It's not easy being me

You all know, I have a great life. I have a family that loves me and I know in my heart I will never want for anything. But, the fact is that I am very small. Too small in fact. How did I get this way? Well, some might say I'm a runt, but the truth is that in a quest to breed smaller & smaller dogs I got this way. They even made up a name for us...they call us "Teacup". There is no such breed as teacup anything, regardless of what a breeder tells you, it's just a made up word to describe what they did to make it seem ok. People (for whatever reason) have decided the smaller the better. Let me assure you this is not true. Small dogs like myself come with some issues that other dogs do not.
For example, I am fragile. My leg was broken when I fell down the stairs. Not just a small break, both bones in my right front leg broke clean through. To this day I have a steel plate & six screws in my leg. It was extremely painful and the surgery to repair it was very costly. Plus the time healing and many, many trips to the vet. It was a nightmare I'd just as soon put behind me.
Dogs my size come with a long list of medical problems. Because of my size it would be impossible to get a bone marrow sample from me if the Dr needed to. The Dr that did the surgery on my leg wasn't even sure if he had a plate small enough for me. You can also not get a scope in my ear if I get an ear infection. Forget about a rectal exam.  It is very difficult to find a vein to get a blood sample from. I have next to no body fat so I cannot regulate my body heat very well. I have no reserves to rely on so if I'm not feeling well & lose my appetite, my blood sugar will drop. Dogs my size almost always have painful knee problems, tooth & mouth problems, trachea problems; the list goes on & on.
Also, sometimes the people that own us do't realize that we need all the same things big dogs do. We need exercise, a healthy diet, grooming, veterinary care & training. It makes Momma crazy when she sees people with small dogs carrying them around like they are some sort of decoration. And don't get her going on the ones inside of people's jackets & purses.
She made it very clear to me when I moved in that I was going to walk everywhere I went. And even though I could only use 3 legs at the time (the other was broken), this taught me to be brave. She has never let me use being small as an excuse to not do what other dogs do. People are always surprised when I am out & about and I'm very comfortable sniffing with the Shepherds & the Mastiffs & the Pitbulls. That is because Momma let me be a dog. She made sure I did all the things dogs naturally do. It is not natural for us to be inside pockets and purses.
I absolutely love doing all the things bigger dogs do. I chase rabbits and deer, I chew on bones, I wrestle with Cracker. I like riding in the car, playing with stuffed animals & given the chance, I too will eat garbage.
People roll their eyes at me & laugh at me & call me names like "Furry Rat". I did not ask for this, irresponsible people breeding dogs made me this way. Do me a favour, laugh at them & call them names.
Now please, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I have a very good life and a Momma that gives me all I need. I'm telling you all this in case you are thinking of getting a dog that is small like me. There is a very high price to be paid when dogs are bred for trendy reasons and not to improve the specific breeds they represent.
Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer today. I just had to get that off my chest :)