Our community is located next to a state park so a lot of animals such as rabbits, squirrels, rattle snakes, possums and skunks come but no dogs! He came from the broken part of our fence. Since we received two emails of found dogs from the community, I thought our HOA would take care of him. I caught him and put him in our sunroom. Skinny but beautiful. He was shaking just like chihuahua.
Immediately, I knocked my neighbor’s door. She has a Chihuahua but her dog is female. We asked around our neighbors who walk dogs regularly. Also spread community emails twice to find his owner. No reply… I fed him cat food and we had to take off for Mr. Big concert. The band got aged but their sound was the same. I thought I would cry when I listened to our special song, “To Be With You” but I was preoccupied with the dog 
I named the dog Lucky because I thought he was lucky to be taken care of by us. At the same time, he had a strong characteristic of the chihuahua on Taco Bell commercial, so his middle name became Diego. Cute looking dog which slept on my lap but I didn’t like the spelling of Diego so I never called him Diego. I don’t know why this name came up and I had some doubts of new encounters this year according to the horoscope Rokusei senjutsu.
I took him to a vet and found out that he had no microchip. Also he had a condition called cryptorchildism. He had only one ball and another one was stuck inside of his body. Neutering him would be challenging.
5 days later when I tried to play with him with a ball, I got bitten 
It seemed like he had a resource guarding problem. Once the ball was his possession, he didn’t like anybody to touch his toys. It happened so quickly and I was shocked Because we don’t know where he came from and smelt like a skunk, I was so worried about rabies. After I researched on internet, I went to ER for the shot. However, ER doctor discouraged me to take the shot saying rabies in dogs are extremely rare besides painful shots need to be taken 4-5 times afterwards. I came back with just antibiotics. 2 days later, I brought him to a vet for the vaccination. He could take only part of all shots since his weight was only 5.6lb. I chose rabies shot first and other shots after two weeks. He would be fine but my risk wasn’t eliminated. Later I really regret that I didn’t get the shots at ER. First shot has to be within 24 hours after the bite. 10 days later, we were still keeping him separating from our kitty cats. He was barking a lot as usual but this was the reason why he was barking 
My kitty cats are indoor cats so the cat door was open for Lucky only. But this stray cat came in! No wonder he was barking
He loved this bed that my kitty cats never used. He also got some toys that were too big for kitty cats.
I drove him to take a walk first time on a trail.
On my rebirthday which was my 13th anniversary of cancer free, we spent time with Lucky.
Later in the afternoon, we took him to OC big park. Since he barked so much, we had to avoid people and other dogs, forced to walk on lawns where a lot of filthy feces impossible not to step on. I didn’t let him stay inside the kitty cat’s living space to protect them until I was certain that he had no harm to them including diseases. It was before all of his shots were completed. I was stupid to choose a big park without full vaccinations. I thought the previous owner who dumped him gave vaccines.
He had been coughing, sneezing, twitching, and unbalanced occasionally from day 1 but he liked my home cooking meal and had a big appetite with high energy. He learned a command “sit” before meals. He got accustomed to use urine pads better.
My favorite pic. It was so rewarding when he waved his tail and stood on his hind legs to welcome me.
Meanwhile we were looking for his owner, my dog bite wound started to be painful. I went to see a doctor and got another antibiotics, still worrying about rabies. Our love to Lucky was growing and deciding on keeping him although there were difficulties with our life styles with him. Having a small dog was always my dream but it would have never come true unless this kind of forceful situation. We didn’t want him to be killed at a shelter. Even he had some conditions, he was doing well until this park visit. After the second vaccine shot, he wasn’t feeling well for a couple of days but got normal on this day. We took him to Laguna Beach Top of the World park. What a beautiful view! Later this picture became our best family shot with Lucky. Looks like he was smiling 
Because of his aggressive barking and pulling behavior, we tried to make him worn out by visiting other locations: Main St and Beach park. Dogs were not allowed on the beach 
After this day, he got very quiet and started having black stools. I wonder if his immune system got declined. Also wondering it was psychological because we didn’t take him to walk and I was busy with my job.
I couldn’t wait for his regular vet’s appointment because he stopped eating, I took him to an urgent care where I paid close to $1000 on bunch of tests. His liver number on the blood test was abnormal and got a referral to a specialist. We were observing him for a while until his antibiotics treatment was done. His distemper test result was positive but the vet thought it was from the vaccine. When I gave him a medication orally, I got bitten again exactly one month after the first bite and went to an urgent care again. About a week later, his resource guarding hadn’t been fixed. When I brought him a treat to his bed, he didn’t eat it. So I picked it up then he bit me 
It was my second antibiotics was just finished. I got the third antibiotics. I started to wonder if he was suitable to our living situation but I had to finish his antibiotics which was prescribed for 2 weeks before we find his new owner. I loved him so much regardless of the fear of rabies and bites. He bit me because there were reasons but I was mad at the third time. I threw him away to our deck wrapped in the blanket and locked the cat door until I came back from the hospital. One day when I was sitting in the sunroom with Lucky, I saw fast flying birds in dusk, looked like bats! High possibility of rabies in bats and made me even worried. Back and forth of hospitals, vet visits plus regular routine with pain from bites, I needed a break. I rented a cabin for my birthday and brought Lucky with us. I believe it was one or two days before my BD, my sandals were destroyed by him. Big parts were missing but I thought we would find them somewhere else. We were uneducated dog owners, my excuse. I should’ve checked carefully. I loved the cabin called Blue Jay in Lake Arrowhead. Creek was next to it and cool temperature under all the trees was so nice in July of Southern California. Less people! Perfect for Lucky!
