Last Sunday, Jojo joined our family – our little lhasa apso mini poo! Who’da thought? After a 75 lb Siberian Husky, we would adopt a 7.5 lb dog whose breed names ends in “poo.” 🙂 Life is so funny!!

Birthday: August 15, 2011
Parents: Lhasa apso (Mom) and a miniature poodle (Dad)
Distemper shots given on November 22 and January 12
Deworming given weeks 5, 6, 7, 8 and then on Jan 12
Got a clean bill of health from Dr. Miner

So here’s the story of how Jojo joined our family.

As you know, Macy died early September (about 4 months ago) from cancer. We were all very sad for a very long time.
You asked Santa as well as me many times for a new puppy for Christmas. We weren’t sure we were ready for a new pup – the responsibility and I wasn’t sure I was ready to have a new dog – I was still really missing Macy.
But because, you asked, I stated looking – researching different dog breeds – thinking about whether we would want to adopt an older dog or a new pup or someone in between. Big dog like Macy, medium sized dog, or small dog. I stayed pretty open to any type, and began watching rescue organization sites to see what dogs were available. I started talking to Daddy Jim about all my thinking.
We went to meet one dog that was rescued – Jax – and we really liked him, but I was hesitant because he was pretty bity and a big pup – I was afraid you would be afraid of him for a long time.
So I went home and searched for some small (not tiny) dogs I thought were cute – like shih tzu’s. I came across this picture from the professional blog a woman named Kim:

And as we were looking at her site, you fell in love with this little guy – we nicknamed him Shadow:

So I called Kim and she said they were both available. We checked with a friend of Julie’s who breeds dogs in that area, and she had no concerns about Kim and how she takes care of dogs, so we planned a family trip out to meet the doggies – and I mean a FAMILY trip – Mad, Dan, you, Julie, Daddy Jim and me.

We played with both of these dogs, but it was Jojo who stole our hearts… neither of the ones on the website. Kim just thought we might want to meet Jojo, and boy did we!! He was playful yet calm, loved to cuddle, and didn’t bark. Daddy Jim even fell in love. He was already named Jojo and he was almost 5 months old. So we paid $180 and brought him home that day.

We decided we liked “Jojo” (his given name) and we added “Ickle” which means small. Madeline and Daniel have been referring to use as “ickle” for a good year (as well as other small things). It just fit.

From The Free Online Dictionary:

ickle [i’ kel]
adj
Brit informal an ironically childish word for little

Jojo fell asleep next to you every night you slept here – so easily… He seriously could not be a better dog – plays hard, is unbelievably tolerant of us, loves to snuggle, sleeps through the night and is smart. We still have some potty training to do, but it really isn’t bad at all – I’m certain we’ll get it soon. And when Jojo is ready, he’ll sleep with you every night if you want him to.

We start Jojo “school” today – in a couple hours. Should be fun!

You love him so much – Jojo has given you so many belly laughs from his licks, his chasing his tail,…. He is definitely part of our family!!

Welcome Jojo Icle! We love you!