Sprite is jumping, bopping, and having a great time these days! It is almost as if she has gone back in time… at least three years. (…)

(I think that I am a little off on my dates, but I should be learning how to use this blogging software soon!)
Our little Sprite is just as cute to us as the day we got her eleven years ago. (…)

As I mentioned when I first started writing this blog about our Bichon Frise, she has been with our family for almost eleven years. Lately, Sprite's arthritis has been acting up. It is very difficult to watch as our sweet puppy (she is still a puppy to us!) starts the natural aging process. She no longer follows me upstairs every time I go up. As a matter of fact, she is now becoming very economical with her trips up and down the stairs. She determines the amount of time I am planning to stay upstairs by listening to the activity I am involved in, and then, apparently, based on the eleven years that she has been following me up the stairs, she decides if following me is worth the trip! In case she isn't sure how long I will remain upstairs, she ambles over to the bottom of the staircase, and lets out an almost inaudible "woof". She then remains at the bottom of the steps until I assure her that I plan on staying upstairs, or if "I'll be right back."
One of the factors that we took into account before deciding that the Bichon Frise was the breed we wanted for our family pet was the general activity level of the Bichon.  Bichon's score a possible seven (out of ten) on one dog breed author's profile scale. (…)

I had no idea that finding the right veterinarian was going to be a problem. I had planned on simply going to the first vet I found, and staying with him/her for all of Sprite's life. But, that was not the case! 
The first veterinarian I took Sprite to was the veterinarian who serviced the pet shop we bought her from. That turned out to be an awful experience! One of the stipulations of the pet store was that I take our new puppy to their veterinarian within the first week she was at home with us. 
Boy, was I surprised to hear about all of the problems she had! I asked the vet why he had signed a bill of good health for Sprite when we bought her, two days earlier! He didn't really have an answer to that question, just a list of many products I could buy to take care of her very bad ear infection and peculiar red spots on  her stomach area. He said he would need to run some tests on her to determine what the red spots were. (…)

My husband and I thought that our family was complete. Our daughter was in the third grade, our son in the fifth, and we lived in a location that made it very attractive for family members to visit us. My parents visited us yearly, which was a great treat for all of us, except for the anxiety/trepidation that our daughter experienced. She was very frightened of dogs, and since my father's stroke, all of his visits included his loving side-kick Aspen, a devoted Cocker Spaniel. My daughter kept a constant eye on Aspen, trying desperately to enjoy his presence, but always wanting to know exactly where he was, and what he was up to. 
At my father's suggestion, we decided that we should add a puppy to our family, so that our daughter could get over her fears for all dogs, no matter how loving or docile their temperaments. Thus began our quest for the perfect dog to add to our family. We had several requirements to fill, and the  Bichon Frise temperament, along with its hypoallergenic qualities, are what convinced us that a Bichon Frise puppy was the dog breed for us. (…)