Hi,I am new here, and I have 3 bichon/shih tzu cross dogs,a female and a pair of brothers, and they have saved my life! When my daughter was dying from cancer, one of her final requests was that she wanted a Beagle puppy, so I made sure she got one.Wow-I should have read up about them first, they are soo energetic, and have a mind of their own, but are such cute puppies, she was so happy when she got him.But after a few weeks, she began getting sicker, and had to be in pallative care, no longer living at home.We live in the counrty, so had lots of room for dogs out here, and since the beagle was alone so much, I decided to get another puppy, both for me, and to keep Simon company.I got a bichon/shih tzu cross,named him Tuffy, because he had to be with Simon! MY daughter passed away sept.11,2002.I wanted to die too, so I could be with her, thats how hard loosing her hit me.I was left behind, all alone, as my other 2 daughters were finished school, and out on their own, in another city.And though I tried very hard, I just could not handle Simon, he was just too busy and energetic for me, totally opposite of Tuffy.Maybe if I was healthy myself, it would have worked better, but missing my daughter,and having my nerve damage pain to get thru everyday, I had to find another home for Simon.Yes, I felt so guilty, and I still do, for not keeping him.But the couple who took him, well, it was almost as if they were meant to have him! They lived about 45 minutes away from my house,on a farm,and they had just lost their beagle to old age, had always had beagles,and they had themselves,lost a daughter to cancer when she was just 18!! Wow-amazing, isn't it! Just like the saying goes-"it was meant to be!"Simon thrived with them, he is still there and doing well.I will always feel guilty, but the outcome was for the best. This is just a small part of my dog-story, will add the rest later, unless no one wants to hear anymore about it.