Veronica -- Maltese Lhatese x Shih tzu

by Michelle Klein-Hass
(Panorama City, CA, USA)

Long before the mania for "designer dogs" came to the fore(1969-1986), my aunt Karen bred her purebred but out of spec (slightly larger than standard) Shih tzu Charlie with a Lhasa Maltese mix. The resulting litter was small, and the dog that was intended as a gift to me was the runt of the litter. She was pure white, like a Maltese, but had her Sire's build, in spite of her compact size.

There was a little cowlick in her hair in the shape of a "V," so my mom and I brainstormed "v" names. Victoria and Valentina were tossed out in favor of Veronica, when it became clear she would likely have long hair in her face, ala the movie star Veronica Lake. If you don't know who she is, check out the movie "LA Confidential" which has a sub-plot about a Lake lookalike.

Veronica seemed to take after the Lhasa apso part of her heritage. She "glommed on" to my mom and basically bonded with her, at the expense of me and my dad, even to the point of growling at me and dad on occasion.

During the Sylmar Earthquake of 1971, Veronica showed her character as she fearlessly stood in the corridor of our Sherman Oaks house and barked at the quake, perhaps in hopes of scaring away whatever monster she thought was shaking the house. I have no doubt that if anyone intruded on the house, she would have given that hapless burglar a world of hurt.

By the time she got older, eventually Veronica's personality mellowed. She became more of a "people" dog and less of a one-person dog, and allowed others to be affectionate with her.

I think I was given the dog too young, on top of it all. A 5-year-old sees a white furry thing, she thinks it's a toy. Nope, not a good thing. However, she and I eventually became friends, and I was the one who was there when she left us in 1986. She died in my arms. Hopefully they've got Gelson's roasted chickens for you off beyond the Rainbow Bridge. :)