I have bichons. I volunteered for a bichon breed rescue for 5 years, adopted every foster they sent to me. I have had 9 dogs in 6 years! For 2 years, I had 5 and THAT was a lot of work! Once I stopped with that group, I picked up 2 from our local craigslist (at different times). Currently I have:
Tasha - a puppy mill rescue, born and raised in a cage in Missouri, just used as a piece of inventory, for breeding, to make puppies for pet stores. She was 4 years 11 months when she was rescued. She has come a LONG way in the 4 years she has lived with me, but it is a life long rehab process for these mill rescues. I still get teary eyed, thinking of her in a cage all those years, never having positive human interactions, never touching grass, never running free. Now, I take her to a 17 acre conservation area where we can allow our dogs off leash and she runs and smiles! She is far right in the photo.
Willy - purchased at age 8 weeks by an older couple who wanted a small lap dog, and they got Willy, who grew larger than standard, and is a very bossy dog. He ended up biting them many times in the 8 years he lived with them, he became a bully. They surrendered him to a local shelter when they could no longer cope, and were too embarassed to take him to their vet again. Bichons are known for their allergies, and Willy has plenty. Neither the couple nor their vet knew what to do for a bichon, so Willy suffered for many years (I got all his vet papers when I picked him up at the shelter, for the bichon rescue - stacks!). When they surrendered him, his eyes were sealed shut with infection, and his skin was full of a yeast infection, bright red and you could feel the heat from an inch away. Poor dog was miserable and of course snapping at any touch. Took 6 weeks to get him healthy. Changing his bully side took longer; I took him to 3 obedience classes (Basic Manners, Beyond the Basics, Above and Beyond) and then got him involved in Agility. Willy LOVED Agility!!! He rapidly progressed to competition level, and has won 3 blue ribbons!! Now age 10, he had hip dysplasia and extensive arthritis in both knees and both hips, the arthritis all due to his poor diet and life style his first 8 years. So we don't do any Agility now. Next I took him to Nose Work classes and he was excellent at that! Finances changed so currently not doing any classes. He was just diagnosed with Lyme disease 3 days back, so got him on meds for that at the moment. Willy has chronic dry eye so he gets prescription eye drops morning and night, plus Genteal artificial tears every 2 hours all day long. This is from the 8 years of not paying attention to his allergies. His first owners did not have him neutered until he was age 5 years, so he is a marker and hence wears a belly band in house at all time. Willy is a charmer, and no longer a biter. He is in the middle in the pic.
Riley is a miniature poodle x bichon. Picked her up off craigslist, at age 7, I was her fifth owner in 7 months, not due to anything with her, but folks who didn't realize how much work the coat is. She is a very sweet girl, with a Grade 2 luxating patella, on her right rear knee. I took her to Agility and she loved it so much, but she can't compete as she will not be able to do any tight turns in a course. She is on the left in the photo.
Want to add, I LOVED seeing all your pups and reading about them! What a wonderful group of doggies!!!