We cooked steaks on the barbecue grill outside. It was my first experience using it and the steak tasted so flavorful 
Lucky’s energy level was mild but he ate dinner.
Next day, breakfast outside the cabin. He was always sensitive to cold and loved sunbathing on our deck.
This is the best shot with Lucky as a family.
We found pink sandal pieces in his feces. I thought they would pass naturally but surprised at the same time how big things could come out from this tiny body. I thought dogs were strong. Later ER vet told us his liver condition made him eat uneatable objects. July 3rd, his antibiotics was finally done. People were ready for 4th of July weekend. It became his habit to sleep until I came back home from work which was about 7pm and went for a walk. I thought it was his routine but now I think that he was lethargic. Vacation time of doctors.
Following day, we took him to a park in Newport Beach. As usual he barked at strangers. He tried to bite window shield wipers Although his energy wasn’t 100%, he was quite strong. We were afraid of him biting other people. It could be a lawsuit.
He was so so that weekend but he became so active and lively after he passed another sandal piece with his droppings. When he felt good, my days brightened so much. Couple of days he felt so good jumping, barking and running just like he had a brand new body. We thought finally he got well. Ken suggested a chewing toy since he ate sandals. I gave a big stuffed chewing toy. We were wondering where he hid it. It was missing and we still can’t find it.
This is the last picture he looked well on Thursday in near by park.
He started to show decline and stopped eating. We waited one day hoping he would pass another sandal piece. Instead, he had a huge black diarrhea in the morning. We rushed to animal emergency care and took X-ray and blood test costing another $1000. X ray showed two stones and full of stuff in his stomach. I thought he ate the toy! We were referred to a bigger facility for a surgery. Then the surgeon suggested to go to an internal specialist because he didn’t think Lucky could handle anesthesia and something else was going on internally but we thought stone removal was the primary concern for his comfort. The surgeon told us to come back to remove stones within 2 days. If we had to do the procedure in such a short time, I preferred to remove stones first and go to the specialist. Anyway it was weekend and no specialists were working any ERs. I thought he might not wake up from anesthesia so we requested to see Lucky before the surgery. Kissing his head many times with a lot of emotions was too much for him. He bit my upper lip 
Meanwhile we were at the urgent care for my lip, the surgeon tried about an hour and half to remove stones but Lucky couldn’t handle anesthesia anymore. All he got was grass he was eating aggressively for nausea and stones remained, costing another $2000. We got a blood thinner prescribed for him and came home around midnight. It was a true nightmare. Saturday we were observing Lucky being so lethargic but still restless trying to throw up or pooping. On Sunday afternoon, he couldn’t stop walking because of pain. I called all ER in our area but no internal specialist was on duty, even 1 hour away drive. He started drooling but he still stood on his hind legs looking at me.
We took him to another ER for comfort. He got a fluid shot and anti nausea medication and pain killer was prescribed as needed. He had bleeding in GI. Asked the doctor if he was dying. He said no. However, his condition kept getting worse and finally he bit metals, destroying things, and black liquid was coming from his end while walking. I thought it looked like he had rabies but medical assistant on the phone said it could be anything because of the extreme pain. I gave him the pain killer orally but it seemed like not working with so much drooling on his mouth. Hours later, he pushed himself into the corner and finally became quiet. Since he was still breathing, we thought the sedative pain killer was finally working. If he survived through this condition, I thought he was the toughest dog in the world. We let him stay there and cleaned up the room and decided to wait until in the morning. It was July 15th. Exactly 2 months after we found him. In my sleep, I heard the voice saying “dead”. I was afraid of checking him but I went to put a blanket on him after a few hours of sleep. When I saw him at 3:28AM, he was already stiff and cold. I believe he was already gone when he turned his neck before midnight (7/14). Because of his liver condition, no doctors wanted to give him pain killer. It must be such a horrible pain he had to go through. Now he is pain free in the heaven. I can’t believe that he showed up like a tornado and left us like a tornado. Ken said it was like 10 years of experiences in 2 months. I don’t know if we were meant to encounter him but I have so much nice memories with him. He opened us new opportunities that we never knew about. I love him so much. Still moaning. We brought him to the same ER for his cremation before my work. Our house is so quiet without him. When I went to work, I couldn’t get into the building because police were blocking the whole building complex. Something happened.
Since the investigation would take a whole day, I got unexpected day off. Our life is back to the same way as two month ago. Later I saw the news. It was a fatal shooting at the second floor of the building 
I work on the first floor. It was overwhelming after all the things happened but it took my mind away from thinking about Lucky for a second. I came to work today. Looks like businesses are back to normal. I am writing this thinking about my baby, Lucky. So angry toward whoever dumped him in the first place. Lucky, I am sorry that I couldn’t save you and my lack of knowledge about dogs. I miss you so much. Rest in peace, Lucky 
I love you.
I believe Lucky came to save us. He took all the bad luck away from us. Thank you, Lucky 