Love in Your Lap

The friendly Shih Tzu will fill your home with joy.

Ruff may be small in stature and look amusingly adorable sporting bunny ears at Easter, but that hasn’t kept this bubbly 4-year-old Shih Tzu from becoming a serious Lassie-class savior to Martee S. of California.

“I bought Ruff as a 75th birthday present for my husband, Sherm, who had become very ill,” she says. “Our other dog, an abused Shih Tzu mix rescue, had been unable to bond with him. He badly wanted another sweet Shih Tzu like his beloved former companion, Ruff Tuff, but I kept saying, ‘No more pets!’ He didn’t know I was already tracking down Ruff Tuff’s pedigree so I could find a good breeder with a bloodline stressing this breed’s gentle temperament.”

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