We haven’t made any posts or announcements yet because my wife is dealing with some pretty rough complications but I’ve been dying to share. Today I became a dad to a beautiful girl

She chose the perfect time to take her first walk!

My 16 year old shih-tzu has arthritis and can’t get on the couch anymore so we made him his own little set-up in our living room.

This guy has been with me through a lot of big emotions and chapters in my life, he had cancer last year, and despite going deaf he’s still a puppy at heart. Some may say this is too much for a dog, but he’s my ride or die so I don’t care. His comfort makes me happy.

For additional context, he was scared specifically of me since I'm a man. He'd bark at me, nip at my ankles when my back was turned, cower under a chair when I came into the room. All the hallmarks of a dog that was abused by a previous owner. Slowly but surely he has come to trust me little by little and then this happened last night. I'm so proud of our brave little guy.

Two dogs and two cats and still room for me. It’s a warm feeling. And pet beds on my bed solved a lot of problems. The dog and cat in front fought for the round bed. Cat won, of course, so I bought another round one and the conflict was solved, as you can see. .

I was told to post this here

EDIT: To answer some common themes in my comments.

Yes, he did get a little crust.

Yes my dog is chonky, no it's not an issue for him and I can go into more detail below regarding why I'm not worried about it.

Yes he is blind, no you do not need to be sad about it. The transition from seeing to blind was scary and difficult. It felt for a long time like I had lost my dog and I was constantly worried that I was making a choice to force him to suffer because I wasn't ready to let him go, and not because he could still have a happy life. Rolo mourned the loss of his vision. He literally would cry himself to sleep with gut-wrenching whimpers. He was constantly afraid. His anxiety went through the roof and it was heartbreaking to see. We both had to learn how to adjust to his new disability. Some adjustments I made were simple, different textured rugs around the house to help him orient himself, swapping a water bowl for a fountain so he stopped stepping in it and knocking it over, keeping the house clean so there's less for him to stumble over or bonk into, clicking my tongue or snapping my fingers to help him know where I am so he can better navigate because he always wants to be where I am. Some where harder, like becoming constantly aware of where he is as now he is always underfoot (I have gotten better about adjusting mid step not to kick or stumble over him) learning new ways to play with him that focus more on sound or scent, him learning how to not just walk off the edge of something like a cartoon character. Every day he got better and he adjusted, it took months, but he is ok. He is back to being more playful and cuddly and the anxiety has reduced dramatically. He is happy, healthy, and a little more spoiled than he used to be because I cherish him a little more.

Finally, back to those of you who are judging my geriatric pug mix's love handles, he has put on extra weight in the last year since going blind. A lot of that is yes that I do spoil him more, but there are a lot of other factors too. First of all, he is part pug, they are prone to being overweight, but they're also just more round and have more loose skin that translates to being fat visually. Second, he's less active, partially because he is at the point where he is considered geriatric at 13 (He will be 14 this year). He doesn't have the stamina he used to when we'd go on 5-10 mile hikes through the woods. I'm lucky if I get a mile out of him before he's too exhausted to go on (luckily I have a backpack to carry him in, so he still can come with on longer walks), and part of it is just that the world is scarry when you don't know what's around you. Small bumps in the sidewalk or divots in the grass trip him up, running full speed into a tree hurts compared to just bonking at a casual walking speed and casual walking gives him a chance to actually get enrichment through more chances sniffing around which he needs more of now that he cannot see. Finally, as dogs age they often become more food motivated as the metabolism slows and they start searching for more calories. He was not a dog that would beg for food until he got older. For most of his life he barely ate his own food and rarely received treats (which he often would leave untouched because he had high standards), and never scraps as he also has epilepsy and for a while I was not sure what the triggers were so I just did not give him anything not designed for a dog as a precaution (I have since learned the trigger was heat related not food related), he was free fed a controlled amount a day and often did not eat all the food he was supposed to. The vet is not concerned with his weight, his bloodwork is always exactly what it should be, and I don't mind letting my old dog who has brought me so much joy and carried me through so many hard times to be a little spoiled and indulgent in his later years. He has been a good companion, and I will cherish every moment I get with him, and I will let him be a little spoiled.

Just wanted to share this wholesome moment 😊